Family Friendly Communities

Family friendly communities are communities where families enjoy housing that is affordable, child care, parks to play in, quality schools, and safe neighborhoods. Despite rapidly changing demographics that indicate a need for more choice, many communities are in fact restricting choice through plans and regulations that inhibit the flexibility necessary to create family friendly environments. Restrictions in choice can take a variety of forms — lack of affordable housing, limited transit options, inaccessible recreation amenities — but the end result is the same: a city hostile to families.

Planners are uniquely positioned to move a community-building agenda forward that is truly family supportive through both the physical and social infrastructure. Because of this unique role, APA is working with the Linking Economic Development and Child Care Project to engage 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.

Let us know what your community is doing — 2008 National Survey

Currently we're in the process of conducting a national, web-based survey of APA members to learn more about what planners are currently doing in their communities. The survey will be launched March 4, 2008. We would love for you to participate! It should take no more than 15 minutes to fill out.

Click here to take the survey

The APA is awarding:

• 1 Grand Prize: iPod Nano, valued at $250
• 10 Runners Up: $25 APA PlanningBooks.com Gift Certificate

*In order to be eligible for a prize, you must fill in your contact information at the end of this survey.

Stay tuned
Interested in learning more about planning family friendly communities? We'll be posting a list of resources soon as well as the results of thus survey.