APA 2024 Conference Recap

This past October I had the chance to attend the American Planning Association (APA) NC Conference in Greenville, NC and spent 2 days listening to industry leaders and others host various sessions on a variety of topics. This conference was a great way to reset and come back ready to positively shape North Carolina’s communities through my designs. Here are a few takeaways that have inspired and are motivating me.

How Health and Planning Go Hand-in-Hand
How planning can positively affect our daily lives, especially when we consider health and wellness. There was a big focus on protecting farmland and supporting local agriculture, which not only helps us stay connected to our food sources but also boosts our communities’ overall well-being. It was a reminder that when we preserve green spaces and support local farmers, everyone benefits!

Designing Spaces for Everyone
Another key session covered ADA best practices and designing for accessibility. It was all about creating spaces that truly welcome everyone, regardless of ability. Learning more about inclusive design sparked some great ideas for our own projects. For example, I learned about universal design which goes a step further than just ADA design standards.

Lessons from Charlotte’s UDO Website Design
We also got a behind-the-scenes look at the new website for Charlotte’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). It’s a great example of how digital tools can make city planning easier to understand and more accessible for the public. Having user-friendly, transparent resources can make such a difference!

My favorite feature of the UDO's website is in the read the UDO tab, all the sections are broken out instead of just reading one pdf you can easily toggle between articles and sections. Another great feature is the UDO University which includes videos and resources on applying the new ordinance.

AI: A Helpful New Tool in Planning
A session that dove into the world of AI and how it’s changing planning. There were some amazing discussions on how AI can be a helpful tool rather than something to worry about. From streamlining tasks to assisting with data analysis, AI has so much potential to make our work more efficient. This session gave us a new perspective on how to incorporate AI in ways that benefit our projects without losing the human touch and without sharing sensitive information.

And just to keep things fun—this blog post got a little extra brainpower from ChatGPT! It turns out even AI loves a good planning conference recap.