APA releases three new PAS reports

The research department of the American Planning Association announces the release of three new Planning Advisory Service (PAS) Reports, two of which were developed in-house by senior staff. The Planning Advisory Service produces eight PAS Reports a year; 475 reports have been published since 1949. Each report is a tightly written and fully illustrated research monograph that provides practical solutions to the problems that planners face every day. A chronological and subject index to PAS Reports is available free upon request or may be accessed at http://www.planning.org/pas/pas.html#REPORTS. The reports are sent automatically to PAS subscribers or are available to non-subscribers individually through APA's Planners Book Service (312-431-9100 or by e-mail at

"Converting Storefronts to Housing"
PAS Report 472
by the Chicago Department of Planning
July 1997
Thousands of storefronts stand vacant or underused along the nation's commercial arterials, remnants of once-thriving neighborhood shopping districts of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These empty stores discourage neighborhood reinvestments. Rehabbed into dwelling units, these former stores could bolster a city's residential stock and afford a housing alternative. This report describes types of storefronts and their suitability for conversion; discusses key conversion issues; and offers three case studies of conversions, detailing their specifics and providing cost estimates.

"Subdivision Design in Flood Hazard Areas"
PAS Report 473
by Marya Morris, AICP (Senior Research Associate, APA)
September 1997
The best way to reduce flood damages and protect the environment is to avoid building in floodplains. But economic, political, and market pressures, as well as the legal limitations of government-imposed prohibition of land development, make development of flood hazard areas the only option in some communities. This report, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), advocates an approach to residential subdivision design in flood hazard areas that makes use of the full range of available land-use planning techniques to reduce flood damages and minimize impacts on floodplains. It describes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and its requirements and objectives; the natural functions of the floodplain; fundamental planning activities and their relationship to floodplain management; and innovative techniques to protect floodplains. Finally, the report presents a summary of site planning techniques to protect properties from flooding while conserving floodplain functions. Specifically, a design hierarchy is presented that recommends four approaches to subdivision development in or near floodplains. The research findings are supported by appendices that include an annotated bibliography; a summary of NFIP minimum requirements for new construction; a summary of NFIP subdivision requirements; a glossary; a site inventory and analysis checklist; a site plan review checklist; and excerpts from innovative ordinances and policy documents.