How would you define planning?

[paco]

I am just curious, to all you people with extensive knowledge on the subject, how would you answer, what is planning? Can it be neutral, what are your thoughts, essentially to these two questions over the past 100-200 years in terms of urban planning from different perspectives.Looking for more of philosophical type of explanation or perspective.

[Blide]

To me, planning is just developing policies that impact the built environment. As to whether it can be neutral, that really depends on your perspective. However I would say planning (or lack there of) really reflect the priorities of the jurisdiction. So in that sense, planning is not neutral in that it's pushing the objectives of various interested parties.

[mgk920]

I've always told those who are not all that adept at following funky definitions that planners basically help to ensure that that vacant land behind their nice new house does not become a scrapyard or a rendering plant.

Mike

[dvdneal]

I like to say planning is about community values. One place I worked valued growth - even if the residents didn't always like it. Another place values agriculture, vertiually no growth. Whatever the value, we as planners try to maintain them. If you look at any city, you can see changes in values over time. Most people just call that history though.