The Urban Design Network of the Texas APA
, Chair
The Urban Design Network of TexasAPA is a professional group organized to represent urban design issues within the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association. The majority of the membership includes APA members although there is significant inter-disciplinary interest from standing members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) as well as other professionals interested in urban design.
Goals and Objectives
Following are the goals and objectives of the TexasAPA Urban Design Network.
To advance the knowledge and practice of urban design;
To provide a forum for the expression of urban design perspectives on planning issues and planning perspectives on urban design issues;
To further the practice of urban design principles and practices, especially within the State of Texas; and
To promote legislation which furthers attractive and functional community development.
Topics of Interest
The membership of UDN has been surveyed in the past year and the following topics were found to be of interest to UDN members.
| Landscape / Tree Preservation Streetscape Design Downtown Revitalization Corridor Design |
Access Management Public People Spaces Historic Preservation Regulation of Aesthetics |
Sign Regulation New Urbanism Gated Communities Public Art |
Membership
Current membership of the UDN is compiled in the UDN Membership Summary. Applications for membership may be submitted by filling out the UDN Membership Application and forwarding it to
Presentations
The UDN is responsible for providing professional presentations at the annual conference of TexasAPA in October. The conference typically has a theme based on any unique planning attributes of the host city or region. Members of the UDN are encouraged to submit proposed presentations to the Chair of the UDN who will forward to the conference program coordinator for evaluation. There is a UDN Recommended Presentation Standards which summarizes recommendations for professional presentations at the annual conference as well as a UDN Presentation Proposal Form for proposing a presentation for evaluation by the program coordinator.
Articles
The UDN is responsible for contributing a minimum of two professional articles a year on Urban Design topics to the Texas Planning Review, the monthly newsletter of TexasAPA. The UDN is responsible for articles during the October and June issues of the newsletter. Members of the UDN are encouraged to submit proposed articles to the Chair of the UDN two months prior to publication who will then forward to the newsletter Editor for evaluation.
Available Resources
The members of the UDN have previously compiled a UDN Resources Summary which summarizes many resources which are available regarding urban design topics. This resource has been placed on the Internet for downloading. There is a standard form for adding items to the summary which is entitled UDN Resource Summary Submittal Form. Additional items will be added to the summary on a periodic basis.
Reports
There are periodic reports submitted to the TexasAPA Board of Directors which summarize recent activities of the UDN. The following reports are currently available: 04-15-98, 12-01-97.
Additional Information
Feel free to contact either of the following people regarding any questions about the Urban Design Network of Texas APA.
| Greg Last, Chairman |
Dennis Wilson, Founder, Past Chairman |
Urban Design Linkages
The following Internet sites are known at this time to have interests similar to those of the Urban Design Network (UDN) of the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Journal of Urban Design
Urban Design and Quality of Life in Communities, American
Institute of Architects
Bibliography of Urban Design, University of Liverpool
Dallas AIA - Urban Design Committee
Home Previous Membership Form Presentation Stds Proposal Form Resource Form Membership List Report - Apr. 1998 Report Dec. 1997
