georgiaplanning.org

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA) is the official Georgia chapter of the American Planning Association (APA), a 1,100-plus member organization of professional planners and planning officials. It serves Georgia's communities across all levels of government, the private sector, and not-for-profit organizations. If you work in or with community planning in Georgia — as a practitioner, appointed official, student, or industry partner — the GPA is the state-level body that connects you to peers, training, and events.

What the GPA does

According to the organization, the GPA:

• Provides leadership to plan and build vibrant communities throughout Georgia
• Advocates support for sound planning
• Gives members tools, services, and support that advance the art and science of planning

It describes itself as a place where planners can share expertise and ideas with policymakers and the general public for the benefit of Georgia and its citizens.

Who it serves

The membership spans professional planners and planning officials working in:

• Government — at all levels
• The private sector — consulting and development-related planning roles
• Not-for-profit organizations

The GPA also engages community leaders, students, elected officials, and industry partners, particularly through its conferences and institutes.

Events and programs

The GPA's public calendar shows several recurring activities:

The GPA conference program is paper-free — attendees are directed to download the conference app before arriving to plan schedules, find speakers, note special events, and see sponsors.

Jobs and news

The site maintains a job listings board (with options to view all jobs or submit a job) and a news section (view all news or submit your news). Recent listings have included roles such as Transportation Program Manager (Atlanta), Community Development & Planning Director (Norcross), Senior Urban Planner (Spartanburg, SC), and Planner I (Villa Rica).

How to get involved

• Join the GPA — membership is open through the site's "Join the GPA!" link.
• Attend an event — register for the Fall Conference or browse the calendar; you can also submit your own event.
• Post or find a job — use the job listings board.
• Submit news — share updates with the membership.

The site does not publish membership pricing or login requirements in the material reviewed here, so check the join page directly for current terms.

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:

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.

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA), the official Georgia chapter of the American Planning Association, hosts a recurring set of conferences and training events for planners, elected officials, students, and industry partners. The main ones are the annual Fall Conference, the Community Planning Institute classes run with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Office of Planning, and promotion of the National Planning Conference. Below is what each involves and how to use them.

GPA Fall Conference

The Fall Conference is GPA's flagship annual event. The 2026 edition runs September 23–25 in Augusta under the theme Masters of Transition: Driving Sustainable Growth.

• Who it's for: planning professionals, community leaders, students, elected officials, and industry partners from across Georgia.
• Format: three days of learning, collaboration, networking, and inspiration, per GPA's event description.
• Registration: GPA lists a "Register now!" link and a "Learn More & Register" page for the event.

The conference is paper-free — use the app

GPA states the conference program is paper free. Before arriving, download the conference app to:

• plan your schedule,
• meet the speakers,
• note special events,
• learn about the sponsors who make the event possible.

If you're attending for the first time, installing the app ahead of travel is the practical step that replaces a printed program.

Community Planning Institute

The Fall Community Planning Institute is offered by the DCA Office of Planning in partnership with GPA. It is a series of classes aimed at Georgia's planning commissioners and elected officials — that is, the appointed and elected people who vote on planning matters rather than full-time professional planners. GPA lists an October 28 date for the Fall Community Planning Institute.

National Planning Conference

GPA also posts the National Planning Conference on its calendar. The 2027 National Planning Conference is scheduled for Houston, TX, with registration opening in February 2027. GPA's listing is a save-the-date; registration is handled through the national conference, not GPA.

Other recurring ways to engage

Beyond the marquee conferences, GPA's site functions as a year-round hub:

How to decide which event fits you

• You're a working planner or consultant: the Fall Conference is the primary fit — it's the largest gathering and the one with the app-based program, speakers, and sponsors.
• You're a planning commissioner or elected official: the Community Planning Institute is designed specifically for your role.
• You want national-scale content or are traveling anyway: watch the National Planning Conference listing; note that registration opens in February 2027 for the Houston event.

Practical notes

• Dates and locations on GPA's site are listed as upcoming events; confirm details on the individual event page before making travel plans, since the site shows a mix of 2026 and 2027 dates.
• GPA's site does not state event pricing or membership costs in the material available here, so check the registration page for current fees and any member rates.
• The conference app is the source for schedules and speakers, so download it before you arrive rather than expecting a printed program on site.

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA) publishes planning news on its website through a dedicated Current News section, where members and organizations can also submit their own items. This is the primary way to follow student and professional planning activities across Georgia, and it works alongside the site's events calendar and job listings to give you a full picture of what the planning community is doing.

Where the news lives on georgiaplanning.org

The GPA site organizes community information into three connected sections:

• Current News – announcements and updates from the planning community, with a "View All News" link to browse the full feed and a "Submit Your News" option to contribute.
• Upcoming Events – a calendar of conferences, institutes, and other gatherings, with "Submit an Event" and "View Calendar" links.
• Job Listings – open positions across Georgia and neighboring states, with "View All Jobs" and "Submit a Job" options.

Reading them together is more useful than reading any one alone: a news item often explains the context behind an event or a hiring push.

What kind of news the GPA publishes

Based on the site's news feed, coverage centers on the people and institutions that make up the planning community. One example from the feed is a September 8, 2026 item about bringing together students, alumni, faculty, staff, and planning professionals — the kind of story that connects academic programs to practice.

The GPA describes itself as an official chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) and a 1,100-plus member organization of professional planners and planning officials serving Georgia at all levels of government, in the private sector, and in not-for-profit organizations. News reflects that mix.

How to submit a news item

If you have an update to share — a project milestone, a student achievement, a staff announcement, or an organizational change — the site provides a Submit Your News link in the Current News section. The same pattern applies to the other sections:

The site does not publish submission requirements, deadlines, or editorial review details, so check the submission page itself for current instructions before sending anything.

Staying current without checking manually

The site's most visible recurring touchpoint is its conference programming. The GPA notes that its conference program is paper-free and directs attendees to download the conference app before arriving to plan schedules, meet speakers, note special events, and learn about sponsors. If you attend GPA events, the app is where time-sensitive updates surface.

For everything else, the practical routine is:

1. Open the Current News section and use View All News to scan recent items.
2. Check Upcoming Events for anything relevant in the next few months.
3. Browse Job Listings if you are job searching or tracking how the field is hiring.

What you can expect to find there

The events calendar shows the range of what the GPA runs or promotes. Examples from the site include:

• 2026 Fall Conference — September 23–25 in Augusta, themed "Masters of Transition: Driving Sustainable Growth," open to planning professionals, community leaders, students, elected officials, and industry partners.
• Fall Community Planning Institute — October 28, offered by the DCA Office of Planning in partnership with the GPA as a series of classes for Georgia's planning commissioners and elected officials.
• National Planning Conference — the 2027 edition is set for Houston, TX, with registration opening in February 2027.

Job listings on the site span roles such as Transportation Program Manager (Atlanta, Georgia), Community Development & Planning Director (Norcross, Georgia), Senior Urban Planner (Spartanburg, South Carolina), Planner I (Villa Rica, Georgia), and Building Inspector, Senior (Decatur, Georgia) — a reminder that GPA's reach extends beyond Georgia's borders for some listings.

Bottom line

To stay updated, treat georgiaplanning.org as three feeds rather than one: Current News for announcements, Upcoming Events for what's happening, and Job Listings for who's hiring. If you want your own update to appear, use the matching submission link in each section.

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA) maintains a job listings section on its website at georgiaplanning.org, where you can browse open planning positions and, if you're an employer, submit a posting. The listings cover roles across Georgia and neighboring states, ranging from entry-level planner positions to director-level community development jobs. This page explains what you'll find there and how to use it.

What the GPA Job Listings Section Contains

The GPA website hosts a dedicated job board with two primary actions: View All Jobs and Submit a Job. The listings reflect the breadth of the planning profession in the region.

Based on the current listings shown on the site, typical roles include:

Two things stand out from this sample. First, listings are not limited to Georgia — South Carolina positions appear alongside Georgia ones, which is useful if you're open to working across the Southeast. Second, the range spans from Planner I (typically an early-career role) up through director-level positions, so the board serves job seekers at different career stages.

How to Browse Job Openings

1. Go to georgiaplanning.org.
2. Locate the Job Listings section on the site.
3. Select View All Jobs to see the full set of current openings.
4. Review individual listings for role details, location, and application instructions.

The site also provides a Submit a Job option for employers who want to post an opening. If you're hiring, that's the entry point — the GPA does not appear to require membership to view listings, though the site does promote joining the association separately.

Who This Job Board Is For

The GPA describes itself as an official chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) with over 1,100 members, including professional planners and planning officials working across government, the private sector, and nonprofits. That membership base is the audience the job board serves, but the listings themselves are publicly visible on the site.

This resource fits you if:

• You're searching for planning-related work in Georgia or the surrounding region.
• You want roles that range from entry-level to leadership without filtering through general job sites.
• You're an employer in the planning field looking to reach a targeted audience of planning professionals.

It may be less useful if you're seeking positions outside the planning profession or outside the Southeast, since the board is focused on this region and field.

Practical Notes

• Check back regularly. Job boards turn over as positions are filled and new ones are added, so a listing you see today may not be there next month.
• Look beyond the title. Roles like "Building Inspector, Senior" or "Economic Development Project Manager" may not have "planner" in the name but sit within the planning and community development field.
• Cross-state opportunities are normal here. If you're in South Carolina, Tennessee, or elsewhere nearby, the board is still worth checking.

For employers, the Submit a Job link is the direct path to posting. For job seekers, View All Jobs is where to start. Both are accessible from the GPA homepage.