Developer's Toolbox: Housing Market Analysis

Instructor: Deborah Brett, AICP, Principal, Deborah L. Brett & Associates

Developer's Toolbox: Housing Market Analysis will give you knowledge and skills to help you promote quality, sustainable housing. This course explores content, methods, techniques, information sources, and presentation styles. It is designed for land planners, transportation planners, planning commissioners, community and economic development professionals and all others who need market data to make informed land use decisions.

The course goals include:
• Understanding why housing market studies are needed, and how they are used by developers and by public officials
• Learning what market information should be requested from a developer
• Determining they types of data that should be collected by planning staff and consultants, and where to find information
• Understanding the limitations of market studies

Learning outcomes include:
• Understanding how to interpret housing market analyses submitted by developers for proposed developments.
• Determining what information is important when devising an area-wide housing strategy.
• Gaining familiarity with demographics and housing supply indicators.
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Developer's Toolbox: Retail Market Analysis

Instructor: Deborah Brett, AICP, Principal, Deborah L. Brett & Associates

This course will show you how to interpret retail market analyses submitted by developers for proposed shopping centers and neighborhood/downtown revitalization projects. You will also learn about how developers determine market demand and how retail stores make location decisions. You will gain familiarity with demographics, psychographics, consumer expenditure patterns, retail performance indicators, and information sources.

The course is designed for land planners, transportation planners, planning commissioners, and elected officials who need to use retail market data to make informed land use decisions. Learn more...

December 3, 2008 to January 17, 2009

Developer's Toolbox: Pro Formas

Instructor: Christopher Earley, Housing Projects Coordinator, Washington D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development

To get the kind of real estate development you want to see in your community, you need to learn the tools and language of developers. One of those key tools is the financial plan known as a pro forma. No reasonable developer would make a significant investment without seeing a pro forma. Students will learn how to read, prepare and present pro formas.

At the completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Describe how and why pro-forma financial statements are used by various parties within the real estate development process
• List the contents of each section within a typical pro-forma income statement
• Discuss the assumptions required for an all-encompassing pro-forma income statement
• Create a pro-forma income statement based on assumptions for a hypothetical real estate development

Site Planning Analysis

Instructor: Leland Edgecombe, AICP/AIA, Principal, The Edgecombe Group

Site Planning analysis is a pre-design research activity which focuses on the existing, imminent and potential conditions on and around a project site. It is, in a sense, an inventory of all the opportunities, constraints, issues, and situations, and their interaction at the property where a project may of will be built.

The major role of Site Planning Analysis in design is that of informing us about our site prior to beginning a design concept so that the early thinking about our building or development can incorporate meaningful responses to external conditions.

The Site Planning Analysis course will cover diagramming site information, process and analysis, understanding the concept of space, climatology, circulation and parking systems, plant materials, and conceptual grading and drainage. Learn more...

Urban Design Analysis

Instructor:
Matt Wanamaker, Planner/
Urban Designer, Browne Keener & Bressi

This course teaches the fundamentals of urban design and provides a unique approach towards understanding and critiquing the built environment. Through the use of graphics, whiteboard discussions and a model process, students acquire an extensive urban design vocabulary and learn the essential elements of urban design analysis, including spatial quality, character assessment and design structure. Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to critically analyze the successes and failures of the built environment and its visual and functional components.

Urban design analysis is the art and science of evaluating the form and function of the built environment. It is the first step in preparing urban design plans and is particularly useful in the identification of planning and design problems, master planning and visioning sessions. This course provides a unique approach towards understanding and critiquing the built environment. Through the use of images, graphics, whiteboard discussions and a model process, students acquire an extensive urban design vocabulary and learn the essential elements of urban design analysis, including spatial analysis, character assessment and design structure. In the first week of class, students are encouraged to “adopt” a project area so that they can practice applying the concepts learned in the class to a real setting.

With this class, students will gain the skills and knowledge
• to describe and analyze the design components of the built environment;
• to formulate their own opinions about “good design”;
• to use a structured, systematic approach to urban design analysis;
• to critically analyze the success and failures of the built environment; and,
• to prepare an urban design analysis.

This course is for anyone interested in urban and community planning. Previous experience in planning is helpful, but not necessary. `Learn more...

Introduction to New Urbanism

Instructor: Leland Edgecombe, AICP/AIA, Principal, The Edgecombe Group

New Urbanism is one of today's hottest topics in urban development and planning. This course is for professionals who want to learn the fundamentals of New Urbanism so they can make better decisions about whether it is a good choice for their communities. The instructor, Leland Edgecombe, is an experienced achitect, landscape architect and planner.

This course will offer a mixture of resources, tools, knowledge, and skills students can apply to their professional office work, such as:
1. Urban design principles, standards and guidelines;
2. Web-based resources;
3. Urban design analysis;
4. Placemaking and defensible space design approaches; and
5. New Urbanist design applications

This course is for anyone interested in urban and community planning. Previous experience in planning is helpful, but not necessary. Learn more...

Design Studio: Form Based Codes

Instructor: L. Nicolas Ronderos, Senior Planner, Regional Plan Association

Form-based zoning is an innovative approach to enhance the physical character of a place that provides flexibility to property owners and businesses by focusing on the built environment. This course will familiarize participants with current practices of these zoning standards based on building types rather than land use by focusing on a studio project. The course will also provide resources for further work in this growing field of planning and control law. Participants will learn how form-based zoning is used in the United States, and explore how to apply the concepts in their communities. The course will develop around week modules that focus on a different aspect of Form codes implementation. Each week a reading assignment will be discussed by the class in the context of the class studio project, to provide a more hands on and practical application.

Students will work on a real zoning issue to help them connect their knowledge to practice. This will allow us to follow a studio class format, and learn by tackling a specific problem we will all work together on. Each week a reading assignment will be discussed in light on the studio project. During the 4th week -the final week of class- students need to present their recommendation to the zoning problem that the studio project focuses on. Join PDI Network to get updates on this course.

September 10 to October 11, 2008

New Jersey Planning Law

Instructor: Brent Barnes, AICP/PP,
Director, Transportation Systems Planning and Research,
NJ Transit

Taking the New Jersy Professional Planner exam? Want to build your practice in New Jersey? Or just want to learn about professional planning practice in the Garden State? This course can help. Students who are taking the PP exam in the fall will benefit from several practice examinations. The instructor, Brent Barnes is the Director of Transportation Systems Planning and Research for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the author of the first edition of The Complete Guide to Planning in New Jersey.

New Jersey Planning Law is a comprehensive look at the major bodies of statutory law that affect land development in the Garden State. Originally developed as support for candidates for the New Jersey Professional Planner examination, it is equally valuable as a refresher for journey level practitioners, for Planning Commissioners and Board of Appeals members seeking a broader planning context in which to review applications, or for citizens with an interest in development issues.

In addition to “telling the planning story” through our look at law and regulation, we will look “behind the law” at how planning actually works in practice, primarily through case studies and class discussion. Learn more...

March 4 to May 11, 2009

New Jersey Planning Law

Instructor: Brent Barnes, AICP/PP,
Director, Transportation Systems Planning and Research,
NJ Transit

Taking the New Jersy Professional Planner exam? Want to build your practice in New Jersey? Or just want to learn about professional planning practice in the Garden State? This course can help. Students who are taking the PP exam in the fall will benefit from several practice examinations. The instructor, Brent Barnes is the Director of Transportation Systems Planning and Research for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the author of the first edition of The Complete Guide to Planning in New Jersey. Learn more...

Environmental Planning Law

Instructor: Dawn Jourdan, Ph.D., Esq.,
Assistant Professor, University of Florida, Levin College of Law and College of Design, Construction and Planning

The purpose of this course is to introduce planning practitioners to federal, state, local, and regional environmental laws. Students will receive a short primer on those environmental laws with which planners most often encounter. The majority of the course, however, will focus on new developments within the purview of these laws. Upon completing this class, students will have basic familiarity with these laws and with the research methods they may employ to stay abreast with future modifications in these laws. The instructor, Dawn Jourdan, is a planning consultant, lawyer and professor at the University of Florida. Learn more...

Long Range Planning

Instructor:
Robert Kull, AICP/PP,
Principal,
Planygy, LLC

Increasingly, the "new" suburbs of the 60s, 70s and 80s are building out, and residents and businesses are finding their quality of life deteriorating. Infrastructure needs more maintenance, congestion and pollution is increasing and taxes and fees are rising more rapidly than property values. Yet the master plan has been dutifully followed for a generation. Perhaps a planning process that looked ahead to horizons five years at a time could not envision the cumulative impacts of their decisions in twenty or twenty five years. Analytical tools are available for long-range planning that provide context for the shorter planning horizons of elected and appointed officials. Fortunately, these tools are increasingly practical for today's planning practice. This course will compare how key techniques for long-range planning, including visioning, buildout analysis, cumulative impact assessment, visualization, benchmarking, and scenario analysis, can best be applied in local and regional planning practice. Learn more...

Introduction to Urban Planning

Instructor: L. Nicolas Ronderos, Senior Planner, Regional Plan Association

Many people find themselves doing urban planning without any formal training in the subject. Others want to be effective citizen planners, but don't know where to start. If this describes you, this course is for you. Nicolas Ronderos, who brings a distinct perspective as a planner, anthropologist, and policy and real estate expert, helps you learn the fundamentals of urban planning. Like running a successful restaurant, urban planning is more difficult than it most people know. Professional planners who want a refresher in the fundamentals of our craft, and those taking the AICP examination, can also benefit.

Note: This course is not eligible for AICP Certification Maintenance credits.

Join PDI Network to get updates on this course.

Brownfields Redevelopment

Instructor: Karen Lowrie, Ph.D., AICP, Research and Program Associate, National Center for Neighborhood and Brownfields Redevelopment, Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

Many of the nation’s poorest urban neighborhoods are left behind in efforts to revitalize cities. These are also the places that suffer disproportionately from environmental hazards and abandoned industrial sites. This course will examine this problem and discuss the programs, policies and strategies that can result in successful redevelopment of brownfields and rejuvenation of surrounding neighborhoods.

This course is for anyone interested in revitalizing and protecting urban communities. Experience in urban planning is helpful, but not necessary, to complete this course. Join PDI Network to get updates on this course.

Affordable Housing Strategies

Instructor: Christopher Earley, Housing Projects Coordinator, Washington D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Instructor: Nicholas D'Ambrosio, Principal, Nomad Geomatics

Geographical/Land Information System (GIS/LIS) is a computerized system capable of storing, manipulating and using spatial data describing location and significant properties of the earth’s surface, GIS is an interdisciplinary technology used for studying and managing land uses, land resource assessment, environmental monitoring and hazard/toxic waste control, introduces this emerging technology and its applications. This course will explain what Geographic Information Systems are all about, as well as who is using GIS, and how it can be applied. It will introduce you to the importance of map scale, projections and coordinate reference systems before introducing more advanced topics and issues related to the current theory and practice in the geospatial industry.

Featured Topics Include: • Scale and Projections • GIS Data Types • GIS Hardware Demands • GIS Software and Capabilities • Data Collection and Editing • Data Storage and Metadata • GIS Display and Data Sharing and • GIS Organizational Issues Course Participants Receive: • The opportunity to be up-to-date • References to other resources • Data collection and models used for analysis • Knowledge of real world experience • Real world GIS applicability • GIS training and experience on the most up to date software available • Tips, tricks, shortcuts • A real world resume addition

Students will work on free or low-cost GIS systems that they themselves can download. The instructor, Nicholas D'Ambrosio, is a Principal of Nomad Geomatics who also teaches GIS at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Whether you plan to use GIS everyday, or simply want to know how to use it when you need it, you will find this course interesting and useful.

Learn more...

Professional's Writing Studio

Instructor:
Robert Kull, AICP/PP,
Principal,
Planygy, LLC

Part 1 of this studio focuses on short forms, such as emails and memos. Part 2 focuses on plans and projects. In addition to online discussions, this course will also feature live webinars to help students learn critical skills in persuasive writing.

Information on Part 1:

Do you really think the director and the elected officials are reading all 50 pages of your technical report? The most influential professionals master the art of short, simple communications. This course is about how to write powerful and persuasive memos, letters, email and other short forms of writing.

Professionals must not only speak persuasively but must also document our ideas in writing in ways that get the reader to see things our way. In fact, studies of professional land use planners show that most of their work involves writing memos, letters and reports. Unlike most business communications courses, this BOCEP studio will be a "sandbox" for students to share examples that we will evaluate together in a guided critique. We will practice editing, and learn when to turn our internal editor off.

Proposals, plans and technical reports demand detail, but not dullness. Part II of the Professional's Writing Studio will discuss tips and techniques specific to these longer forms of communication, as well as the differences in writing for the Internet compared to writing for print publication. Part I of this course is not a prerequisite, but it will be helpful to take both in sequence.

Unlike most business communications courses, this BOCEP studio will be a "sandbox" for students to share examples of reports, plans, executive summaries and other professional documents (their own or those of others) that we will evaluate together in a guided critique. We will practice editing, and learn when to turn our internal editor off. This course is a great opportunity for you to gain experience with new techniques in your professional writing without the risk of clients seeing your errors -- what happens in BOCEP stays in BOCEP! Join PDI Network to get updates on this course.

Site Planning Analysis

Instructor: Leland Edgecombe, AICP/AIA, Principal, The Edgecombe Group

Contextual site analysis is a pre-design research activity which focuses on the existing, imminent and potential conditions on and around a project site. It is, in a sense, an inventory of all the pressures, forces and situations and their interactions at the property where our project will be built.

The major role of contextual site analysis in design is that of informing us about our site prior to beginning our design concepts so that our early thinking about our building can incorporate meaningful responses to external conditions. Typical site issues addressed in a contextual analysis are site location, size, shape, contours, drainage patterns, zoning and set-backs, utilities, significant on site features (buildings, trees,etc.), surrounding traffic, neighborhood patterns, views to and from the site and climate.

As planners and designers, we need to know something about these issues in order to design a successful building that not only meets its internal responsibilities (functions) but that also relates well to its external environment. Since our building will exist for several years, our contextual analysis should attempt to deal with potential future conditions as well as the ones we can observe on the site today. Some of the typical issues in this regard are changing zoning patterns around our site, shifts in the designation of major and minor streets, changing cultural patterns in the surrounding neighborhood and the construction of significant projects nearby that impact on our site.

This course covers the principles and applications of Site Planning Analysis. The reading components provide background on the development of a site suitability analysis as well as present alternative perspectives for site planning and design. The practical component of the course provides for a basic understanding of the analysis of environmental, social, psychological, physiological, economical, and legal aspects of site planning.

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Instructor: Nicholas D'Ambrosio, Principal, Nomad Geomatics

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software for analysis and planning. Students will learn how to use GIS for the work they do in planning, community and economic development, or public policy. Concepts to be explored include spatial query, thematic maps, raster GIS, coordinate systems and data models. Students will work on free or low-cost GIS systems that they themselves can download. The instructor, Nicholas D'Ambrosio, is a Principal of Nomad Geomatics who also teaches GIS at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Whether you plan to use GIS everyday, or simply want to know how to use it when you need it, you will find this course interesting and useful.

Urban Design Analysis

Instructor: TBA

Urban Design Analysis is an introduction to the fundamental principles and practices of urban design using a multi-disciplinary approach. The course provides students with a basic urban design vocabulary and the necessary tools and techniques for critically analyzing the built environment. Images, illustrations, assigned readings and on-line discussions are used as learning aides.

In one of our most popular classes, Linda Weber returns to help students get the basic knowledge they need to work on and evaluate urban design projects.

Introduction to New Urbanism

Instructor: Leland Edgecombe, AICP/AIA, Principal, The Edgecombe Group

New Urbanism is one of today's hottest topics in urban development and planning. This course is for professionals who want to learn the fundamentals of New Urbanism so they can make better decisions about whether it is a good choice for their communities. The instructor, Leland Edgecombe, is an experienced achitect, landscape architect and planner.

Introduction to Urban Planning

Instructor: L. Nicolas Ronderos, Senior Planner, Regional Plan Association

Many people find themselves doing urban planning without any formal training in the subject. Others want to be effective citizen planners, but don't know where to start. If this describes you, this course is for you. Nicolas Ronderos, who brings a distinct perspective as a planner, anthropologist, and policy and real estate expert, helps you learn the fundamentals of urban planning. Like running a successful restaurant, urban planning is more difficult than it most people know. Professional planners who want a refresher in the fundamentals of our craft, and those taking the AICP examination, can also benefit. Join PDI Network to get updates on this course.