2011 Planners Network DisOrientation Guide

Call for Participation
Proposal deadline: December 15th, 2010.

Carla Klassen, Molly Johnson, Yuseph Katiya and Amy Siciliano have started the exciting task of updating the Disorientation Guide. For those unfamiliar with the guide, it reflects many of the issues and challenges each generation of would be-planners encounters as they begin in the field. The Disorientation Guide, (available from here), is one of PN's most popular resources, downloaded over 1,500 times last month alone! In fact, many of us were introduced to Planners Network through the guide. It has been used in the classroom, as well as in communities, both a resource and organizing tool. Importantly, it acts as a counterweight to the planning status quo.

We have an expected publication date of Fall 2011 and are actively looking for contributions. This is a great opportunity to get your ideas and actions in wider circulation while also contributing to progressive planning education. Similar to the 2004-2005 version, the 2011 edition will reflect the diversity of PN voices and include a variety of articles, resources and practical tools. We are particularly interested in making the 2011 edition more interactive and multimedia friendly.

Possible content/topic ideas might include:

- A photo-essay, graphic story, or short video of a planning-related project you are working on.
- An article on bridging the planning vs. community activism divide.
- A reflection on the particularities of planning in your town/region/country
- Urban greenwashing: What does urban sustainability mean to progressive planners?
- Diversity in the classroom/in the field.
- Why I went to planning school after being a..
- Why I dropped out of planning school to become a..
- The most influential planning course you took and why.
- Progressive planning for practitioners: How do you survive at your job?
- The life, death and rebirth of a PN chapter: A short essay on your PN-Chapter (history, events, accomplishments, plans for the future challenges etc.)
- An annotated list of progressive planning resources. This may include books, films, websites, blogs, organizations etc.
- Top ten planning issues facing cities in the next 100 years and why.
- Short interviews with community activists, educators and/or planning practitioners.
- Other ideas?

We welcome collaborative submissions, and are especially interested in hearing about issues, people and places underrepresented in planning literature. Final submissions will range from 500-1500 words, or 1-2 pages of images, depending on the topic of your proposal and will be due mid-February. To get a sense of the range of submissions and style of writing have a look at the previous

Disorientation Guide.

Please send a short proposal (2-3 sentences/50-100 words) outlining your idea to disorientationguide2011@gmail.com. We will accept proposals until December 15th, 2010.

Finally, if you would like to help-us with copy-editing, layout, web design (who wants to design the cover?), and/or general brainstorming, please get in touch. If you any questions on the project do not hesitate to contact us at the email address above.