OCS Conference Funding Submission

Event Photo:

Picking up conference badges

Storm over Philadelphia

Local cuisine

Name: Alana Barrington-Dye

Degree Program: MASTER OF URBAN PLANNING

Specialization: MUP-City and Community Planning

Conference Host Organization/Institution: American Planning Association (APA)

Conference/Competition Name: APA National Planning Conference

Conference Term: Spring Conference Start Date: 2023-04-01 Conference End Date: 2023-04-04

What were your takeaways from this conference/case competition?
The conference seems particularly useful to planners in smaller cities or suburbs. A such, some of the sessions felt not entirely applicable to an urban planning career in NYC, but I think that's what made it such a good supplemental experience to a curriculum based very heavily around NYC.

How will your participation in this conference/case competition support your professional development?
It helped me get an understanding of the field at large and how people are innovating to bring walkability to places around the country that rely heavily on cars. Also considerations of grant programs and other funding sources for planning projects.

What are some next steps or action items this conference/case competition inspired?
Thinking about applying for post-grad jobs not just in NYC. There's some really cool work being done in other places.

What are some tips or best practices that you would like to share with other Wagner students who attend a conference/case competition?
Use this as an opportunity to learn about what's going on in other places and other sectors. Stay as long as you can because the receptions I saw didn't happen until Sunday night or Monday, so I did not get much of a chance to network. Also, the days are LONG - take breaks if you have to to not burn out.

Wagner Areas of Impact: Cities, Government, Housing, Inequality, Race, and Poverty, Transportation