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March 1, 2016 APA Los Angeles APALosAngeles.org
Last Chance - Take Our Survey, Win Conference Entry

Please take some time to participate in the 2016  APA Los Angeles Membership Survey! Your input is valuable to guide the future direction of APA Los Angeles, and your opinions will be used to tailor our programming, communication, and activities for the next several years.

One lucky participant will win full admission to the 2016 State Planning Conference in Pasadena, October 22-25. Other winners will receive complimentary tickets to the APA Los Angeles Awards Gala in June. Don't delay - the survey will close on Friday, March 4.
2016 APA Awards Nominations Now Open
APA Los Angeles is excited to announce that the Call for Nominations for the 2016 APA Los Angeles Awards is now open through March 16.

The local level of the awards program, run by the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association (APA Los Angeles), will accept nominations until Wednesday, March 16 in 24 categories including awards for planners, elected officials, planning schools, and journalists working within Los Angeles County. APA Los Angeles winners will be invited to proceed to the statewide competition, and California Chapter winners will compete for National Awards.

We need your help in identifying and nominating outstanding planning projects, activities, and individuals in the Los Angeles region. This is your opportunity to gain recognition for the efforts of your department, firm, or city in contributing to the field of planning. Download the 2016 Nomination Form here.

If you have any questions, please contact Awards Co-Directors Robyn Eason or Geoffrey Danker at [email protected].

Upcoming Events
APA Los Angeles Presents:
Young Planners' Happy Hour
Thursday, March 3
6:30-9 PM
XLanes
333 S. Alameda St. 90013
FREE (no-host)
RSVP not required

Calling all young planners - join the Young Planner Committee at XLanes for an evening of strikes, gutterballs, and pints! With all-day happy hour, you can get to know other young and emerging professionals over brioche sliders and southwest eggrolls, while enjoying a large on-tap list and full bar. Feel free to bring along your classmates or co-workers who may not be APA members to this no-cover get-together. Everyone is welcome - the more the merrier!

So come join your colleagues to socialize starting at 6:30 pm at XLanes, in the Little Tokyo Marketplace. We suggest carpooling, or even better, using active modes and/or public transit (it's easily accessible from the Gold Line Little Tokyo stop or Union Station).
APA Los Angeles Presents:
Transportation Futures Panel
Monday, March 7
6-8 PM
Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium
100 W. 1st St. 90012
FREE for members and students / $10 non-members

New forms of transportation technology are changing the outlook for the future of transportation in cities, especially car-centric Los Angeles, creating uncertainty for land use and transportation planners as they make decisions for the future.
 
Autonomous vehicles may make it easier to get around and less important to own a car, but conversely may encourage car ownership and sprawl. Transportation Network Companies and transit innovations like the Hyperloop are also changing the way we move. Planners will be crucial in guiding these scenarios and advocating for good patterns of infrastructure investment and development.
 
LA is one of the few cities thinking proactively about the impact of driverless vehicles and other innovations on urban development. LADOT, Metro, and Mayor Eric Garcetti have all created positions to help guide the City to a better transportation future. Join APA Los Angeles and our panelists to hear how autonomous vehicles, TNCs and transit will impact land use and transportation planning in Los Angeles in the not-too-distant future.

Presenters:
  • Ashley Hand, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Transportation Technology Strategist Fellow, LADOT
  • Jeremy Klopp, AICP, Principal, Fehr & Peers

  • Peter Marx, Chief Technology Officer, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti
  • Dr. Joshua L. Schank, Chief Innovation Officer, Metro
After the event, continue the discussion over drinks on the patio at Justice Tavern, just one block away at 120 S. Los Angeles St.

Deaton Auditorium is accessible via the Red Line Civic Center Station, Gold Line Little Tokyo Station and Metro buses. Inexpensive parking is available in the City garage at 101 Judge John Aiso Street.
APA Los Angeles Presents:
Vince Bertoni: A Vision for Planning in Los Angeles
Monday, March 21
6-8 PM
Los Angeles City Hall 
Tom Bradley Room, 27th Floor
200 N. Spring St. 90012
Free for members / $10 student non-members / $25 non-members

Vince Bertoni, newly appointed director of the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, returns to LA to guide the City and the department through a time of change and opportunity.

Planners are invited to join APA Los Angeles as Vince shares his vision for planning and discusses the work ahead in conversation with Josh Stephens, Contributing Editor to the California Planning & Development Report. Beverages and light refreshments will be served.

Vince's 27 years of professional planning experience include service as Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Pasadena, Deputy Planning Director for the City of Los Angeles and Planning Director for the cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Clarita, and Malibu.

Vince is a member of the California Planning Roundtable and the American Institute of Certified Planners. He has held several leadership positions with the California Chapter of the American Planning Association including President, Vice President for Policy & Legislation, Director of the Los Angeles Section, and Co-Chair of the American Planning Associations 2012 National Planning Conference.

Transit is available via the Red Line Civic Center/Grand Park Station and numerous Metro bus lines. Public parking is available in the underground garage at 140 N. Judge John Aiso St., $3 flat rate after 5 PM.
APA Los Angeles Presents:
AICP Exam Prep Workshop
Saturday, April 16
9 AM - 1 PM
Sol Price School of Public Policy
University of Southern California
Save the Date - Registration Information to Come

Save the date - the Los Angeles Section will be offering a half-day AICP exam preparation workshop for the May 2016 exam on Saturday, April 16. The workshop will cover Ethics, Housing, Visioning & Goal Setting, and Law. The session will also include inside information from a recent test taker. This event is intended for people who are already signed up to take the exam, and those considering it in the near future. Stay tuned for details about registration!
Announcements
Great Places in California Nominations Now Open

The California Chapter of the America Planning Association is pleased to announce the launch of the 2016 Great Places in California Awards. A Great Place in California is one that exemplifies character, quality and excellent planning. It can be anywhere from the beach to the mountains, from a large city to a small community. It can be a vibrant downtown, a suburban gathering place, a historic small town, a public park, or preserved open space. Most important, it must be a place where people want to be! Three awards will be announced in mid-April. Please see the nomination form for additional information on the Great Place in California recognition. Nominations are due Friday, March 18.

Click here to submit.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Tricia Stevens, Great Places Award Coordinator, at[email protected].
Local AICP Exam Study Groups Forming Now

Are you confirmed to take the the AICP exam in May? Have you been dedicating the necessary time to review the required study materials? Are you thinking that a study group might help you prepare? If so, we want to help. If you are interested in forming a study group, please email Richard Rojas at [email protected].
Make an Easy Trip to the National Conference!
 
For planners in Los Angeles, Phoenix is just a one-hour flight or six-hour drive away - an easy trip for all or part of APA's National Conference, April 2-5 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Check out what planning's new landscape has to offer and visit planning.org for more information.
SCAG Call for Student Posters on Sustainability

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is hosting its 51st Annual Regional Conference & General Assembly on May 5 and 6 at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta. SCAG will be hosting an exhibit of exceptional student projects in the discipline of urban and regional planning. Selected students will have the opportunity to showcase their projects at the conference exhibit hall on May 6 to an audience of elected officials, planning practitioners and various public, private and non-profit stakeholders from across Southern California.

SCAG is requesting abstracts for student-led projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to sustainability-related planning issues on a local or regional scale. To download the poster session guidelines, please visit SCAG's Regional Conference & General Assembly website: www.scag.ca.gov/ga2016. Submissions are due by April 4 at 2 p.m.

If you have further questions, contact India Brookover, [email protected].
New On-Demand Videos from APA California
 
APA California is offering free previews of its entire on-demand video catalogue -- including six new titles from the 2015 Oakland Conference. Convenient, informative, inexpensive and timely, these videos are the next best thing to attending a live conference session. Let's take care of those CM credit deficits!
 
Click here to view video previews! You will need to log in using your APA member number.
Transportation Planning Class from UC Berkeley

Transportation Planning Fundamentals for California Streets
March 8-10 in Los Angeles

In today's environment, local streets and roads need to serve many different users. This course covers the planning, policy environment, and conceptual design of sustainable, multimodal, local streets and roads; how to integrate multimodal transportation into the local urban planning process; and how to design local streets, intersections, crossings, and interchanges consistent with the sustainable, multimodal approach. Course content spans the full range of key areas from characteristics of the local roadway system, analysis of flow and capacity, traffic/transportation operations, traffic control devices, pedestrian/bicycle facilities, and surface transit operations to traffic safety and advanced analytical methods.

This course is perfect for urban planners, transportation planners, and planning technicians in cities and counties, as well as transportation and land use consultants. Both new and experienced planners will benefit from this course. The course is primarily appropriate for urban and suburban perspectives, but may be relevant to rural areas that are subject to urban growth challenges.

This course grants 2.4 CEUs and 24.0 AICP CMs. 
More information and registration here.
UC Berkeley Tech Transfer Winter Courses

UC Berkeley Tech Transfer would like to share with APA members their latest training courses offered online and across the state, which now include multimodal transportation and best practices in California. Visit UC Berkeley Tech Transfer for more information!

NEW! Multimodal Transportation Planning and Engineering 
March 8-10, 2016 - Los Angeles

Improving Safety at Intersections
Thursdays, March 10-24, 2016 - Online

Pedestrian Facility Design 
April 12-14, 2016 - Online
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