2026 AICP Pilot Exam

Fedrick Olmstead

Historic figure known for landscape architecture, urban parks, and park systems

Daniel Burnham

Historic figure known for City Beautiful Movement and the Chicago Plan of 1909

Ebenezer Howard

Historic figure known for the Garden City Movement and the book Garden Cities of Tomorrow

Patrick Geddes

Historic figure known for Regional Planning and the concept of surveying before planning

Clarence Perry

Historic figure known for the Neighborhood Unit Concept

Robert Moses

Historic figure known for large-scale infrastructure and urban redevelopment

Jane Jacobs

Historic figure known for Mixed-Use Neighborhoods, short blocks, street life, and eyes on the street. Challenged top-down redevelopment

Lewis Mumford

Historic figure known for regionalism, urban culture, and critiques of uncontrolled growth

Kevin Lynch

Historic figure known for the book The Image of the City, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks

Ian McHarg

Historic figure known for Ecological Planning and the book Design with Nature

Paul Davidoff

Historic figure known for Advocacy planning and pluralism, giving voices to minority groups

Sherry Arnstein

Historic figure known for the Ladder of Citizen Participation

1893 Chicago World's Columbian Expo

This event helped popularize the City Beautiful Movement, Devil in the White City, empahsized civic design, monumental building scales and large public spaces

1909 Plan of Chicago

Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett created this plan which was a comprehensive urban plan

1926 Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.

Court case that upheld comprehensive zoning ordinance against a federal constitutional challenge

1930'S Federal Housing and Public Works Programs

These iniatives expanded federal influence over housing, infrastructure, and urban development. Public policy also contributed to racial segregation

1950's Federal Urban Renewal Era

The Housing Act of 1949 and subsequent programs supported redevelopment, often displacing low income and minority groups

1960's and 70's Community Participation and Environmental Planning

Focuses on Advocacy Planning, environmental protection, civil rights, and greater attention to community voices reshaping planning practices

City Beautiful Movement

This movement believed that the aesthetics of a city could promote a harmonious social order and increase quality of lives for the residents

Urban Renewal Movement

This movement inacted housing laws but resulted in the displacement of low income and minority groups

Rational-Comprehensive Theory

Theory or approach that is used in systematic decision making. Define problems, establish goals, evaluate options, select a plan

Incrementalism Theory

This theory or approach was created by Charles Lindbloom. Make small, successive adjustments rather than solve everything at once

Advocacy Planning Theory

This theory or approach was created by Paul Davidoff and represents different community interests, especially in underrepresented groups

Equity Planning Theory

This theory or approach was created by Norman Krumholz and prioritizes improved outcomes for disadantaged communities

Communicative Planning Theory

This theory or approach was created by Judith Innes and Patsy Healey and builds understanding through dialogue and deliberation

Collaborative Planning Theory

This theory or approach was created by Patsy Healey and brings stakeholders together to develop shared solutions

Mixed Scanning Approach

This theory or approach was created by Amitai Etzioni and combines strategic review with incremental decisions

Ecological Planning Theory

This theory or approach was created by Ian McHarg and uses environmental systems and landscape analysis to guide land use

New Urbanism Theory

This theory or approach was created by the Congress for the New Urbanism and promotes walkable neighborhoods, connected streets and mixed uses

Smart Growth Theory

This theory or approach encourages compact development, housing choices, and efficient infrastructure

Just City Theory

This theory or approach was created by Susan Fainstein and examines fairness, inclusion, and the distribution of urban benefits and burdens

Comprehensive Planning

Establishes long-range community goals and coordinates land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure, and other systems

Incremental Planning

Changes policies through small steps and feedback

Equity Planning

Directs attention and resources toward groups that have historically been underserved

Advocacy Planning

Making competing interests visible rather than assuming one unified public interest

Communicative Planning

Values dialogue, participation, and shared understanding

Rational Planning

Uses evidence, alternatives, objectives, and systematic evaluation

Arnsteins Ladder of Citizen Participation

Large scale idea that breaks citizen participation into citizen power, tokenism, and nonparticipation

Citizen Power

Highest category of arnsteins ladder containing citizen control delegated power and partnership

Tokenism

The middle category of arnsteins ladder containing placation, consultation, and informing

Nonparticipation

The lowest category of arnsteins ladder containing therapy and manipulation

Police Power

Government authority to regulate for public health, safety, and welfare

Zoning

Regulation of land uses, density, building height, setbacks, and related development standards

Comprehensive Plans

A policy framework guiding long term community development

Enabling Act

State law authorizing local government to undertake planning and regulation

Due Process

Procedural and substantive protections against unlawful government action

Equal Protection

Requirement that government classifications comply with constitutional standards

Eminent Domain

Government taking of private property for public use with just compensation

Regulatory Taking

Regulation that goes so far in restricting property rights that it may eliminate reasonable use of the property

Variance

Relief from a zoning standard when applicable legal standards are met

Nonconforming Use

A lawful existing use that does not conform to a subsequently adopted zoning regulation

Exactions

Conditions imposed on development approvals, potentially requiring land, money, or improvements

Spot Zoning

Selective rezoning of a small parcel in a manner that may be inconsistent with the broader zoning scheme

Euclid v Ambler Realty Co

1926 case zoning can be a valid exercise of police power

Nectow v City of Cambridge

1928 case zoning must bear a legitimate relationship to public welfare

Berman v Parker

1954 case broad understanding of public purpose in urban redevelopment

Penn Central Transportation Co v New York City

1978 case established multifactor framework for regulatory takings

Agins v City of Tiburon

1980 case historically influential takings case its former two part test was later overruled

A planners primary obligation

Is to serve the public

Aspirational Principles

Continously pursue and serve public interest, consider marginalized or underrepresented groups, act with ingegrity, provide timely, clear, accurate and accessible information to all affected persons, work to achieve economic social and racial equity, safeguard public trust, improve planning knowledge and increase public understanding of planning process

Aspirational Principles + Rules of Conduct

Ethics code

Rules of Conduct

Quality and integrity of practice, conflict of interest, improrper influence or abuse of position, honest and fair dealing, respect to employer, discrimation, lack of coorperation in enforcement

AICP Code Advisory can give formal opinions to: anyone or only AICP members

AICP members

Executive Session

A portion of a meeting held "behind closed doors" not open to the public and is used for discussion of law suits or personnel actions

How to Enhance Public Engagement

Hold hearing near public transport stations in trusted community centers, use plain language or hold information sessisons prior to application, research community conflicts and draw on community knowledge, offer bus passes, childcare, or meals, create simplified handouts, hire trusted community members and ensure the staff represents the area

Location Quotient

Ratio between local economy and reference/national economy

What does LQ < 1 mean

Employment proportion is less than national. Import economy

What does LQ > 1 mean

Employment proportion is greater than national. Export capacity

Shift Share Analysis

Analyzes changes between the local and national economies. Uses three components of change national share, industry mix, regional share

National Share

Component of economic change and is the growth or decline of the national economy

Facilitation

A neutral third party helps guide groups in productive process

Mediation

To resolve disputes. Focused on conflict resolution

Abritration

An alternative to litigation this is the hearing of a dispute by an impartial party that is agreed to by both sides.

Open House

Information session

Workshop

Develops ideas

Formal Hearing

Allows for legal procedures

How to Build a Relationship

Through consistency, transparency, responsiveness, and follow-through.

Outputs and Outcomes

Things that are delivered such as sidewalks built or meetings held vs. changes produced such as safer walking conditions or improved access. Track both to asssess whether a program achieves its purpose

Plan and Policy Development

Define problems, establish goals, develop policies, assess alternatives, and create defensible plans

Scope

Defines decision to be informed, geographic scope, key questions, required data, stakeholders, legal requirements, resources, schedule, and deliverables

Vision

Describes desired future example a healthy connected community

Goal

States a broad desired condition example improve active transportation

Objective

Specifies a more concrete result that is ideally measureable example reduce severe pedestrian crashes

Policy

States the approach that guides decisions example prioritize safe routes

Action

Specific implementation step example fund sidewalk

A Sound Policy

Links identified problem to evidence, a public objective, legal authority, feasible tools, measureable outcomes, assess costs, benefits, unintended consequences, equity, environment, economics, and administrative capacity

Cost Benefit Analysis

Monetizes benefits and costs where feasible

Cost Effectiveness Analysis

Compares the cost of achieving a specified outcome

Multicriteria Analysis

Scores alternatives against several criteria

Fiscal Impact Study

Estimates effects on public revenues and expenditures

Environmental Review

Evaluates environmental consquences

Scenario Analysis

Compares plausible futures

Sensitivity Analysis

Tests how results change when assumptions vary

Public Hearing

Good for formal public comment/decision making procedures but often has limited dialogue

Public Meeting

Good for presenting info and getting feedback but may not represent entire population

Community Workshop

Good for collaborative problem solving and developing alternatives but requires effective facilitation

Focus Group

Good for obtaining feedback from targeted groups but results may not represent population

Survey

Good for collecting structured info from many people but results depend on survey design and sampling

Charrette

Good for intense collective design and planning but requires substantial coordination and participation

Online Engagement

Good for reaching people who cannot attend in person but excludes people without internet access