Since 1949, APA's program of applied research has resulted in practical, up-to-date information about best practices in urban and regional planning in the U.S.
APA's National Centers for Planning are dedicated to helping planners create communities of lasting value.
Green Communities
APA's Green Communities Research Center has the expertise and influence to help planners and citizens create greener, more sustainable communities.
Hazards Planning
APA's Hazards Planning Research Center identifies practices that protect communities from natural and manmade hazards and educates planners and allied professionals about those practices.
Planning and Community Health
By working with policymakers, public health professionals, environmental scientists, transportation engineers, educators, and others, planners work to create healthier communities.
Working with the Coastal States Organization, APA’s Hazards Planning Research Center will produce a PAS Report on coastal zone management.
APA's Hazards Planning Research Center is preparing a PAS Report on best practices and case studies in drought planning, working with the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center and the National Integrated Drought Information System.
APA is working with the Association of State Floodplain Managers to help local decision makers address the dynamic hazard threats facing Great Lakes communities.
A partnership with NOAA to review new planning tools for coastal communities, assist in using and accessing those tools, and in helping advance coastal zone management policy.
APA's Planning and Community Health Research Center is identifying and evaluating plans that address community-based food systems.
A multi-year research study to identify and analyze the plan-making processes and the health goals, objectives, and policies of local comprehensive plans across the U.S.
An update and overhaul of the classic PAS Report Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction, incorporating numerous planning lessons learned from the last 15 years of dealing with major disasters.
APA and partners will help local and regional governments implement solar energy in their communities.
| Featured APA Research Projects | |
|  Wind EnergyAPA and partners have produced a wind energy implementation guidebook for planners. |
Research activities at APA are supported by grants from foundations, nongovernmental organizations, and government agencies, as well as subscription revenues. APA welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with organizations that have similar or complementary interests.
The Planning and Community Health Research Center developed a series of briefing papers to illustrate how planners use arts and culture strategies to achieve economic, social, environmental, and community goals.
The effects of policies, practices, and environmental factors on youth diet and physical activity.
This three-year initiative involved community development leaders, community members, and others and resulted in a guide to redeveloping brownfield sites.
We are facing a new era of defining what constitutes a park. No longer seen as simply grass and trees, parks provide a multitude of benefits to their users.
Discover policy and implementation practices that are helping to create complete streets in communities across the country.
For planners and building officials, signs are but one component of the complex built environment. And planning for and regulating signs is just one aspect of a city or community design program.
This project engaged planners in thinking critically about what makes a family friendly community, what's currently being done, and what opportunities are there to create more friendly communities.
States and their local governments now have new practical tools available to help combat urban sprawl, protect farmland, promote affordable housing, and encourage redevelopment.
In 2003, a partnership between APA and the National Association of County and City Health Officials began to restore the bridge between land-use planning, community design, and public health practice.
Everyone needs housing — a place to live, a place to call home. But the realization of safe, decent, affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult for more and more individuals and families.
The LBCS model extends the notion of classifying land uses by refining traditional categories into multiple dimensions. These multiple dimensions allow users to have precise control over land-use classifications.
In the last decade, the paradigm of smart growth has prompted many communities to improve the physical design of downtowns and neighborhoods.
A PAS Report, a database, a reader, and other resources provide information on integrating energy and climate issues into planning.
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity as more people move into areas where developments meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildlands.
Planners need to adopt a green infrastructure approach and incorporate trees into urban plans. Learn how to develop an urban forestry program that reaps the many benefits of trees.
How do we amend our ordinances to advance smart growth?
A survey of planning legislation in 50 states.
In early 2005, APA contracted with the Transportation Research Board to produce a Synthesis Study on Tribal Transportation Programs.
Reserach that resulted in a Planning Advisory Service Report on the role of planning practice in developing and sustainable urban agriculture to support economic, social, and environmental goals.
A census of local planning activity in jurisdictions that contain priority conservation areas.
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Hazard Mitigation