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Planner's Pick: June 2026

Each month, we're featuring standout planning-related content - books, podcasts, films, and more. Got a favorite? Send it our way for next month’s picks!

Listen:

Podcast – Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning: "From Data Centers to City Streets: Rethinking Infrastructure in a Digital Age"

Recorded at NPC26 in Detroit, co-hosts Divya Gandhi and Em Hall talk with Manny Patole of NYU's Center for Urban Science + Progress about the hidden physical footprint of AI and data infrastructure — from energy demands to land use impacts. If your community is fielding data center proposals or grappling with energy-intensive development, this episode reframes the conversation around equity, environmental justice, and the infrastructure planners don't always see coming.

Listen: APA Podcast – From Data Centers to City Streets

Read:

Planning Magazine – "What Happens to EVs When Washington Backs Out? Ask Rolling Meadows." (Spring 2026)

A timely, Washington-relevant deep dive into what happens when state-level EV policy shifts collide with local planning and infrastructure investments already in motion. Whether you're writing comp plan elements, reviewing development standards, or advising elected officials on climate and transportation policy, this piece offers a grounded, cautionary lens on the gap between policy ambition and implementation reality.

Watch:

Planning Webcast Series – "Designing Hybrid Engagement" (June 5, 2026 | 1:00–2:30 PM ET | 1.5 AICP CM)

Hosted by the APA Community Engagement Interest Group, this free webinar moves beyond the "pandemic workaround" framing of hybrid engagement and introduces a practical design framework for connecting participation across time, place, and format. If you've ever run parallel in-person and online processes that never quite connected, this one's for you. Real-world examples, common pitfalls, and strategies for making hybrid engagement actually work.

Watch/read overview: Register: Designing Hybrid Engagement Webinar

Bonus:

Seattle.gov – FIFA World Cup 2026 City Planning Overview

With six matches at Lumen Field starting June 11 — including the U.S. Men's National Team on Juneteenth — Seattle is a live case study in mega-event planning. The City's coordination spans transit agencies (Sound Transit, King County Metro, WSDOT), street closures, pedestrian safety zones, and fan activation areas across downtown and SODO. For planners, it's a masterclass in cross-agency collaboration, temporary mobility design, and balancing event operations with community access — all happening right in our backyard.

Skim: FIFA Men's World Cup 2026 | seattle.gov; eb2025jul24-pres-FIFA2026.pdf