APA-Small Town and Rural Planning Division

Join us online this morning. Opening & Keynote replay at 9am CDT.

The Conversation Continues! Registration for Online is now open.

Missed Detroit or want more from the conference?

Join us May 27–29 for exclusive online sessions and access to keynote recordings from NPC26.

https://plnn.org/3NGdGlh

A handy resource for your Planning & Zoning research.

NACo’s battery energy storage system primer is now available!

As counties explore energy storage projects, understanding siting considerations and their local impacts is key to long-term success.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4uxP9zh

Would Your Zoning Let Vertical Farming Grow? Spotlight on Zoning Practice: Planners and local officials can remove unintentional zoning barriers to vertical farming by establishing clear use permissions for intensive indoor agricultural operations and tailoring zoning standards for vertical farming to its specific operational characteristics.

Dies your jurisdiction provide for dual-use agrivoltaics? Dues your zoning even allow commercial-scale solar at all?

Let us know in the comments.

There's a solar boom in rural America. Can agriculture and renewable energy share the land? Community-scale solar farms are booming in Illinois thanks to state incentives.

"When [rural sociologist Shoshanah] Inwood drives through rural America, she sees something most people miss. Where others might see emptying towns or aging populations, the Ohio State University rural sociologist sees a fundamental transformation rewriting the very definition of what it means to be rural in America.

"Rural sociologists love to say, 'If you've been to one rural community, you've been to one rural community,'" Inwood said.

It's a simple statement capturing a complex truth: The traditional narrative of a uniformly shrinking rural America no longer holds. Instead, there are multiple rural Americas, each following vastly different trajectories, each facing unique challenges and opportunities."

Rural America's Population Decline Is Reversing COVID-19, remote work and demographic shifts ended decades of population decline in rural America.

From the APA Student Reps Council:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYiHBYIEvyh/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

🚨 Region V — We need YOU! 🚨 The APA Elections deadline has been extended until Friday, May 22! This is your chance to help shape the future of the Student Representatives Council (SRC) and represent Region V. EMERGING PLANNERS AND STUDENTS ARE WELCOME. ✨ Why apply? ✔ Attend the APA National Planning Conference ✔ Leadership + networking opportunities ✔ Make an impact in the planning community Please share this post with classmates, colleagues, and friends who would be great leaders! #APAElections #APAStudents #UrbanPlanning #PlanningStudents #RegionV #APASRC #Leadership #PlanningCommunity #FuturePlanners #APARegion5

Congratulations to all the STaR Award winners for 2026. We’ll be highlighting the plans & projects in upcoming editions of Small Town & Rural Planning News.