990PLANNING
Planning is a field of study which encompasses a number of
related physical development and social and scientific func-
tions including land use analysis, transportation planning,
housing policy, economic analysis, environmental planning,
urban and rural development and redevelopment. The broad
goal of planning is to provide thoughtful examination of
physical development and related public policy initiatives.
Planning has evolved from the early social concerns of
19th Century urban life—crowding, squalor and unhealthful
living conditions focuses attention on such concepts as the
public interest and on laws which protect the public health
and safety. Controls on the location of unhealthful industrial
uses such as slaughterhouses have evolved into land use
planning and zoning controls. Concern for over crowding
and provision of adequate light and air are now measured by
housing analysis and population surveys.
Planning is an inter-disciplinary field which brings an
understanding of public health, legal and social issues, and
architectural design principles to develop theories of the his-
tory and future of development patterns. From principles of
urban design appropriate street layout, open space and urban
densities are derived which provide light and air. Traffic
transportation planners identify the need for mass transit
systems as well as traffic improvements. Standards in envi-
ronmental planning provide a background to evaluate costs,
benefits and impacts of new developments and initiatives.
Planners are a diverse and loosely defined group who
identify themselves by the branch of planning they engage
in, thus land use planners, public health planners, economic
planners, housing planners and transportation planners
working side by side and within their own particular area of
expertise in government and private industry.
The advancement of the public interest and the protection
of the public health, safety and welfare are two principles
which continue to support a myriad of planning initiatives.
The goals can be seen within the studies of environmen-
tal planning: wetland management and other conservation
efforts are viewed as controls which protect the public inter-
est; air quality controls protect the public health, safety and
welfare.
Planners utilize academia as a home base, where the
lessons of urban planning are taught, together with analyti-
cal methods for the determination of social and scientific
standards and criteria urban design and aesthetic principles.
Professional planning societies also provide information and
forums for discussion on planning issues. The AmericanInstitute of Certified Planners (AICP) offers a membership
admittance test which serves to provide a roster of qualified
professionals. Ethics standards promulgated by the AICP
attempt to self-police the profession. Only two states, New
Jersey and Michigan, license professional planners.
The key analytical methods and models of planners
include survey and sampling methods, ranking strategies,
program evaluation, location planning, population forecast-
ing and models for measuring impact of landuse actions
including air quality analysis, transportation capacity, and
employment, economic and fiscal impact.
Land use planners utilize planning principles to determine
appropriate locations for land uses within a specified area. The
land use planner may be employed by a town or city to conduct
long range planning and maintain and advance the master plan
through day to day land use decision-making. Comprehensive
plans provide forecasting tools for a variety of resources, popu-
lation trends and social service needs, resource projections and
utility and infrastructure investments as well as transportation
planning, roadway improvements, and conservation lands and
sensitive environmental lands.
The role of government in planning in the United States
is generally regarding as a local activity, for example, defin-
ing the appropriate use for the abandoned industrial plant
in your home town is a local decision-making process.
However, planners are engaged at each level of government;
that is, the federal, State and local level. From these broad
perspectives the role of a planner shifts to reflects the chang-
ing role of government.
The federal government provides planning through public
policy initiatives and laws and regulation. The two functions
adhere to the two pronged principles of planning; the public
interest and the public health safety and welfare. The public
interest is served through programs which promote a particu-
lar public policy initiative which is encouraged, such as open
space or local park funding. Federal programs which admin-
ister funding for state and local actions, such as Community
Development Block Grants for urban redevelopment pro-
mote the public interest. Promulgation and enforcement of
regulations which protect the public health safety and welfare
include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is a key
milestone within the federal government, aimed at promot-
ing the general welfare, in that it requires federal actions to
be subject to both inter-governmental and public review. TheC016_006_r03.indd 990C016_006_r03.indd 990 11/18/2005 11:01:05 AM11/18/2005 11:01:05 AM