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To be successful, plans need to inspire and create excitement within a community. To do that, they must be more than just a hundred pages of text with a few obligatory maps.

In the past, a plan would sit on bookshelves in the back offices of City Hall. Today, they are highly visible and accessible, posted online for everyone to see and use. As such, they must be inspirational, easy to use, and easy to understand by everyone in the community.

Our PAS Memo for the Amercian Planning Association presents an overview of some of the trends and issues that are affecting plan making; provides considerations to draft better text; and reviews tips for producing better graphics to help planners improve the maps, charts, illustrations, plans, and documents they produce.

We have been asked by the APA to embargo our article for one month from publication. So for now, the article is only available to PAS subscribers.

Houseal Lavigne Associates is pleased to announce the addition of Doug Hammel, AICP as a Senior Associate. Doug is an experienced city planner and urban designer with a broad background in planning, design, transportation, and development regulation. Doug can be contacted at (312) 372-1008 ext 118, or dhammel@hlplanning.com

Doug Hammel, AICP

Resume at a Glance:

-Over 12 years of professional consulting experience
-Speaker at local, state and national events
-Recently published in March 2011 issue of APA's Zoning Practice
-Planning expertise includes:

• Land use
• Urban design
• Downtown, corridor, and neighborhood planning
• TOD
• Transportation and transit planning
• Design guidelines
• Zoning and form-based codes
• Strategic implementation

-Project experience in:

• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• New York
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Texas

Join John Houseal and Devin Lavigne as they speak on an upcoming panel, Delivering Better Plans and Recommendations in Text, Graphics and Speech.  This presentation is sponsored by the Chicago Metro Section of the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association.  John and Devin will be joined by John Harris of a5 inc., a marketing and communications firm.  All three panelists will present the benefits of using multi-media to convey clear and concise messages in planning documents and presentations.  Planners of all levels will benefit from techniques and examples to help build the skills necessary to effectively communicate planning information and data in text, graphics, and speech. This event is also applicable to practitioners in other fields such as engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, development, and non-profit management. 

The workshop will take place Thursday, September 15, from 9:00-11:00 am in the CMAP offices (Willis Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800) in Chicago.  The cost is $15 and is payable at the door but registration is requested by September 12 (via apachicagometrosection@yahoo.com).  Two (2) CM credits are available for AICP members.

Richard T. Ely 1854-1943

Lambda Alpha International, the Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics, was founded in 1930 under the leadership of the renowned land economist and champion of academic freedom, Richard T. Ely. As an honorary society, it provides a forum for the study and advancement of land economics where the "winnowing and sifting" of ideas takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Individuals who have made notable contributions to the study and ethical practice of land use are invited to join Lambda Alpha International. Now numbering more than 2,000 members worldwide, Lambda Alpha International is an apolitical not-for-profit professional organization.

Organizational Goals
The Society's original goal of "fostering a closer association with academia and professionals involved with land economics and related fields", while still valid today, has expanded. The Society is now a catalyst for the advancement of land economics by facilitating the interaction of members who have distinguished themselves in their professions, their communities and through academic achievements. Lambda Alpha International provides an opportunity for distinguished practitioners and scholars to come together in fellowship to discuss, debate and perhaps solve dilemmas involving use of our land resources.

Stop by the Houseal Lavigne Associates booth (#204) April 9^th-April 11^th during the APA National Conference in Boston.   Leave your business card and be entered to win an Apple iPad2!

We will have examples of our award-winning work on-hand and will be available to answer your questions about our service lines.  For example, learn about our innovative community outreach methods, detailed market analysis, and comprehensive plans. 

During the conference, John Houseal, AICP, will be speaking on a panel with Bruce Knight, FAICP, and Rob Kowalski, AICP entitled, "Reinventing the Planning Department for Economic Survival" (S484) on Sunday, April 10th at 4:00 p.m.  John Houseal, AICP, and Devin Lavigne, AICP, LEED-AP, will present, "Better Graphics, Better Plans" (S506) on Monday, April 11th at 10:30 a.m. 

The jury from St. Louis, Missouri, chaired by Eugene Mackey, FAIA, selected Houseal Lavigne's Chicago office space for a 2011 AlA Michigan Award of Honor. The award will be presented to InFORM Studio, architect, for "harmonious, simple, clean, pleasant, engaging views. A great balance of glass and solid planes." For more information on inFORM Studio, visit their website: http://www.in-formstudio.com

inFORM's Description of the Project

The renovation of an eleventh floor suite in the 1926 Art Deco Metropolitan Building, located in the heart of the Chicago theater district, provided a unique opportunity for the insertion of a progressive planning & urban design firm looking to increase their profile within the city of Chicago.  An intervention of translucent acrylic, aluminum, stained MDF & birch panels generates the presence of entry while preserving the found condition of the existing suite; previously concealed below aging ceiling tile and threadbare carpeting.  The office thrives in an open collaborative setting, wrought with experimentation of tectonics and materials.  The reduction of public|private separation to its most essential condition permits the translation of the environment into a simple container for programmatic insertions; comprised primarily of furnishings.  Workstations allow for considerable layout flexibility and are supported with moveable storage cabinets and desk mounted shelving.  Aluminum, birch and MDF engage in an expressive dialogue in the detailing of the workstations, team table, conference table and reception millwork.  Formal articulation of the space responds to the functional requisites of the people and equipment, manifesting in an intended space for the practice of community planning and design.