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 April 15, 2015 APA Los Angeles APAlosangeles.org
Planning Kicks Off for 2016 State Conference in Pasadena

On April 14, planners gathered at Gensler's downtown LA offices to kick off brainstorming for the 2016 APA California Conference, to be held in Pasadena and hosted by APA Los Angeles. The city's arts and crafts heritage informs the conference theme, "Crafting Our Future: The Art of Planning." Want to help or learn more? E-mail [email protected].

 

Congrats to California's Award Winners
On March 31, APA announced the 2015 winners of the National Planning Awards. The jury selected 17 Excellence award recipients and 12 Achievement award recipients, who will be honored during the awards luncheon at APA's National Planning Conference in Seattle this weekend. Read more about each of this year's winners at planning.org.

APA Los Angeles congratulates the following award winners from California:

National Planning Excellence Awards

 

Best Practice
First Last Mile Strategic Plan & Planning Guidelines 

 

Planning Firm
Perkins+Will 

 

Emerging Planning & Design Firm
Raimi + Associates 

 

Planning Pioneer
Donald Shoup, FAICP 

 

National Planning Achievement Awards

 

Environmental Planning

Lake Tahoe Sustainability Action Plan


Upcoming Events
APA Los Angeles Presents:
FoLAR's 26th Annual Great LA River Cleanup
Saturday, April 25
9 AM-12 PM
Metro Blue Line Del Amo Station
FREE 

Volunteer with your fellow planners as APA Los Angeles joins Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR) for its annual "work party" on the river. The event will include live music, gift giveaways, family activities and refreshments.

 

FoLAR is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization founded in 1986, whose mission is to protect and restore the natural and historic heritage of the Los Angeles River and its riparian habitat through inclusive planning, education and wise stewardship.

 

The Lower Compton Creek Cleanup takes place along the Metro Blue Line Station, located on Del Amo Blvd. at Santa Fe Avenue in Rancho Dominguez (see location map).

 

Bike: Take the Lario Bikeway (on the LA River and Rio Hondo from El Monte to the Pacific Ocean) and exit at Del Amo Blvd. Go west on Del Amo.

 

Transit: Take the Metro Blue Line and get off at Del Amo Blvd.

 

Driving: Take the 710 Freeway, exit at Del Amo Blvd. Go west to the Del Amo Metro Station and park in the south end of the station parking lot.

APA Los Angeles Presents: Exploring Pacoima

Saturday, May 2

12-2 PM 

13520 Van Nuys Blvd. 91331

FREE for members, $10 for non-members

Register here

 

Please join APA Los Angeles and Pacoima Beautiful for a tour of exciting projects along the Pacoima Wash and the Bradley Avenue Plaza, a People Street project in collaboration with LADOT.

 

Our tour will be led by Pacoima Beautiful Planning Director Max Podemski, who manages a wide range of projects relating to open space and mobility.


Meet at the main entrance to Pacoima City Hall at 12 PM. Parking is available at the garage behind the City Hall building. From there the group will carpool/vanpool to the other locations along our tour.

APA Los Angeles Presents:
Urbivia: Urbanism Trivia for Professional Planners
Tuesday, May 26
6-9 PM
HMS Bounty
3357 Wilshire Blvd. 90010
FREE for members, $5 non-members

Calling all urban planning and design nerds for a night that is sure to test your knowledge, at the inaugural Urbivia - an urbanism trivia night for professional planners!


LA's own "Alex Trebek of Planning" will challenge pre-registered teams to four rounds of questions, plus an extra-challenging bonus round. Teams will compete for prizes and the title of LA URBIVIA CHAMPION! Questions will be unapologetically rigorous and the ultimate judge of your team's plannerly knowledge. Trivia rounds start at 6:30 sharp and end at 8:30.

Register your team of up to 6 members. Don't have a team? Register yourself and we'll match you with other solo planning savants.


In addition to epic notoriety, rewards include:

  • 1st Place: Team lunch with LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds and title of reigning Urbivia Champion
  • 2nd Place: Signed copies of Doug Suisman's "Los Angeles Boulevard" book for each team member
  • 3rd Place: "Never Built: Los Angeles" posters for each team member
The HMS Bounty is a short walk from the Wilshire/Normandie Purple Line Station and the Wilshire/Vermont Red/Purple Line station. It is also served by numerous Wilshire Boulevard bus routes.Street parking in the area can be difficult, but there are private lots nearby.
APA Los Angeles, City Fabrick and Walk Long Beach Present:
Planners' Book Club: "Happy City" by Charles Montgomery
Tuesday, May 26
5:30-7:30 PM
City Fabrick
425 East Fourth Street, Unit E Long Beach, CA 90802
FREE 

After decades of unchecked sprawl, more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways, sidewalks and tower dwelling an improvement on the car-dependence of sprawl? 

In his award-winning 2013 book "Happy City," journalist Charles Montgomery finds answers to such questions at the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness, during a journey through some of the world's most dynamic cities.

Join APA Los Angeles for an engaging discussion about this important and well-researched book, moderated by City Fabrick's Brian Ulaszewski. Hosted by City Fabrick and Walk Long Beach in the East Village neighborhood of Downtown Long Beach, the themes and insights from the book will be discussed and considered for practical implementation in your community. Beverages and light refreshments will be served.

AICP members can earn one hour of general Certification Maintenance (CM) credit (pending approval).

Learn more about the book at The Happy City and purchase it on Amazon or at your local bookstore.
APA California 2015 State Conference
Oakland: Rooted in Authenticity
October 3-6
Oakland Marriott

Announcements

Get Involved in STEM Education with EnCorps - Tutor & Teacher Applications Due May 18


The EnCorps STEM Teachers Program is a non-profit whose mission is to help science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals, including urban planners, get involved with deserving middle and high school students from under-resourced communities. EnCorps is an easy way for you to get involved in STEM education and even explore a career in teaching.

EnCorps' STEM Expert Tutors volunteer a couple hours a week to tutor students in math and science. Credential Track Educators also volunteer as tutors and guest teachers, but also receive support in obtaining a teaching credential and finding a position as a full time middle or high school teacher. In either track, participants in EnCorps volunteer their time to work with under-resourced students to increase their knowledge and skills of math and science, and help students learn to become problem solvers, innovators, creators and collaborators.

 

EnCorps is free but an application is requiredIn order to qualify, you must be in a STEM profession with at least 3 years of full-time STEM-related work experience and fully eligible to work in the United States, you must hold an undergraduate degree, your undergraduate GPA must be 2.50 or higher, and you must not hold a California teaching credential.

 

Apply by May 18 for interviews to be held on May 26. Accepted candidates will begin the program in June 2015.


 
Questions? Contact Bethany Orozco, EnCorps' Southern California Program and Recruitment Director, at 310-293-9220.

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