Planners Network Timeline

August 1, 1975: First PN newsletter mailing from Chester Hartman to 320 Networkers

Spring 1976: First local PN meetings occur (Washington, D. C. region on March 23-24, Boston region on March 30, NYC region on April 27, and the Bay Area on May 8).

June 1976: PN hosts sessions at the UN Habitat meeting in Vancouver; a Canadian Planners Network is established

October 1976: 1st “The Planners Network – What it is” document produced

February 1977: Index of PN members by interest area published

May 1978: PN meeting at Blacksburg, VA to debate the need for a progressive planning movement and the formation of a national organization of progressive planners

April 1979: Cornell Conference on “Planning Theory and Practice: Economic Context, Emerging Coalitions and Progressive Planning Roles” in Ithaca NY; new PN steering committee appointed to draft a ‘preconstitution’ for the proposed national organization of progressive planners

December 1979: Western Urban and Regional Collective in the Bay Area temporarily takes over editing the PN newsletter from Chester Hartman for 2 issues

February-May 1980: Regional Network meetings held to discuss the formation of a national organization of progressive planners

May 1980: New Newsletter Collective in the Bay Area takes over the editing of the PN newsletter

May 8-10, 1981: Founding Conference of A Union of Progressive Planning, Washington, D.C.

October 1981: PN moves with Chester Hartman to the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.

May 8-12, 1982: Introductory outreach meeting for the PN at the annual APA meeting in Dallas, TX

Fall 1982-Spring 1983: First student PN meetings at various planning schools

August, 1984: PN initiated Campaign for Social Responsibility in the Planning, Building Professions begins

Fall 1985: Publication of the PN Housing Reader, Critical Perspectives on Housing, edited by Rachel Bratt, Chester Hartman, and Ann Meyerson

April 17, 1985: Introduction of longer essays into the PN newsletter (PN Special Features); first essay was Displacement Abatements: A Pennsylvania Experiment by Bob Beauregard

December 12-14, 1986: PN national conference in Washington, D.C. entitled Housing and Economic Development: State, Local and Grassroots Initiatives

May 20-22, 1994: National PN conference in Washington, D.C. entitled For an America that Works: A Planners Network Conference on Economic, Social and Environmental Justice

Founding PN Chair Chester Hartman steps down; PN selects a new steering committee headed by two new co-chairs, Ann Forsyth and Ken Reardon

Fall 1994: PN moves to the Pratt Institute Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment in Brooklyn, NY

Early Spring 1995: PN steering committee distributes a statement against the GOP’s “Contract on America”

Spring 1995: PN email listserv started

May 19-21, 1995: National PN conference in East St. Louis, IL entitled Linking Community Action and Equity Planning

Summer 1995: First PN steering committee election; 32 members approved for a 4-year term

June 14-16, 1996: PN national conference at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY entitled Renewing Hope, Restoring Vision: Progressive Planning in Our Communities

Summer 1996: PN webpage created

June 26-29, 1997: PN national conference at Cal Poly, Pomona entitled Sharing Stories, Shaping Strategies, and Building Communities

Summer 1997: PN becomes a registered 501(c)3 non-profit corporation

November/December 1997: PN first publishes its by-laws

November/December 1997: PN elects its 2nd steering committee

June 17-20, 1999: PN national conference in Lowell, MA entitled Working for a Decent Living: Bridging the Gap between Labor and Community

June 22-25, 2000: First international PN conference hosted in Toronto entitled Insurgent Planning, Globalization and Local Democracy

January/February 2001: PN newsletter (Issue 145) publishes its first column in Spanish; PN steering committee elections

June 21-24, 2001: PN national conference in Rochester, NY entitled Voices of Change: Lessons from Citizen Planners

June 13-16, 2002: PN national conference in Holyoke, MA entitled A New Vision for Historic Cities: Bridging Divides, Building Futures

2003-2004: PN Campus Drives (events on progressive planning to recruit new members) are organized across the country

Summer 2003: PN magazine is renamed Progressive Planning: The Magazine of Planners Network; a monthly e-newsletter is added to the quarterly magazine as a way of distributing time-sensitive information and news from members

Spring 2004: PN steering committee issues statement opposing the war in Iraq

June 17-20, 2004: PN national conference in New York City entitled Walls or Bridges: Strategies for Rebuilding Communities

Summer 2004: PN steering committee elections; by-law amendments; PN steering committee issues statement on the Israeli Wall

Fall 2004: PN Office moves to University of Minnesota

Fall 2004: PN Student Disorientation Guide is posted on the PN website

June 2-5, 2005: PN Design Conference in the Twin Cities, MN entitled Justice by Design

Fall 2005: PN steering committee issues statement on New Orleans (Plan for Racial Equality and Environmental Justice)

June 8-11, 2006: PN national conference in Chicago, IL entitled Tending the Garden: From Grassroots to Green Roofs

May 30-June 2, 2007: PN national conference in New Orleans, LA entitled Race, Class and Community Recovery: From the Neighborhood to the Nation and Beyond

Summer 2007: PN moves to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY; new steering committee is elected

April 3-6, 2008: Young Planners Network Annual Conference, Celebrating Youth Leadership in Planning, occurs in NYC

July 17-20, 2008: PN conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba entitled Planning in Challenging Climates

June 16-20, 2010: PN conference in San Francisco

May 18-21, 2011: 2011 Planners Network conference in Memphis, TN, titled Promoting Economic Development through Regional Cooperation, Planning, and Development

June 6-8, 2013: Planners Network conference, Beyond Resilience: Actions for a Just Metropolis