Thank You for Attending the 2026 GPA Fall Conference on September 23 – 25 at the Marriott Augusta at the Convention Center
Fall Conference
Join the Georgia Planning Association (GPA) for the 2026 Fall Conference, Masters of Transition: Driving Sustainable Growth. We invite planning professionals, community leaders, students, elected officials, and industry partners from across the state to gather for three days of learning, collaboration, networking, and inspiration.
This year’s conference will explore how planners can successfully navigate change while creating resilient, connected, and thriving communities. Nestled along the scenic Savannah River, Augusta’s rich history, vibrant downtown, Southern charm, and world-renowned golf tradition provide the perfect backdrop for an engaging conference experience.
Whether you are an experienced planner, an emerging professional, a student, or a community leader, the GPA 2026 Fall Conference offers fresh perspectives, meaningful connections, and practical ideas to help drive sustainable growth in your community.
Conference Feedback
The GPA Conference is over and while it is fresh in your mind, please complete session evaluations for the sessions you attended as well as the Overall Conference survey. This feedback helps GPA in planning for the future Spring and Fall conferences.
Find the session evaluations and overall conference survey within the GPA conference app.
Presentations
The 2026 Fall Conference presentations are available here for your viewing.
- A Tale of Two Small Area Plans
- Building Housing Better: Intersecting Programming, Zoning, and Comprehensive Planning
- Building the Digital Backbone: Data Centers, Infrastructure & Policy
- Charting a Path for Atlanta’s Rail Hub
- Climate Pollution Reduction Planning in Georgia – Forests, Landfills, Data Centers & More!
- Community Centered Design and Engagement
- Connecting Our Public & Private Realms: Strategies for Transportation & Land Use Alignment
- Data Center Trends Across Georgia & Community Considerations
- Energy Ready: Energy in Georgia Communities and Preparing for What’s Next
- Ethics of Engagement in the NIMBY Era – What’s Our Role?
- Fixing the Flashy Flint: An Integrated Approach
- From Technical Assistance Panel to Community Action: How Tybee
- Island Leveraged ULI Expertise to Shape the Future of Memorial Park
- GDOT Context Classification of State Routes and GDOT Rural Active Transportation Plan
- Growing with Nature: Agrihoods, Conservation Villages
- Housing is Economic Development: Why Communities Can’t Recruit Jobs Without Homes
- Housing That Fits: Using Planning and Design to Create Context-Sensitive Communities
- Innovative Approaches to Community-Led Implementation in Sustainable Local Food Systems Planning
- Inside the 2026 ARC RDP and What It Means for Communities
- Internships Don’t Make a Cruel Summer
- Introducing Meta-Analysis: A Potential Tool for Advancing Transit Studies
- Keynote Address: A Planners Playbook for Managing the Future
- Mentorship in Practice
- Military Master Planning- Learning, Teaming and Resourcing in Ever Changing Environments
- Planning for Resilient Urban Forests – Understanding Tree Surveys, Assessments, and Preservation
- Presidential Potpourri
- Pull The Lever! Proactive Zoning Isn’t Hard, and You Should Do It Right Now
- Student Session: A Commercial Commons? Analyzing the Rise of Community-owned Commercial Property
- The Neuroscience of Great Urban Places
- Who Gets Heard? An Engagement Design Lab for Planning With Communities
- Who Serves the Planners? From Disaster to AI-Assisted Plan Review
- Whose Place Is It? A Tactile Exercise in Making and Keeping
