October was filled with several activities to commemorate the American Planning Association's "National Planning Month." The Department of Urban and Regional Planning along with the City of Jackson's Planning Department and the Mississippi Chapter of the American Planning Association (MS APA) collaborated together to host a Brown Bag Panel Discussion on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This year's planning month's theme was "Housing as Community Infrastructure." Several panelists were selected based on their individual expertise starting with Mr. Ted J. Duckworth, President and CEO of Duckworth Realty, Inc., Ms. Shundreka R. Givan, AICP, Project Development Team Leader with the Federal Highway Administration, Ms. Donnetta McAdoo, Community Planning and Development Director with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Mr. Primus Wheeler, Executive Director for the Jackson Medical Mall.
Ms. Lisa Johnson, DURP Student Development Coordinator, served as the facilitator for this event. Two of DURP's Alumni were sponsors of the Brown Bag: Dr. Joan F. Blanton, AICP and CEO of Central Mississippi Community Design Center and Dr. Alfred Martin, CEO of Environmental Management Plus, Inc.