UPCOMING EVENTS & CONFERENCES
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Upcoming

To be listed as events are scheduled.
First Ever Joint APA / ASLA Kentucky Conference: Common Ground: Shaping Communities Together - April 16-17, 2026 at the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, KY. 
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The Kentucky Chapters of ASLA and APA are joining forces this spring to conduct a joint conference. The conference will be April 16th and 17th at the Frazier Kentucky History Museum in downtown Louisville. Registration is now open, so please check out the official conference website at www.kyaslaapaconference.com for more information about sessions, networking opportunities, and registration information.
Canopy Con 26, set for April 23, 2026, is Kentucky's only conference on urban and community forestry.  It consists of academic presentations in the morning, a hot and delicious lunch, and rotating outdoor field demonstrations in the afternoon.  This year, the focus is HEALTHY TREES - HEALTHY PEOPLE:  Benefits of Urban Trees on Mental and Physical Health.  It will be held at the Fayette County Extension Office at 1140 Harry Sykes Way in Lexington. 

The keynote speaker will be Geoffrey Donovan, Ph.D., a retired USFS researcher who has quantified the role of urban trees with empirical health outcomes.  His work considers the prevalence of many chronic diseases, including childhood leukemias, low birth weight babies, asthma, and cardio-vascular disease, with the outdoor green landscape, including the presence of urban trees.  Other speakers include Dr. Ray Yeager from the University of Louisville Medical School, and Dr. Andrea Taylor Faber from the University of Illinois. Field demonstrations will consider food forests, tree health, forest bathing, and "Walk with a Doc," among other interesting hands-on experiences. 

Learn more and register here.  We are applying for continuing education credits from the ISA, AICP, and the AMA.  

PAST EVENTS & CONFERENCES

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WEBINAR: Housing Affordability: Regional & County Strategies
December 5, 2024 | 12:00PM Eastern / 1 Equity CM
Recording coming soon.
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Housing Affordability: Regional and County Strategies will introduce participants to the housing shortage across the United States and how that is affecting disadvantaged populations. The speakers will provide useful and clear strategies to boost housing units on a regional and county level. Particular focus will be made on:
  • Understand income aligned housing as a workforce issue: Share efforts in formulating housing affordability in the context of workforce needs that resonate with the community.
  • Explore data-driven approaches to promote change: Understand the state of housing affordability from a data standpoint and leverage that data to promote policy change.
  • Discuss the importance of community engagement: Aligning community voices to promote constructive dialogue and achieving consensus.
  • Review regional and local strategies for implementation: Develop a menu of options for community partners to implement.
For questions reach out to Josh Sommer [email protected]
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WEBINAR: Acknowledging Systematic Displacement in Black Communities.
June 12, 2024

Recording coming soon.
 
This online panel discussion will focus on acknowledging the historical and present-day impact of systematic displacement on black communities and emphasizing the importance of recognizing and addressing these issues within planning and development processes.  
Points of discussion will include:
  • Systematic Displacement: using historical examples of how black families were displaced under the guise of development, and what were the long-term effects on black communities, including loss of wealth, cultural heritage, and social cohesion.
  • Equitable Change in Planning Processes: examining recommendations for ensuring equitable decision-making in planning processes, including the importance of community engagement, representation, and transparency in decision-making, and highlighting the need for policies that prioritize the well-being and preservation of historically marginalized communities.
  • Historically Black Neighborhoods Ordinance: discussing the concept and implementation of ordinances aimed at protecting historically black neighborhoods and their potential impact on preserving cultural heritage and preventing displacement.
  • Planning and Zoning Laws: addressing recommendations for county officials to ensure planning and zoning laws do not disproportionately affect black communities, and discussing strategies for promoting affordable housing, preventing gentrification, and preserving community assets.
 
Panel: 
  • Mikal Forbush, Executive Director at Center For Neighborhoods
  • Bobby Boone, Founder + Chief Strategist of &Access
  • Rev. Richard Fowler, Pastor of 9th St. Baptist Church, Covington, KY
  • Kareem Simpson, Planning Commissioner, Kenton County, KY (Moderator)
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WEBINAR RECORDING: Where The Side Walk Ends
September 26, 2024
View "Where the Sidewalk Ends" webinar on YouTube. 

The APA-KY DEI Committee continued their webinar series with a look at diversity (or lack thereof) in the planning profession as it ties into education. How do we get students from primary schools into our professional programs, and why are we seeing declining numbers? What can we do as practitioners to get kids, particularly those in underserved communities, excited about a career path in planning? How do we retain students, especially BIPOC students, within Kentucky or attract them from universities within our region before we lose them elsewhere? A moderated panel composed of two practitioners (one public sector and one private sector) and two academics, Danilo Palazzo and Leah Hollstein, who co-edited a recent piece “Routledge Companion to Professional Awareness and Diversity in Planning Education (2023)”:
  • Danilo Palazzo, Ph.D., M. Arch, Director of the School of Planning, University of Cincinnati
  • Leah Hollstein, Ph.D., M.L.A., Assistant Professor in the School of Planning, University of Cincinnati
  • Sharmili Reddy, AICP, Executive Director with Planning and Development Services of Kenton County, KY
  • Ryan Holmes, AICP, Project Manager with EHI Consultants [Moderator] Joshua P. Sommer, AICP, Planner III with the City of Paducah, KY
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WEBINAR RECORDING: Equity in Comprehensive Planning
December  6, 2024 
View "Equity in Comprehensive Planning" webinar on YouTube. 

APA-KY's DEI Committee hosted their quarterly webinar on Equity in Comprehensive Planning. Discussion centered around how to start the equity conversation in your community (large and small) and  build political support for plans. Examples were given of what equity can look like in a comprehensive plan process and examples of success in communities. Panelists included:
Panelists for this engaging session include:
  • Tom West, Economic Development Director, City of Covington
  • Emily Liu, FAICP, Planning Director, Louisville Metro Government
  • Kareem Simpson, Planning Commissioner, Kenton County
  • Caleb Racicot, AICP, Principal Planner, TSW
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WEBINAR RECORDING: LGBTQ+ Inclusion & Why Planners Should Care. 
June 28, 2023
View "LGBTQ+ Inclusion" webinar on YouTube. 

This session covered how the LGBTQ+ Community is impacting planning and policy on a local level.  During Pride Month, the eyes of the Nation are on the LGBTQ+ Community more than ever, in ways that Planners can celebrate. The panel discussion center primarily around advantages to a community taking a public position on LGBTQ+ rights, the growing pains of creating a thriving LGBTQ+ hub and lessons learned, benefits or positive outcomes of inclusion in your community, and threats to LGBTQ+ rights and ways to combat them. Panelists included:
  • Tom West, AICP – Economic Development Director for the City of Covington & APA-KY DEI Committee Member
  • Brit Manor – LGBTQIA+ Liaison for the Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff’s Office
  • Bonnie Meyer – Founder of Blue Jay Collective and Co-Founder and President of the Northern Kentucky Pride Center
  • Josh Sommer, AICP – Planner 3 with the City of Paducah & APA-KY DEI Co-Chair
  • Samantha Castro, AICP, LEED-ND – Lexington Office Lead, TSW Design & APA-KY DEI Co-Chair  [Moderator] 

Regional & Annual Events

2025 APA-KY Annual Conference

The 2025 APA-KY Annual Conference was held August 20-22, 2025 at The Campbell House in Lexington. The official website for the conference is here.  
David J. Allor Planning and Zoning Workshop - February 28th - Cincinnati, OH

This is a one day workshop, presented by APA Ohio's Cincinnati Section, focusing on planning practice and development trends for community development professionals and citizen planners in and around the greater Cincinnati area. Sessions are designed for local officials, planning commission and board of zoning appeals members, professional planners, attorneys, developers, architects, engineers and engaged citizens. 

Kentucky Land Use and Zoning From Start to Finish - February 27th, 9:00am - 4:30pm, Virtual
Zoning and land use cases are diverse and numerous, and often completely unique to specific circumstances. This comprehensive online seminar will give you working knowledge of the regulatory framework and practical tips for approval processes. Speed up the progress and reach successful resolution to any issue that arises.  
The South-Central Chapter of APA KY  - half day conference on Friday, February 2, 2024 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Elizabethtown, KY at the Historic State Theater.  

Regional Event - Northern KY with APA Ohio - March 1

​The Northern region of the APA KY has joined with Ohio APA for the David J Allor Planning & Zoning Workshop on March 1, 2024 at Northern Kentucky University (Student Union Building, 20 Kenton Drive | Highland Heights KY 41076).  This is a one day workshop, presented by APA Ohio's Cincinnati Section, focusing on planning practice and development trends for community development professionals and citizen planners in and around the greater Cincinnati area. Sessions are designed for local officials, planning commission and board of zoning appeals members, professional planners, attorneys, developers, architects, engineers and engaged citizens.  Learn more about the Allor event on the conference website.  
Note: There is a call for Session Proposals with a deadline of January 25th.

2024 APA-KY Spring Conference

2024 OKI Conference - November 20-22, 2024
The American Planning Association (APA) Indiana Chapter, in collaboration with the Ohio and Kentucky APA Chapters, hosted the 2024 OKI Regional Planning Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 20-22, 2024.

Planning Horizons is the theme for the conference focused on the future of planning across the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana region. 

2023 APA-KY Spring Conference

​The 2023 APA-KY Spring Conference was held May 17-19, 2023 at Barren River Lake State Resort in Southcentral Kentucky between Bowling Green, Glasgow and Scottsville.  Located in an amazing recreation destination area in the state, the APA KY group enjoyed dynamic education sessions, exciting networking opportunities, and fun with friends.
Dale Hollow Lake State Resort
We’d like to thank everyone who attended the APA-KY 2024 Spring Conference at Dale Hollow Lake State Resort.  We’d also like to thank those who prepared sessions, and especially this year’s sponsors, Lord Aeck Sargent and Qk4, for helping this year’s conference be a success.

2022 APA-KY Annual Conference

The tri-state OKI Regional Planning conference was held September 28-30, 2022 in Louisville. The conference brought planning professionals from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana together for professional development and networking opportunities. 

2021 APA-KY Annual Conference

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The 2021 annual APA-KY Conference was held IN PERSON at Lake Barkley State Resort Park, September 22 – 24, 2021.  ​Thank you all so much for your patience as we have tried to provide opportunities to our members this past year and transition between virtual and in-person meetings.

APA-KY Spotlight Series 2022

In October 2020, the APA-KY Chapter hosted an APA-KY Sponsor Spotlight Series, a series of online continuing education opportunities during October, National Community Planning Month.  

Virtual Session: Applications of ArcGIS in Project Development - StoryMaps
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Lindsay Walker, PE, PTOE, AICP, Senior Transportation Engineer/Planner & Jarrod Johnson, EIT, Transportation Engineer, HMB Professional Engineers, Inc.
www.hmbpe.com

​Legalizing the Cov with a Neighborhood Development Code
Monday, October 12, 2020
Brian Mabry, AICP, Principal-In-Charge and Code Practice Leader, Kendig Keast Collaborative
Christopher Myers, Historic Preservation and Planning Specialist, City of Covington
Dalton Belcher, Zoning Administrator, City of Covington
www.kendigkeast.com 

​The Future is Resilience
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
​Louis Johnson, PLA, Urban Designer, Gresham Smith
Matt McLaren, P.E., SITES, Civil Engineer, Gresham Smith
www.greshamsmith.com

​Planning During COVID-19: Accelerated Trends
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Stanford Harvey, FAICP, Director of Urban Design & Planning, Lord Aeck Sargent
Supriya Kelkar, LEED AP ND, Urban Designer, Lord Aeck Sargent
Kaaviyaa Nagarajan, Urban Designer, Lord Aeck Sargent
www.lordaecksargent.com