PLANNING 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 planni
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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 American
Institute 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 measurforecast-ing 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 The
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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intent of this law is to provide for a careful analysis of the
likely effects of an action prior to use of federal funds This
law serves to open up the process of government
decision-making to the public In addition, the NEPA legislation
pro-vides a model for similar environmental scrutiny at the state
and local level, thus providing a network of environmental
planning at all levels of government
In terms of land use decision-making, there is no central
planning The federal government role is confined to public
policy, grants in aid and regulatory control (the
environmen-tal controls placed on filling of wetland areas is an issue
which most closely approximates central planning in that
the effect of these regulations can often nullify development
proposals which may be encouraged at the local level)
Information gathering, such as census data provided by
the Department of Commerce, is the key central planning
function used universally by planners in all disciplines and
sectors: statistics and forecasts are used by public agencies,
private consultants and commerce and industry to
under-stand and plan for communities with regard to population,
transportation, housing, the economy and employment and a
host of demographic and industrial data
At the State level, planning functions are both assumed
from the federal government and conveyed to local
govern-ments State governments serve to administer federal
pro-grams and assume responsibility for enforcement of some
key planning and environmental responsibilities such as the
Clean Air Act Often, compliance with federal goals in one
area forms the basis for government aid or funding of related
public initiatives, for example, efforts to comply with air
quality goals are often related to transportation funding The
State works closely with federal agencies as a conduit for
policy and funding of government programs, often creating
mirror agencies for administration of transportation, historic
preservation and environmental protection Also parallel and
in association with the federal government, States provide
for the collection and dissemination of statistical
informa-tion such as the census and economic forecasting
The state government assigns and provides to local
gov-ernments the authority to plan and zone The power to plan
in its narrow sense, land use control, is based upon the police
power Planning is seen to protect the health safety and
gen-eral welfare of the public The majority of planning work is
done at the municipal level (a certain amount of master plan-ning and regional coordination is provided at the country and state level) The first element in municipal planning is the formulation of the Master Plan The Master Plan or compre-hensive plan is an amalgam of public policy objectives and practical information for future planning such as existing demographic information and trends with projections of the future to the benefit of landuse plans, transportation plans, utilities, and education The master plan should be a unique reflection of both the physical elements of the city and the people who live in it Thus the master plan, which culmi-nates in a landuse map becomes the guide to the develop-ment regulations of a city
The zone plant sets forth the physical controls on uses and densities within the jurisdictional area The physical layout of the city is assigned uses, densities and standards for development in a land use plan A zone plan presents the regulations which carry out a given land use plan The integ-rity of a zone plan is as strong as the development review boards Planning Boards and Zoning Boards are charged with maintaining the integrity of the plan with the power to review subdivision, site plan and various requests
The site plan review process illustrates the typical plan-ning exercise and scope and range of municipal review powers The site plan review, and variance requests, for example, a use variance, are subject to review and scrutiny from a municipal board with regard to the merits of the site plan, the need for the use, how the use is consistent with the master plan, how it advances planning goals of the commu-nity and what hardships or unique physical characteristics would justify a departure from set development standards and proscribed uses
Many municipalities have established environmental commissions, architectural or historical resource review boards all which serve to advise in the site plan review pur-suant to the general welfare The environmental review at the municipal level should encompass the full range of rel-evant issues to asses the scope of the proposed activity and its likely impact on site and surrounding resources
ELIZABETH McLOUGHLIN
PS & S Key Span
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC