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In the current economic climate, both the private and public sector are facing difficult challenges of meeting service demands on increasingly limited resources.  It is essential for municipalities and private developers to fully understand the relationships between economic conditions and existing and future development potential.  Ultimately, a market study should illuminate these relationships and be used as a tool to ensure that resources are utilized efficiently over the short- and long-term.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The data and recommendations contained within a market study should vary depending on the scope of the planning effort to which they apply.  For example, a comprehensive plan covers a large geographic area and has a long planning horizon of 15 years or more.  Conversely, a redevelopment concept for an underutilized industrial park would involve recommendations targeted at a much smaller area intended to be implemented as soon as the study and plan have been adopted.  Given the very different nature of these two planning exercises, the approach to the market study must also be just that, very different.

Long-Term Planning

With regard to long-term planning efforts, the goal of the market study is not to gaze into the proverbial crystal ball and predict exactly how many people, houses, jobs and retailers will come to, or leave, a community.  Rather, in a long-term planning environment, the market study is a tool used to understand the forces that will likely influence long-range policy and decision-making.  These policies are what will, in turn, shape the community's future in the long-term. 

A comprehensive plan should have a comprehensive market study that examines long term changes in a variety of topics such as population, household income, employment patterns, and the competitive retail environment.  These market observations can provide the information needed to formulate polices tailored specifically to address local needs.  For example, policies can be modified to combat undesirable trends such as increasing vacancies in local housing or new policies can be recommended to build upon a community's unique economic strengths.

It's in the Details

The focus of a market study should narrow as planning efforts become more site specific and the planning horizon shortens.  A detailed market study is more action-oriented, informing the user of near term trends that will directly impact viable uses and development potential. 

The client should have more detailed questions they wish to be answered by the detailed market study.  What type and size of retail use is viable in this location?  Would a sit-down restaurant consider locating to one of these parcels?  How many new residential units could be built and occupied within the downtown over the next five years? The market data should be queried with these particular questions and uses in mind.  Moreover, a single study area from which to pull market data should be avoided in favor of several unique market areas that have been defined for each use.    

Shelf Life

Market studies should be updated regularly, but the exact timing depends on a variety of factors such as the pace of change within the study area and the shelf life of the plan itself.  A comprehensive plan within a built out community with limited opportunity for expansion will not likely warrant an update more than every five to ten years.  Most comprehensive plan's have a shelf life of 10 to 20 years, so the plan may need to be updated based on the results of an interim market study update.  On the other hand, a community on the edge of a significant metro area may need to revise its understanding of market conditions every few years to ensure that local policy is dealing sufficiently with changes within the competitive landscape.

A detailed market study relies on detailed analysis of near term trends and should not be relied upon beyond the life of the projections upon which they are based.  Often times a detailed market analysis is performed at the outset of a development program and is not utilized after the project has broken ground.  Detailed market studies for slightly larger study areas, such as a downtown business district, should be revised periodically based on local needs.  For example, a local chamber or economic development corporation that relies on an understanding of current market conditions to formulate marketing strategies should consider updating an existing market analysis every two to three years.

Do-It-Yourself Market Study

Now that you have a decent understanding of how and why a market study should be used, we can discuss the basic components of a market study.    Not everyone needs to develop a 'full-blown' market analysis to answer relatively simple questions they may have about their community or project, so check back soon to find out how to perform a basic Do-It-Yourself Market Study.

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.

John Houseal presented, "Ethics in an Economic Downturn" to a national audience as part of a cooperative webinar effort by participating APA Chapters, Divisions and Universities.  The goal of the cooperative webinar effort is to provide free AICP Certification Maintenance credits to participating members. In an attempt to broaden the discussion of the AICP Code of Ethics, John drew from real-life examples of ethical gray areas which planners may face due to the current economic situation. 

It's that time again...preparing for the AICP exam.  Here are some tips that recent test takers found particularly useful:

1. Attend your Chapter's review session, if for no other reason than to get you into "study mode" and to obtain a copy of the Chapter Presidents Council prep CD.
   
2. The exam, to some degree, has a point of view.  It is the point of view of APA.  Flip through recent issues of Planning magazine during your commute or on your lunch break to get a flavor for topical information.
   
3. Review APA's recommended reading list.  Collecting these items does not have to break the bank.  You can gather some of these items from the library or from colleagues.
   
4. The exam is meant to evaluate a professional planner's knowledge and does so from a national perspective.
   
5. Most of what you need to know comes from experience.  There is a reason that someone right out of school is not eligible to take the exam.  Take confidence in that thought.
   
6. On the other hand, there definitely is some required memorization.  No one keeps every important planning date, movement, individual, court case, and acronym on the tip of their brain.  You will have to spend some time reacquainting yourself with the material. Flash cards are extremely helpful for this.
   
7. Forming a study group (3-4 people) gives your preparation some structure by meeting on a regular basis and by divvying up the workload.  You can even have a little fun with it.
   
8. The membership website PlanningPrep (www.planningprep.com) offers guidance on the exam, database of practice questions, practice exams, planning related links, and a discussion forum.  The site currently has 1025 practice questions and 7 practice exams.

Good luck!