How can we share our contributions with other people in a way that educations AND inspires? The answer lies in human psychology. Tell interesting and compelling stories that focus on the human experience. “You do what? Plan stuff? Meh.” Let’s face it. The professional planning industry has an image problem. Planners are viewed as a generic mob best known for blue tops, khaki bottoms, and pointing at maps. Or worse, we get labeled as centralized busybodies determined to impose regulations that make life a little less worth living. Marketers have known for ages that people love stories, especially stories they can relate to. During this talk, the audience learned why non-planners roll their eyes at us, how other professions have solved the communication problem, and heard practical examples they could take home and apply to their work. [Originally presented at the American Planning Association's 2015 National Conference.] APA Learning Objectives for AICP credit: (1) Understand why non-professional planners (ordinary people) mentally check out when you talk about your goals and projects. (2) Learn how professionals in other fields have solved this problem. (3) Take home some practical examples to generate excitement and endorsement for your work as a professional planner. About the speaker: Andy Boenau, AICP leads the urban planning practice at Timmons Group. His primary focus is helping to create comfortable and inviting places for people to walk and ride a bicycle. Andy’s projects often involve retrofitting public streets to enhance livability. He also provides public engagement and new media consultation as part of his work. Andy produces Urbanism Speakeasy, an award-winning podcast about human-scale design, livability, and community activism. He also created the short film "Walk Don't Walk", Walkability Award winner at the 2014 New Urbanism Film Festival. Andy loves having a microphone in hand, whether it’s delivering keynotes, producing webinars, or spicing up sessions at professional planning conferences. __________________________ Inspirational contributions and influence from Frank Zappa, George Lois, Russell Brand, and Peter Norton.

1. AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
“I’m an urban planner.”
Which brings the reaction: “people like you are the reason I can’t build a shed in my own
yard or let my kids walk to school.”
Planners are disconnected from people.
We can start fixing this by sharing compelling stories about our good work.

2. The secret is to focus on the human experience.
DollarShaveClub made a commercial to get people’s attention away from the
household names like Gillette and Bic.
It opened with the owner saying “a dollar blade? Are they any good? No.
They’re f***ing great.”
Simple razor, smooth skin, save money.

3. This understanding of psychology transformed the way public
infrastructure has been planned for almost 100 years.
The auto industry used seductive stories about freedom to steal
our streets for their purposes.
They convinced people that normal behavior is extreme or radical.
Normal people became social outliers.
We LOST freedoms.

4. Walk around Seattle.
Ride a bicycle around Seattle.
Pay attention to the ordinary, almost invisible details.
Do you feel comfortable walking? Would an 8 year old child feel comfortable walking?
When you get home, do the same thing. Watch other people.

5. Use data to plot your walking experiences on a graph.
On this axis we have vehicle level of service A through F.
As you can see, my science proves that the easier it is to speed
in a car, the less likely you’ll be able to flirt on a sidewalk.

6. Sometimes you need to point out embarrassing truths.
Remember the Emperor’s New Clothes?
No one wanted to appear stupid, so they pretended the clothes were normal, when
in fact there were no clothes.
Serve the public interest by admitting the absurd modern day regulations.

7. Some of you are worried we’re going to
lose the trust of the public. We’re
beyond that.
The spheres of professional planning
and common sense do not overlap, and
the average citizen is wise to that.
No vegetables in the front yard.
No orange paint on your house.
No protected bike lanes.

8. American planners are like Elvis.
We still think of ourselves as this swaggering idol.
But guess what -- we’re in our Vegas years.
Stuffing ourselves into a white jumpsuit, about to die on a toilet…
“Hey man, we’re still the King!”

9. Don’t be fat Elvis.
And don’t be like those adults in the Emperor’s New
Clothes fable.
Be the brave kid who points out the obvious.
Don’t wait for a committee. Give yourself permission.
Understand how people view planning, and then help
make things right.

10. Since 1970, the number of cars in circulation in Sweden doubled.
The number of miles driven doubled.
Traffic deaths? Dropped 80 percent!
Sweden has the safest roads in the world.
They had a clear message to engineers: build roads that won’t kill people.
Driver convenience is secondary.

11. We have 30,000 traffic deaths every year.
Planners are partly responsible for Vision 30,000 because of the
cockemamy rules you hold over developers and engineers.
You’re promising speed and convenience to people, but accelerating
their death.
That misuse and abuse may be accidental, but it’s exploitation.

12. Considering the context -- life and death --
civil disobedience may be the only solution.
If you obey, you’ll keep planning dangerous
streets with anti-vegetable overlay districts.
You have to captivate people’s attention,
just like auto industry did with their
propaganda campaigns all through the 20th
century.

13. Writing is probably the easiest place to start.
Not to impress the professional development officer with your jargon mastery.
But so ordinary people can clearly understand your message.
There are only 26 letters in the alphabet. Put some words together.
How hard do you think it can be?!

14. Most people aren’t going to take the time to try to understand manuals and
guidebooks.
Your comprehensive plans...corridor overlay districts… complete streets
policy… vegetable prohibitions…
People need help understanding what’s already been written. You can be that
help.
You can be a good marketer without being trained as a marketer.

15. Transportation planners stand up at a public meeting and talk about
how certain turning radii are required for single-unit, multi-axle vehicles.
That’s not what people are worried about.
Parlay public safety with characters people care about.
Simplify your story. Focus on experiences people can relate to.

16. Quick tangent.
I don’t want to do all your work for you, but here’s a Vision
Zero advertisement I brought back from the future.
Don’t get sucked into the auto industry’s story. --which by the
way, has become the professional planning and engineering
story. Make your own!

17. There are tons of free tools and platforms to
create and share digital media.
I know what you’re thinking.
Free? Are they any good? No.
They’re f***ing great.
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube -- the
eyeballs are online. Get in front of the eyeballs!

18. Sharing stories about human experiences is timeless.
Or at least until the robots take over and the humans
are dead.
Think about the spread of protected bicycle lanes
around the world.
Politicians and business owners are inspired by stories
about connections between bike infrastructure and
local economy, and public health & safety.

19. Be a 21st century Jane Jacobs.
You KNOW Jane Jacobs wouldn’t be huddled in a conference room
checking over a social media policy before expressing an opinion.
And stop using those KEEP CALM memes.
Calm isn’t going to disrupt the status quo.
Calm isn’t going to inspire the next generation of planners.

20. What can you create and share?
Pictures with hashtags, videos, blog posts, a podcast, webinars,
infographics?
Write a Kindle book. Write 5.
If you have the resources to be here at this conference, you have no excuse
to continue lurking in digital shadows.

21. Most of you are going to stay in the
shadows.
But for you ruckus makers, start now –
before you leave the conference.
Who knows, maybe some of you will bring
statehood to Washington, DC.
And as you disrupt the status quo, please
keep in touch.
I’d LOVE to hear YOUR planner stories.