Autumn C. James, Phd, Aicp Email & Phone Number

At least once a day, I am asked, what is a planner and what do they do?At least once a day, my answer changes. If nothing else, planning is dynamic. At its foundation, planning is about people. It is about the people in the community, the current residents and the future residents, it is about the people who wish to develop in and around that community. It is about communication and listening. It is finding ways to address the challenges that you know exist and being forward looking enough to anticipate the challenges that could exist. It is problem solving without there necessarily being a problem, or in many cases, a solution. Someone told me at some point that planning was like chess, but it has never been my game, so I just have to take their word for it.Throughout my career, this is what I have learned. I like the hard questions, the questions that everyone else leaves until the end of the test. The ones that will take the most mental fortitude. I also like taking those hard questions and making them easier to understand. The questions do not have to be hard to answer, but you do have to have the necessary information to understand what is being asked. Planning is my hard question. The answer is never the same. Even with the same set of variables, the outcome can be different. I like exploring all of those outcomes. And, once I have done so, I like taking those outcomes and explaining them to the people who want to know more. Who want to understand what is being proposed, who want to know what alternatives could be posed, who want answers to questions that they may not know how to ask. I also want people to know that the answers are not always provided by one person, but by a combination of residents, planners, and developers. In an 80s baby way, it’s very “CareBears share!”My combination of planning practice and academia has provided opportunities to work alongside residents, members of the community, and developers. I am able to listen to all sides of what is being proposed, facilitate conversation, and work toward finding paths forward.