APA National Resources: Planning Advisory Service Quick Notes 2025

APA National’s Knowledge Center's Quick Notes (QN) briefing papers are developed by APA National’s Planning Advisory Service (PAS). The PAS is APA National’s research brand that has developed curated content and research on planning issues since 1949. PAS’ QN publications provide concise overviews of planning issues and fundamentals to public officials (i.e. elected officials) and engaged citizenry (i.e. members of neighborhood associations). Provision of these briefs to these individuals can enhance the quality of civic engagement and dialogue which can result in more effective outcomes in the plans and policies planners craft.

Recently released PAS QN briefs include:

• Cultural Humility in Planning - Chloé Greene. This PAS QN brief defines the concept of cultural humility and offers planners guidance in practicing this concept at the personal, organizational, and systemic levels. A core responsibility for planners is building communities of belonging. A critical part of creating the conditions necessary to foster belonging is cultural humility. This concept involves an ongoing process of self-exploration combined with a willingness to learn from others that honors all people's beliefs, customs, and values. Through cultural humility, planners can enhance their active listening, empathy, and compassion skills, deepening understanding and buy-in for establishing communities of belonging. Though cultural humility is a "deep skill" that requires intentionality, discipline, and consistency, it is a worthwhile commitment that will improve planners' abilities to enhance the lives of others.
• Managed Retreat – Scarlet Andrzejczak. This PAS QN brief addresses managed retreat as a climate adaptation and risk management strategy, emphasizing the importance of community preparation, planning considerations, and funding for this process. Managed retreat is an intentional, coordinated municipal effort to permanently move community members, structures, and systems away from locations that are prone to prolonged or frequent high-intensity climatic events that cause destruction beyond a community's ability to cope. Relocating people out of harm's way can be an effective adaptation approach, but the change and disruptions this causes can make managed retreat a contentious topic. Practitioners must be thorough when assessing whether managed retreat will assist their communities in mitigating the effects of climate change and carefully plan and coordinate its application.
• Decolonizing the Future: An Inclusive Approach to Futures – Petra Hurtado, PhD, with Destiny Brown. This PAS QN brief explains the concept of decolonizing the future and offers three questions planners can apply in their practice to transcend colonial legacies and co-create inclusive futures where all people are acknowledged, respected, and protected. Indeed, planners shape the future of communities. In this work, different power dynamics can influence who has a say in that future and what the envisioned future might look like. Futures literacy and foresight methods can help to create more resilient and equitable plans. However, if the plausible futures we imagine aren't developed through an inclusive approach, they won't lead to a truly equitable future. To achieve equitable outcomes, we must rethink how we approach, imagine, and discuss futures. One approach to inclusive futures increasingly discussed in futures work is decolonizing the future. This approach is not about revisiting the colonial period. Instead, it is about questioning the continuation of past and present systems, envisioning multiple futures by integrating diverse perspectives, and ensuring the resulting outcomes are translated into actions.

Hawaii Chapter members, PAS is actively looking for authorities in our profession to contribute to the QN series. Sharing your expertise can provide a positive contribution to our profession and community. If you’re interested, the PAS has outlined guidelines for contributors. Potential contributors are encouraged to provide a brief on topics that haven’t already been covered. Please consult PAS’ QN archive for a list of these topics.