Equity, Sustainability and Resilience CM Credits Criteria

 

For Equity CM Credit

In order for an educational activity to qualify for Equity CM credit, it must address one of the areas below. 

Equity — just and fair treatment in society in which all can participate and reach their full potential. Just and fair distribution of resources and improvements so that all people and communities can prosper.

Diversity — awareness, understanding, and appreciation of our differences; the value of different perspectives and experiences such as race, ethnicity, culture, age, generation, immigration status, household type, family composition, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religious beliefs; identity and difference represented individually and collectively.

Inclusion — the outcome of Equity and Social Justice work for all people. To be included and not excluded. Plan spaces and places where all people feel welcome, welcoming and inviting everyone to contribute and participate.

For Sustainability and Resilience CM Credit

In the fall of 2019, the AICP Commission approved the establishment of a mandatory targeted topic CM credit. The first targeted topic is Sustainability and Resilience. Planning for sustainability means balancing social, economic, and environmental resources, incorporating resilience, and linking local actions to regional and global concerns. Planning for resilience means supporting the capacity of individuals, communities, and systems to survive, adapt, and thrive in the face of chronic stresses and acute shocks and even transform when conditions require it.

Learning Areas and Criteria

Coursework in the AICP Sustainability and Resilience CM Targeted Credit Program must instruct within at least one of the following sustainability OR resilience learning areas. Instruction on a topic, tool, or project MUST integrally consider the equity, diversity, and inclusion implications for disadvantaged communities and convey relevant facts and analysis to attendees.

Sustainability Learning Areas

  • Livable Built Environment
  • Harmony with Nature
  • Sustainable Economy
  • Interwoven Equity
  • Healthy Community
  • Responsible Regionalism
  • Sustainable Development & Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction

Resilience Learning Areas

  • Best Practices in Resilience
  • Data and Predictive Models
  • Resilience Standards
  • Equity as an Essential Element of Resilience
  • Resilience Finance
  • Public Education and Involvement in Resilience
  • Adaptation of the Built Environment
  • Preparedness, Response, and Recovery for Shocks and Stresses
  • Protection of Vulnerable People, Places, and Systems
  • Natural and Nature-Based Solutions for Resilience
  • Public Health as an Element of Resilience
Topic Examples

In addition to originating in at least one of the Learning Areas above, coursework provided under the AICP Sustainability and Resilience (S&R) CM Targeted Credit Program must also build knowledge about at least one of the following 12 topics (or sub-topics thereof).

Disruptors of S&R

  • Climate phenomena and science, including global warming, sea-level rise, storm intensity, etc.
  • Extreme natural hazards, including hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, earthquakes, flooding and/or drought, excessive heat, etc.

Addressing Climate Change

  • Climate change adaptation, such as green infrastructure, transit-oriented development, infill development, or complete streets
  • Climate change mitigation, such as alternative energy and infrastructure/utility modalities, life-cycle assessment in building and development, green building and design, regenerative building, hazard zone designation, or waste reduction

Strategies Advancing S&R

  • Social equity, such as institutional, political, and economic strategies advancing equity; environmental justice; mitigating gentrification/displacement
  • Public health issues and outcomes, such as strategies to address epidemics and health issues such as infant mortality, and obesity, addiction, and life expectancy
  • Economic strategies, addressing the rise or collapse of key industries; changes in financial, regulatory, or tax systems; changes in wealth distribution
  • Preparedness strategies addressing shocks and stresses to community and environment

Tools & Mechanisms for S&R

  • Policy tools and development that promote strategic change and/or regulatory improvement
  • Finance tools, such as tax incentives, subsidy, (revolving) loan programs, grants, bonds, trade programs, public-private partnerships
  • Technology tools, such as breakthroughs in energy generation and distribution, communications/smart city monitoring, or transportation

Multidimensional Interaction for S&R

  • Interdisciplinary approaches, such as approaches that span many disciplines and sectors and are improved by interdisciplinary coordination — from environmental psychology to ecology, from public health to landscape architecture, from the built environment to the natural environment

Published:  January 13, 2022
Back to:  AICP Information