The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning Officials, were merged into a single organization. The

American Institute of Certified Planners The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the American Planning Association's professional institute. AICP certifies professionals in the United States in the field of town planning and assists planners in the areas of ethics, profess ...

is now the organization's professional branch.

Functions

Like many professional organizations, the American Planning Association's main function is to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas between people who work in the field of

. The organization keeps track of the various improvement efforts underway around the country, which may include the improvement or construction of new

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

and roads, or residential developments. The organization is also a starting point for people looking for employment. The association also publishes the ''Journal of the American Planning Association'' (''JAPA'', ). ''JAPA'' was founded in 1935 as ''Planners' Journal'', and was from 1943 known as ''Journal of the American Institute of Planners'' ().

National Planning Conference

The American Planning Association holds an annual national conference that attracts planners, local government officials, planning commissioners, advocates and planning students from across the United States, Canada and the world. Each conference hosts several hundred individual sessions with thousands of attendees.

Chapters

The association has 47 state/regional chapters, such as the NJAPA (New Jersey Chapter of the APA) or the Western Central Chapter of the APA. APA members in the United States are required to belong to a local chapter. Many APA Chapters meet regularly, and most are a source for local conferences and education, networking. Each of 47 local chapters publishes a newsletter and maintains a presence on the web and on social media.

Divisions

To manage the various interests of American planners, APA has 21 divisions.APA Divisions Web Page
21 APA Divisions. Retrieved 29 January 2009. APA divisions offer professional

networking Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematic ...

opportunities for planners. They also produce newsletters and special publications, develop conference sessions, collaborate with related organizations, and contribute to policy work.

References

External links

American Planning AssociationJAPAAnnual National Planning Conference
{{Authority control Professional planning institutes Professional associations based in Chicago Urban planning in the United States 1978 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1978