Conference report: Reinvesting in America: The New Metropolitan Planning Agenda, 50th Annual ACSP Conference, Crystal City, Virginia, 1–4 October 2009

Abstract

In keeping with the theme of 'the new metropolitan planning agenda,' the 50th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) met in the Washington DC metropolitan region, in Crystal City, Virginia, 1-4 October 2009. The 2009 conference marked a half-century of ACSP meetings to discuss the scholarly, pedagogical, and administrative concerns of planning and planning education. Fortuitously, the conference also coincided with two other important benchmarks for planning as a discipline and profession in the US. The first National Conference on City Planning was held in Washington, DC in 1909, making 2009 the 100th anniversary of the organised planning movement in the US; and 25 years ago, in 1984, ACSP, the American Planning Association (APA), and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) came together to create the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB), the organisation that oversees quality control in planning education in the US. Additionally, 5 October 2009 - the day after the ACSP conference - was World Habitat Day (WHD). The organisers of WHD, United Nations Habitat, chose Washington, DC to host the 2009 WHD and many events of interest to planners were scheduled. The metaphorical Washington and the conference theme Metropolitan issues have come to the forefront of the national policy agenda as the US elected its first 'urban' president in decades. Among other things, the new administration has created an Office of Urban Policy and is pushing for rebuilding the nation through urban investments of all types, from traditional public works to green technologies. Washington's main target for this rebuilding is metropolitan regions. The historic urban/suburban divide is fading as urbanising suburbs recognise their increasing stake in creating denser, more sustainable, more 'city-like' development across the metropolitan region. The conference theme of the new metropolitan planning agenda reflects a policy environment in Washington that is more favourable to planning than at any time in at least 40 years. Expanding federal support aims to recharge the economy by improving and making more sustainable the nation's metropolitan infrastructure, and at the same time providing increased opportunities for constructive civic engagement. The Washington metropolitan region as conference setting Against the backdrop of a transformed Washington policy environment, the Washington DC metropolitan region provided a powerful setting for conference participants to explore planning ideas. The region has a rich tradition in planning, from L'Enfant's city plan to the monumental public buildings to contemporary transit-oriented developments, smart growth policies, and farmland and Chesapeake Bay protection efforts. At the same time, the region faces numerous challenges. The status of Washington, DC as a federal city within a metropolitan region that spans across two states (Maryland and Virginia) presents serious governance issues. The region ranks second in the US in traffic congestion, yet has one of most heavily utilised public transit systems. It is also grappling with the rapid growth of an extremely diverse population. For example, just since 2000, 250,000 international immigrants have settled in the region. It is one of the mostly highly educated and high-income regions in the US, and also has a large number of poor people. These and other contrasting realities of the Washington metropolitan region were well-explored through a number of panels and mobile workshops organised by the three local host university planning programmes - Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University. They included, for example, panels on federal transportation and housing policy, the politics of metropolitan reinvestment, green buildings and infrastructure, and community development in immigrant suburbia; and mobile workshops on contrasting approaches to land use, bike-friendly communities, waterfront development, and greening public schools. …