Resilient Fairfax, the county’s plan to address the effects of changing climate on residents, critical infrastructure, public services, and natural resources, has been honored again — this time by the American Planning Association’s Virginia Chapter.

Each year the American Planning Association’s Virginia Chapter (APA Virginia) honors and showcases the best in planning throughout the Commonwealth with its annual Awards Program. The Chapter awarded Fairfax County with its 2023 Resilient Virginia Community of the Year Award, which recognizes a community’s effort and commitment to building resilience through responsible planning practice and innovation. An award ceremony will be held at APA Virginia’s annual conference on July 18.

Fairfax County’s plan was recognized earlier this year by the American Planning Association’s Sustainable Communities Division, a national award that honors projects, policies and plans that show exemplary leadership and inspiration in sustainability planning and implementation.

Adopted in November of 2022, the Resilient Fairfax plan establishes goals and strategies to adapt to and to reduce risks from extreme heat, severe storms, and flooding. As Fairfax County faces increasingly “warmer, wetter, and weirder” conditions on average, the strategies in the plan will help the county boost the resilience of its population, infrastructure, public service systems, and natural resources to these climate-related hazards.

Visit the OEEC website to learn more about the Resilient Fairfax plan. And find more information about the 2023 APA Virginia Awards Program.

About APA Virginia

APA Virginia represents 1,500+ practicing planners, elected and appointed officials, educators, students, and citizens in every region of the state. APA Virginia's mission is to make great communities happen in Virginia by offering continuing professional development and other valuable services to planners that enable them to excel in their practice. APA Virginia raises awareness about the many benefits that planning offers as a foundation for effectively addressing the physical, economic, and social changes that take place in Virginia, and provides leadership in planning advocacy for Virginia's diverse geography and population.