APA Launches Chinese Language Website

In its continuing efforts to provide leadership in the planning movement both domestically and internationally, APA has launched a Chinese-text website designed to enhance our strong cooperation with planners, leaders, and citizens in the People's Republic of China.

Click here to view APA's Chinese language website.

Note: Users will need to have the East Asian language fonts installed in order to see the Chinese characters.

The new website contains information about the APA and our overall approach to providing technical assistance to China. In addition, it features examples of how we have developed training programs, conferences, workshops, and opportunities for educational exchanges and visits to the United States.

APA recently hosted a large delegation of mayors from Jiangsu Province for an intensive 20-day tour consisting of seminars by respected planners and local officials, and site visits to see planning case studies first hand.

For further information about opportunities to learn about planning opportunities in China, participating in hosting and training for future delegations, or other questions and comments please e-mail APA Policy Director Jeffrey Soule, FAICP, at jsoule@planning.org.

The APA Approach

The American Planning Association advocates planning as a moral responsibility due to the finite nature of global resources and the need to engage citizens in decisions about their environments. As the largest and oldest non-governmental organization promoting the planning movement, we have a responsibility to share and exchange ideas on a global basis. In addition, we want to find ways to expand the opportunities for members, present and future, to discuss and exchange information about planning with their other planners and planning clients.

Part of this effort involves ensuring that our members working in international settings abide by our code of ethics and overall approach to planning. APA is interested in developing long-term relationships with government and nongovernmental agencies related to planning so that capacity for planning is built and sustained over the long term. To advance these principles and provide assistance, APA offers a variety of ways for Chinese leaders and professionals to work together.

Training

APA and AICP provide our international partners with various training services. APA-led training sessions come in a variety of formats based on your needs. Some may be a few days and on one topic while others may be for two or three weeks involving a variety of planning subjects. Our professionals can design suitable programs based on the needs of the city or organization request. Training may involve a combination of Chinese classroom experience, travel study to the United States, and hands-on demonstration examples.

In the past a few years, such programs have taken places in both Chinese and American cities, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, New York, Boston, Denver, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Portland. Through these training programs, Chinese planners and officials involved in city planning have great opportunities to understand and study the system of planning in the U.S., the governments' role in city planning, and the implementation of plans.

In 2000, APA helped the China Mayors Association to develop a "Mayors Forum" to motivate communications between mayors and planners and is now conducting training for all the mayors in Jiangsu Province over the next year and a half.

In 1999, APA and RPA (Regional Planning Association) together drafted a master plan for Hua Mu Station Front Area in Pu Dong, Shanghai, as part of an overall training program. In addition, APA organized a 10-day training session in Shanghai at which the master plan was used as one of the case studies. A follow-up trip to the U.S. completed the program. About 200 profesionals and officials participated in the training, including planners from land development companies of Lu Jia Zui, Wai Gao Qiao, and Jin Qiao new development districts, and government officers from Shanghai Bureau of City Planning and Real Estate.

Workshops

In addition to our professional training programs, APA also organizes workshops around specific planning issues or projects. Professional planners or government officers from both China and the U.S. sit together to form a three-day roundtable discussion. In December 2002, five professional planners of APA were invited to Tianjin to develop and conduct a workshop with the Tianjin government and the local planners to discuss Tianjin Coastal Line Planning. These professional planners are all from cities with experience relevant to regional and coastal planning such as Atlanta and New Orleans. At the workshop, experts shared their experiences in coastal planning, broadened perspectives for the planning strategies of Tianjin coastal area, and discussed the wider issues of planning at the regional scale.

Since 2001, APA has held two workshops on Planning in China for APA members and others interested in working in China. Chinese officials and planners along with experts from U.S. contribute to the workshops, which include case examples and discussion sessions. The next workshop is planned for the Spring 2004 in Washington, D.C.

Exchanges

Since 1978, APA has regularly sent its expert member planners to China for teaching, discussion and projects. Since 1996, planning experts from APA made official trips to China every year. Meanwhile, APA has also received many delegations of planners and government officials from China, including those from the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, China Mayors Association, and China Academy of Urban Planning. Some of the participants of our exchanges are high-level government officials who have considerable experience and have made great achievements in planning, while others are younger planners seeking experience and new ideas.

In November 2002, the Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau, which has developed a close working relationship with APA, organized a delegation to the United States in response to the invitation APA as part of its larger training and exchange program. The delegation visited six major U.S. cities, including New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Philadelphia.

The participants included some of the planners from Nanjing who previously attended our training program in China. Participants attend seminars, view specific planning examples and are questioned by APA to ensure they understand the material in the program. Participants are given ratings and certificates at the completion of the program. In 2000, after the 10-day study program featuring the master plan for Hua Mu Station Front Area, participants were evaluated and graded on their final papers. About 20 of these planners were selected to form a delegation to the U.S. for a 10-day educational visit.

Through these on-site studies between China and the U.S., planners are able to learn more about two countries' histories of city planning and development, to take up advanced experiences, and to learn lessons from past mistakes as well.

Demonstration Projects

Since 1996, APA has collaborated with partners in China for hands-on learning through demonstration projects. First, APA cooperated with the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources and UNDP, carrying a series of research on management of arable lands and the utilization of land and water resources. Meanwhile, APA also co-drafted with the China Academy of Urban Planning a check-up system to examine the proficiency of certified planners in China.

In 1999, APA participated in an exchange program regarding the planning of the new Shanghai Port City Nan Hui. In 2002, at the request of the Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau, APA completed a research paper on Preservation of World Ancient Capitals and the World Heritage Cities designation process. At the same time, APA invited the Tulane Regional urban Design Center and Grover Mouton, III, its director, to collaborate with the Planning Bureau on the Master Plan for Men Xi, Nanjing. This planning effort led to the first historic preservation-oriented redevelopment plan in China. Recently, APA and the Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau worked together to develop the new Nanjing International Institute of Planning (NIIP). So far, the proposal has already been discussed by the World Bank and is featured in a recent interview with the party Secretary of Jiangsu Province, Li Yuan Chao.

Consultant Services

Planning is a diverse profession practiced by those who work for city, town, and county governments, as well as those who offer their services in private practice. Planning consultants supplement staff time and expertise and ensure objectivity and credibility to provide a variety of skills and help meet deadlines for planning bureaus.

As a professional planning association, APA provides access to a remarkable variety and number of professional planning consulting firms and individuals. Our consultants not only advise on specific planning projects in the short term but also provide long-term assistance and guidance for the sustainability and implementation of the project after the plan is finished. APA can offer advice and assistance on how to make the best use of professional experts from America and should be the first place to go before choosing a firm to work on a city planning project.

Conferences

APA can also develop and participate in conferences on planning topics. In 1996, APA collaborated with the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources to an international conference on utilization of land resource and sustainable development in China. This led to our cooperative agreement with the ministry that is still going on today. In 2002, APA helped the Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau in helping an international forum on City Planning and Historic Preservation.

APA hosts the world's largest planning conference every year and invites planners from the entire world to come and learn about the new developments in planning and meet other planners and experts.

APA is currently working with the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources and other Chinese organizations to develop an Asian-Pacific Summit on Sustainable Development. This will be held in Hawaii in January 2005. Details will be posted online in early 2004.