Essay/Term paper: Why planning is necessary.

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Miscellaneous

Memorandum



To: City Council of Fieldsville, Virginia

From: Christina Futrell, Planning Consultant

Date: February 4, 2000

Re: Adding a Town Planner to Your Staff





Planning in any town is an important part of the growth, development and sustainability of the citizens and businesses in that town. I believe that your town council could greatly benefit from adding a planner to your staff.



Planning suggests a systematic attempt to shape the future. It attempts to link scientific and technical knowledge to actions in the public domain, and processes of societal guidance and of social transformation. Planning entails making decisions and informing actions in ways that are socially rational. Planning serves a public or general purpose, such as ensuring the stability and growth of the economy; undertaking selected public investments and, in the absence of private sector interest, inducing desired actions on part of the private sector through various forms of subsidy; restraining private sector actions to safeguard the well-being of the population at large; redistributing income on grounds of equity; protecting individuals and businesses against the uncertainties of the market; and so forth. The planning process must continuously pursue and faithfully serve the public interest.



Why is planning necessary?

1. To guide the overall economic stability and growth in a community

- achieve a sensible and attractive land-use pattern

- preserving or improving that which all ready exists

- encourage economic development

2. To provide public services to meet the general needs of the community

- location of public facilities

- make sure that all are served with adequate toads, water, and sewer facilities

- protect the general public health; minimizing threats to human health and life

3. To protect the environment

- guide and manage development to minimize environmental damage

- acquiring or developing land for parks or open space; achieving aesthetic and

recreational goals

- preserving resources for future use

- saving nonrenewable energy sources















The Origins of Planning

Before the American Revolution municipalities appointed strong powers to control land use, thus shaping their own forms of "planning." These powers came out of a European tradition that treated the town or village as an independent corporation, which might own, control, or dispose of most of the land within its boundaries. Many U.S. communities started as grants to individuals or groups, which then, by virtue of the grant, had the power to dispose of land within their borders. Thus colonial towns had formidable powers to shape their pattern of development.



Quite obviously, the Revolution ended the practice of creating municipalities through the mechanism of royal grants to individuals. More important, it placed the bulk of political power in the hands of the states. Municipalities grew rapidly, with little public control over the pattern of growth. Planning often focused on the commercial heart of the city and ignored residential areas, particularly the less than prosperous ones. The rectangular "gridiron" pattern of street development became commonplace so that they facilitated land subdivision and speculation. The force of growth ran rampant over the pre-Revolutionary period.



As urban populations and the density of urban development increased, pressures for reform escalated. U.S. planning history and tradition arose with the concern of problems arising from urban growth. Over the years these problems have included sanitation and public health, the disappearance of urban open space, housing quality and overcrowding, the ugliness and grimness of the nineteenth-century industrial city, traffic congestion, and the problem of providing urban populations with adequate mobility. In recent years planning effort has also been directed to problems of urban unemployment, to urban fiscal problems, to a variety of social justice issues, and to issues of environmental preservation and quality.



How does a planner benefit a town council?

Planners can better help a town council serve "the public interest." A planner helps by anticipating and developing responses to problems that have not yet presented themselves, help formulate solutions, and make sure those solutions are implemented to the greatest extent. They also respond to problems that are present and demand solutions. Planners advise the council on making decisions for the future, the consequences and benefits of those decisions, and what could happen if a decision is not made or a problem is ignored. The planner mediates knowledge and action, always holding an attitude of efficiency.

















Planners should recognize the rights of citizens to participate in planning decisions. A good planner will:

- strive to give citizens full, clear, and accurate information on planning issues and the opportunity to have a meaningful role in the development of plans and programs;

- strive to expand choice and opportunity for all persons, recognizing a special responsibility to plan for the needs of disadvantaged groups or persons;

- assist in the clarification of community goals, objectives, and policies in plan making; ensure that reports, records, and any other non-confidential information which is, or will be, available to decision makers is made available to the public in a convenient format and sufficiently in advance of any decision;

- strive to protect the integrity of the natural environment and the heritage of the built environment; and

- pay special attention to the interrelatedness of decisions and the long-range consequences of present actions.



Hiring a planning consultant for Fieldsville, Virginia would greatly benefit the current citizens and the future of the town. You must keep in mind the idea of the public interest and how a growing town could affect those people"s lives. Without planning you leave room for chaos, dysfunction, and an unhappy community. Planning is necessary to guide the overall economic stability and growth in your community, to provide public services to meet the general needs of the community, and to protect the environment. A blooming town needs someone to take care and have concern for the way it grows. A planner can help you do just that.



If you have any questions or concerns that need addressing, feel free to call me at

(XXX) XXX-XXXX. I have also included a list of references you may want to consult for further information.















































References



Friedman, John. Planning in the Public Domain: From Knowledge to Action, Princeton

University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1987.



Levy, John M., Contemporary Urban Planning, Prentice Hall, Upper Sadle River, New

Jersey, 1997



McClendon, Bruse W. and Anthony James Cantanese, Eds. Planners on Planning:

Lessons on What Works, What Doesn"t, and Why, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San

Francisco, California, 1996.



Parkin, James. Judging Plans and Projects: Analysis and public participation in the

evaluation process, Ashgate Publishing Company, Brookfield, Vermont, 1993.



Solin, Les, AICP. Professional Practice Manual, American Planning Association,

Chicago, Illinois, 1997.