For Vice Chair

Andrew Boenau, AICP

New Urbanism means something different to everyone. To me it boils down to this: common sense planning and design. New Urbanism is about building and rebuilding communities at a human-scale design. We make plans that serve the public interest, regardless of their age or physical abilities. I am excited about participating in the New Urbanism Division because the purpose of the group is so directly aligned with the principles to which we aspire (www.planning.org/ethics/ethicscode.htm). I would appreciate your consideration and vote.

The silver lining of an economic downturn is that ordinary people — our constituents — are looking for economical ways to strengthen communities without breaking budgets. New Urbanism concepts include walkable street networks, encouraging people to live closer to where they work, and designing centers that can be reused as tenants naturally change over the years. We can help colleagues and the general public understand that New Urbanism is more than a fad — it's a long-term, sustainable philosophy.

I am passionate about translating our industry jargon into everyday language that is easily understood by community stakeholders and elected officials. This can be accomplished in our Division through newsletters, our contributions to the national conference, podcasts, and special projects. In addition to APA, I am actively engaged with Congress for New Urbanism, which will help efforts to pool resources among related organizations.

As professional planners, we are often cursed with knowledge. We can forget that not everyone knows what we've learned through experience. My commitment is to help our Division make our great ideas and projects accessible to everyone, with a healthy dose of optimism and energy.