OCS Conference Funding Submission

Event Photo:

Slides from a session on how localities can use natural infrastructure to mitigate the effects of climate change, particularly in historically underinvested communities that are especially vulnerable to impacts like excessive heat and flooding.

Participants actively engaged in the chat with a presenter discussing planning for electric vehicles via thoughtful locations of charging stations and other infrastructure.

Former NYU Furman Center Legal Fellow John Infranca addresses the current state of laws around zoning and how cities can use zoning to promote equity.

Name: Jane Bartman

Degree Program: MASTER OF URBAN PLANNING

Specialization: MUP-City and Community Planning

Conference Host Organization/Institution: American Planning Association

Conference/Competition Name: American Planning Association NPC21

Conference Term: Spring Conference Start Date: 2021-05-05 Conference End Date: 2021-05-07

What were your takeaways from this conference/case competition?
It was an engaging look into some of the most dynamic work going on in the urban planning field. I was able to gain a better understanding of a wide array of areas of the field and of planners' professional practice - everything from a student design competition in Macon, GA, to the ethical obligations and challenges that planners can face.

How will your participation in this conference/case competition support your professional development?
In terms of content, it was fascinating and eye-opening to get to hear from practitioners on a range of key, of-the-moment topics related to my focus on housing affordability issues, including efforts to rezone to further equity and how the new administration is approaching fair housing. In addition, participating in various sessions at the conference is an important step to pursuing AICP certification after graduation, as they confer credits towards requirements for certification.

What are some next steps or action items this conference/case competition inspired?
I plan to use my continued access to the conference recordings to catch up on sessions I missed and am excited to learn more about, including "Engagement for Everyone: Accessible Virtual Strategies" which ties in to research and work that I have been doing at the Furman Center on how cities can effectively leverage virtual tools and formats to engage stakeholders; and "Is TOD an Awesome Missing Middle Housing Policy?", directly relevant to my Capstone. Including by using these learnings to inform Capstone research, I intend to actively translate takeaways from the conference into my schoolwork and research at work.

What are some tips or best practices that you would like to share with other Wagner students who attend a conference/case competition?
I would highly recommend seeking an "on-demand" conference option, i.e. one that allows you to review sessions later and at your leisure. While it may cost slightly more, it means that you will retain access to sessions that you may have missed due to work/school conflicts or because you were in another session at the same time. Even of the sessions that I already viewed and enjoyed, there are several that I look forward to rewatching via on-demand access.

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