APA is committed to helping planning commissioners and board members learn the techniques needed to make better communities.
Become an expert in a day: Use this web page as your gateway to becoming a better commission. Accelerate your learning options with flexible and affordable membership and subscription options.
Learn about APA membership and subscriptions
Great planning commissions make great communities happen! Connect your planning commission with APA and they'll connect to a nationwide community dedicated to good planning. APA gives commissioners tested tools — publications, training events, networking opportunities, and other targeted resources — that will help their communities anticipate and plan for tomorrow.
Learn more about APA's many resources for local commissioners and enroll your commissioners as APA Planning Board Members or APA Affiliates.
With APA's help, your commission can meet the challenges of growth and change
APA's flagship magazine shows how creative planning programs and innovative techniques help create vibrant, sustainable communities. APA members may access articles from back issues of Planning published since 2002. Planning commissioner affiliates' access begins with more recent issues.
Read the full issue(membership or subscription required)
Every annual conference contains a special track of sessions and workshops for planning commissioners and officials.
We recommend the following courses for commissioners: Ethics and Food Systems Planning, Zoning for Small-Scale Businesses, Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning, and 2013 Planning Law Review.
Many APA Chapters offer convenient local training in your state or area. Find out what kind of training is being offered by chapters around the country.
Online training, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Seven current products provide commissioner training on everything from "Design Review for Officials" to "Informed Decisions: A Guide to Gathering Facts and Evidence." These are now for individual use; group options will become available later.
Planning Board Briefs is APA's specialty e-newsletter for planning board members and affiliates.
Additional training resources for planning commissioners are available in a variety of topics and formats at APAPlanningBooks.com. Use the menu to search specific areas of the catalog or search by keyword.
This quarterly newsletter provides practical features and tips to help you make critical decisions in the best interest of your community.
Read The Commissioner right from your desktop. Recent issues in pdf format are available free to APA planning board members, affiliates, and subscribers.
Read The Commissioner online(membership or subscription required)
The Canton, Michigan, Planning Commission is a highly regarded and trusted advisor on planning and land-use matters.
Marc Yeber, a planning commissioner in the City of West Hollywood, California, says commissioners must be engaged not just from the dais, but from the beginning of the planning discussion.
Read more commissioners' voices
Recommended articles, books, and other resources featured in each issue of The Commissioner. Intelligent Cities/Social Media is the topic for Fall 2012.
Information is good. Information tailored just for you is better. That's why APA’s planning primer is a must-read for every planning commissioner. In easy-to-understand terms, it explains the different types of plans and lays out the nuts and bolts of how to put them into place. What you learn will help you make sound decisions for your community.
APA provides many more web resources for planning commission and boards. Use this index to find additional documents.
Banner photo: Hillsborough (Florida) City-County Planning Commission. Photo by Dean Salls.
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