This book introduces community planning as practiced in the United States, focusing on the comprehensive plan. Sometimes known by other names—especially master plan or general plan—the type of plan described here is the predominant form of general governmental planning in the U.S. Although many government agencies make plans for their own programs or facilities, the comprehensive plan is the only planning document that considers multiple programs and that accounts for activities on all land located within the planning area, including both public and private property. Written by a former president of the American Planning Association, Community Planning is thorough, specific, and timely. It addresses such important contemporary issues as sustainability, walkable communities, the role of urban design in public safety, changes in housing needs for a changing population, and multi-modal transportation planning. Unlike competing books, it addresses all of these topics in the context of the local comprehensive plan. There is a broad audience for this book: planning students, practicing planners, and individual citizens who want to better understand local planning and land use controls. Boxes at the end of each chapter explain how professional planners and individual citizens, respectively, typically engage the issues addressed in the chapter. For all readers, Community Planning provides a pragmatic view of the comprehensive plan, clearly explained by a respected authority.

Evaluation in the Planning Process examines the role of evaluation in the overall planning process and the implications of evaluation for the organization and management of studies. Emphasis is placed on the nature of evaluation and the functions it should fulfill in the urban and regional planning process, as well as the interrelationships that should exist between evaluation and other planning activities. This book consists of 12 chapters organized into three sections. The first section focuses on principles governing the use of evaluation in the planning process and includes a model of general urban and regional planning. Various methods that are available for evaluating planning proposals are considered, with emphasis on the social cost-benefit approach and the planning balance sheet method. The chapters that follow explore the role of measurement in plan evaluation and review seven planning studies to critically examine UK experience in the application of evaluation methods to urban and regional planning problems. This book concludes by presenting the principles and guidelines for the short-listing of options and assessing the influence of various practical circumstances on the planning process. Some final recommendations on the organization and structure of the planning process, and the nature and role of evaluation within it, are offered. This book is intended for specialists, planners, and those who are engaged in the task of aiding decisions on urban and regional planning problems. This text will appeal especially to those who are concerned with formulating planning processes and with the management of studies.

The practice of comprehensive planning is changing dramatically in the 21st century to address the pressing need for more sustainable, resilient, and equitable communities. Drawing on the latest research and best practice examples, The Comprehensive Plan: Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Communities for the 21st Century provides an in-depth resource for planning practitioners, elected officials, citizens, and others seeking to develop effective, impactful, comprehensive plans, grounded in authentic community engagement, as a pathway to sustainability. Based on standards developed by the American Planning Association to provide a national benchmark for sustainable comprehensive planning, this book provides detailed guidance on the substance, process, and implementation of comprehensive plans that address the critical challenges facing communities in the 21st century.