5 Years of Booked on Planning

How are recent books reshaping how we build communities? Drawing from over 100 author interviews on the Booked on Planning podcast, this session analyzes emerging literary trends across transportation, housing, and zoning - translating key concepts featured on the show into practical local strategies. These books represent a diversity of author perspectives focusing on inclusive and equitable solutions in these topic areas.

 

Brokers of Power by Conor Harrison

The U.S. electricity sector has undergone profound transformation in the twenty-first century, as electricity markets deregulate, coal-fired generation declines, and renewable energy deployment accelerates. Yet the trajectory of this change has been shaped not only by technological innovation and public policy, but also by the growing influence of the financial sector. Drawing on case studies—including Winter Storm Uri in Texas—and interviews with participants across the electricity and financial sectors, this presentation begins by examining how private equity firms, investment banks, and financial models have become central to the governance of electric power. Financial institutions now extend well beyond their traditional role as investors: they own generation assets, trade electricity in wholesale markets, monetize renewable energy tax credits, and shape utility strategy. The presentation demonstrates that the contemporary energy transition is increasingly driven by financial logics, raising important questions about infrastructure governance, affordability, resilience, and the consequences of relying on capital markets to drive decarbonization. Dr. Harrison will also briefly discuss how this book project moved from idea to print.

 

Grounding the Cloud: Urbanism in the Shadow of Data by Ali Fard

Since the 1990s, technologists have promoted a vision of the “cloud” as a shapeless and intangible entity. Grounding the Cloud peers through this hazy façade to reveal the earthly material foundations of global computing and data extraction. Tracing the historical and technological development of the cloud computing paradigm, Ali Fard exposes an ever-evolving project in which ideologies, economic models, and marketing images collude to shape our shared urban environments. This session will be an interview of Ali on his book.

 

Publisher Panel​

A candid, guided dialogue exploring what it takes to bring impactful urban planning titles from concept to print. This session pairs a non-profit mission-driven publisher with an editor from a university press to dissect the distinct lifecycles of books shaping the built environment. Together, the speakers will contrast their publishing models - examining peer review, target audiences, funding structures, and distribution channels. Whether you are aiming to reach academic researchers, policymakers, or community advocates, you will gain practical insights into pitching, refining proposals, and choosing the right home for your manuscript.

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Empathic Design by Elgin Cleckley​

In this session, University of Virginia School of Architecture professor Elgin Cleckley, NOMA, will share insights on the national contributors to Empathic Design: Perspectives on Creating Inclusive Spaces and offer reflections since the book's release. Cleckley is the director of _mpathic design, a multi-award-winning pedagogy, initiative, and design practice, currently collaborating globally on inclusive spaces.

 

Where I’m From: A Poetic Journey Across Five Continents by Ebony Walden

During this session, we will interview Ebony Walden on her book “Where I’m From: A Poetic Journey Across Five Continents.” This travel memoir is rooted in her eight-month solo journey across 15 countries and five continents. Since that first trip she has traveled to more than 50 countries, all 50 states, and over 200 cities, spending much of that time thinking about what cities reveal about culture, humanity, inequality, creativity, and community. Ebony is an urban planner by training and practice. She earned her master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia in 2006, spent 11 years living in Charlottesville, and served eight years in the City of Charlottesville’s planning department.

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Ava Tanner the City Planner by Corrin Wendell, FAICP

Join YEP! (Youth Engagement Planning) for a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the award winning Ava Tanner, The City Planner—a groundbreaking children’s book designed to inspire the next generation of city planners. In this webinar, YEP! Founder, will share the story behind the book’s development, from the initial idea to writing, publishing, and community engagement. Participants will learn how Ava Tanner was crafted to reflect inclusive, youth-centered planning values and how storytelling can be a powerful tool for civic education and outreach. The session will also explore how planners, educators, and communities can use the book as a platform to engage young people in shaping the future of their cities. Whether you're passionate about youth engagement, storytelling, or creating more inclusive pathways into the planning profession, this session will offer inspiration, practical ideas, and a first look at what's next for YEP! and Ava Tanner’s journey.

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Today's Comprehensive Plan by John Zeanah, FAICP

Comprehensive plans remain the cornerstone of planning practice, but communities often find they over-promise and under-deliver. This keynote session introduces the adaptive comprehensive plan: a framework that reorients planning around flexibility, continuous learning, and  implementation embedded from the start. Drawing on the national award-winning Memphis 3.0 and case examples from cities across the country, participants will learn how to reframe comprehensiveness as integration and strategy, tailor planning tools to different contexts, and treat the intervals between formal plan updates as opportunities for action and adjustment.

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