2000 AICP Millennium Symposium

The fourth annual AICP Symposium was held December 1, 2000, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Program

This all day event, designated as "The Millennium Symposium: Planning for the Future," featured the release of the AICP/APA Millennium Planning Survey. The Keynote Address was a presentation of the survey results by Victoria Sneed of Lake Snell Perry & Associates. Sneed discussed the methodology and key findings of the national survey, highlighting some of the most interesting results.

Following the presentation of the survey results, a series of panel discussions provided further analysis of the importance of the survey results to professional planners and to the general public.

Panel #1 —"The Millennium Message to the Administration" was moderated by Jeffrey Soule, AICP, American Planning Association, and featured Vivian Kahn, FAICP, Kahn/Mortimer Associates; Harrison Higgins, AICP, Planning Technologies; and Liz Via, AICP, Prince William County, Virginia. This panel discussed the American Planning Association's legislative priorities and message to the new administration, supported by the results of the Millennium Planning Survey co-sponsored by AICP.

Panel #2 —"Planners and the Media" was moderated by Mitchell Silver, AICP, Abeles, Phillips, Preiss & Shapiro, and featured Roger K. Lewis, FAIA, Syndicated Columnist for the Washington Post, and Miguel Llanos of MSNBC.com. These journalists, who have brought planning and livability issues to the attention of the American people, described how they have worked with planners to better inform the public.

Panel #3 —"The American Community in the New Millennium" was moderated by Stuart Meck, FAICP, American Planning Association, and featured Reid Ewing, Rutgers University; Sam Staley, Reason Public Research Institute; and Glenn Sugameli, National Wildlife Federation. This fascinating debate touched on the fate of American communities, torn between increased development pressure and the desire to protect the last remaining natural areas.

The Millennium Symposium was brought to a close with concluding remarks from Norm Krumholz, AICP, President, American Institute of Certified Planners, and Laurence Gerckens, FAICP, chair of AICP Symposium Task Force.

Survey Results

This project is the result of a six-month collaboration between AICP and the APA Policy and Public Affairs departments. With these survey results, the resulting survey results publication, and the Symposium, we will have a new arsenal of information to publicize our cooperative efforts to "Make Great Communities Happen." This is statistically significant, national data on the public's attitude toward planning, the profession of planners and legislative priorities for the future. For example:

• 52% of American voters either don't know (35%) their local government has a land-use planning department or think they don't have such a department (17%)

• 81% of U.S. voters think it is either very important (50%) or somewhat important (31%) that their community have a land-use planner

• 41% of U.S. voters think sprawl will get worse in their communities during the next 5 years

• 78% of voters think it is either very important (42%) or somewhat important (36%) for the 107th Congress to help communities solve problems associated with urban growth and land-use issues

• 57% of voters think land-use planners are either very effective (12%) or somewhat effective (45%) in helping communities with such issues as affordable housing, protecting parks and open space, containing commercial development, revitalizing inner cities and downtowns, developing transportation alternatives, creating urban growth boundaries, etc.

• 76% of voters think the most important issue planners should address is ensuring communities have adequate schools and educational facilities. The second-highest concern (69%) is the creation and protection of parks and recreation areas followed by preserving farmland and open space (67%), protecting wetlands and other natural areas (65%), and creating affordable housing options for low- and moderate-income families (64%).