Planning Magazine Winter 2026
Welcome to the Winter 2026 issue! We're kicking off with the latest salary survey results and a sneak peek at the 2026 Trend Report for Planners. The issue also explores office-to-residential conversions, as well as new strategies for attainable housing development. We look at how improv skills build community and how a longtime practitioner took up running and came away with a whole new perspective on places. Finally, see why mini forests are becoming a big deal.
Details
Table of Contents
7 Need-to-Know Trends For 2026
The APA Foresight team offers a sneak peek into its latest Trend Report for Planners, from AI entanglements and the TikTok news generation to 'greenhushing' and the survival of small colleges and their host cities.
Old Office, New Job
A telephone company HQ. An old casket factory. These former workplaces are filling new positions as housing.
Building Attainable Housing
Is a 'Long Game' Planners' patience and ingenuity are requirements for boosting housing supply, especially at this moment in time.
INTERSECTIONS
Equity: 'Don't go' neighborhoods
Viewpoint: Planning on the run
People Behind the Plans: Improv builds communities
Et Cetera: Planning's messy realities
TOOLS FOR THE TRADE
How-To: Navigate local politics
The Profession: Salary survey results
Planners Library: 5 must-read books
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Contributors
Perspectives: Career help, at your service
Community Green: Yakama Nation's Healing Forest