How do I join the Georgia Planning Association?

Updated

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA) is the official Georgia Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA), and its site lists a "Join the GPA!" link as the entry point for membership. If you are a professional planner, a planning official, a student, or an elected official working on community planning in Georgia, that join link is where you start. The site does not publish membership tiers, dues, or application requirements, so the exact terms are only visible once you open the join page.

What GPA says about itself

From the association's own description:

  • It is an official Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA).
  • It is a 1,100-plus member organization of professional planners and planning officials.
  • Members serve Georgia's communities at all levels of government, in the private sector, and in not-for-profit organizations.
  • Its stated purpose is to provide a place where planners share expertise and ideas with policymakers and the general public.

That description tells you who the organization is built for: people already working in or around planning, plus the officials and students who intersect with it.

Steps to join

  1. Go to georgiaplanning.org.
  2. Find the "Join the GPA!" link on the homepage.
  3. Open it and follow the membership instructions shown there.
  4. Complete whatever application or payment step the page presents.

The site does not state whether joining is free, whether dues are required, or whether you must already be an APA member. Treat those as open questions until you see the join page itself.

What membership connects you to

The homepage evidence shows the kinds of activity members plug into:

Area What the site shows
Events 2026 Fall Conference (Sept 23–25, Augusta), themed "Masters of Transition: Driving Sustainable Growth"
Training Fall Community Planning Institute, run by the DCA Office of Planning with GPA, aimed at planning commissioners and elected officials
National link 2027 National Planning Conference in Houston, TX, with registration opening February 2027
Jobs A job board with listings across Georgia and neighboring states, plus a "Submit a Job" option
News A news feed with a "Submit Your News" option
Conference logistics A paper-free program delivered through a conference app for schedules, speakers, and events

If your reason for joining is networking, conference access, or the job board, those are the concrete things the site ties to the organization.

Before you commit

  • Decide which category fits you — practicing planner, planning official, student, or elected official — since the join page may separate them.
  • Check whether your employer or agency already covers APA chapter membership, because GPA is an APA chapter and the two may be linked.
  • Look at the events calendar first if a specific conference or the Community Planning Institute is what you actually want; some of those may be open beyond the membership.
  • Confirm current dues and requirements on the join page rather than assuming, since the site does not publish them here.