Michigan Citizen Planner is hosting their annual Advanced Academy on Thursday, June 17, 2010, at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center on the campus of MSU in East Lansing. The Academy is Michigan's premier training event designed exclusively for local planning and zoning decision makers. This year's Academy will focus on Practical Education for the New Economy.

Local developer Pat Gillespie, President and CEO of the Gillespie Group, will give the keynote address on "Building Special Places for the New Economy." In addition, a panel discussion will focus on the "Nuts and Bolts of Building Sustainable Strategic Growth Plans." Panelists will address strategies and efforts communities can take to create practical strategic growth plans that meet the three P's of sustainability: People, Planet and Prosperity. They will also highlight local and regional success stories.

Building on the Michigan Prosperity Initiative, the Academy will offer skill-building sessions in three tracks: Development Review, Placemaking and Green Development. Sessions include:

• Redevelopment of Commercial Areas.
• Designing Communities for Walkability.
• ABC's of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
• Is Your Community Ready for Form-Based Codes?
• Creating Community Space for Entrepreneurs.
• Planning for Locally Grown Food: Farmers Markets and CommunityGardens.

The 2010 Advanced Academy will also provide important land use case law and legislative updates by Mark Wyckoff, Director of the Planning & Zoning Center at MSU and Senior Associate Director of LPI.

The Academy is intended for all Michigan Citizen Planner alumni, local decision makers and citizens engaged in creating vibrant Michigan communities that will succeed in the New Economy.

Registration is available online. For those who register by Tuesday, June 1, 2010, cost to attend is $110 ($95 for Master Citizen Planners (MCP)). After June 1, the cost to attend is $125 ($110 for MCPs). The fee includes breakfast, lunch, validated parking and conference materials. A group rate ($20 off per person for the regular and MCP rates) is also available for two or more from the same organization/municipality who register for the Academy.

Michigan's Safe Routes to School is offering $60 tuition scholarships for those who register for the Academy and attend the "Designing Communities for Walkability" session. The Land Policy Institute is offering $50 tuition/travel scholarships. This is based on first-come, first-served; only one scholarship per person.

To take advantage of the group rate or a scholarship, contact Gayle Thorne at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 517.432.7600. Master Citizen Planners who attend the event can obtain 0.6 continuing education units (CEUs).

Interested in being a sponsor for the Academy? Be sure to check out the sponsorship opportunities that are available, including exhibit space.

Learn more at 2010 Advanced Academy.

Michigan Citizen Planner is an MSU Extension program within the Land Policy Institute.