Planning Resources

This page is designed to be a resource for Planning Commission, members of other commissions, and the greater community to provide information on emerging and best practices related to community development.

Equity Statement of the Arlington County Planning Commission

• Equity Statement of the Arlington County Planning Commission

Planning Commissioner-Specific Resources

• American Planning Association (APA) – Commissioners offers training, books like the Planning Commissioner’s Guide, web conferences, commissioner’s newsletter, and profiles of Planning Commissions throughout the country.
• Planner’s Web offers resources for how to get started as a new commissioner, how to run effective meetings, ethics, community engagement, and more.
• PLACE Initiative (Participation Leadership and Civic Engagement) is an Arlington County government initiative to update the “Arlington Way” by expanding the ways in which our residents engage with each other and our government to enrich Arlington.

Annual Conferences, Workshops and Webinars

• American Planning Association (APA) offers the annual APA conference, publications, e-learning, and workshops.
• APA Virginia Chapter offers a variety of conferences and trainings including a Planning Commissioner’s Certification program.
• National Capital Area APA offers an annual conference, trainings, and links to additional planning resources.
• The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and AIA Northern Virginia is the professional organization for architects and offers annual conferences, design awards, and news.
• Coalition for Smarter Growth organizes events and walking tours working to “promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities in the Washington DC region.”

News & Commentary

• Greater Greater Washington is a local opinion site “devoted to improving the vitality of Washington, D.C., and the walkable cities and communities in the Washington metropolitan area”.
• Planetizen provides news, online trainings, articles, best practices, and Top Ten Urban Planning books and websites.
• CityLab is a subsidiary of Atlantic Media  which “focuses on the biggest ideas and most pressing issues facing the world’s metro areas and neighborhoods.”

General Informational Resources

• George Mason Center for Regional Analysis provide information and analysis on the Greater Washington region.
• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is an independent, nonprofit association that brings area leaders together to address major regional issues in the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. The MWCOG Region Forward plan is the vision for the National Capital Region.
• GovLoop describes itself as the “Knowledge Network for Government” and contains articles, blogs, and trainings on a variety of topics for people who work and are involved with government.
• Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a private operating foundation that seeks to inform decision making through education, research, policy evaluation, demonstration projects, and the dissemination of information, policy analysis, and data on key issues concerning the use, regulation, and taxation of land.
• Urban Land Institute is an “independent global nonprofit supported by members representing the entire spectrum of real estate development and land use disciplines.”
• The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution devoted to the history and impact of the built environment.

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