Spot-on diagnosis of how the Jacobsian turn left planners reactive and sidelined, ceding ground to engineers, NIMBYs, and car oriented inertia while cities suffer the consequences
Having spent time in the public sector as a planner and then a transportation project manager, a big problem is that many planners' jobs are 50% customer service, 40% administrative tasks and 10% managing consultants. The profession needs a new focus on long range planning and how to communicate ideas to the public and elected officials.
Thanks Mark! I wish more planning departments were empowered to do the work that they hire consultants to do. If a department is split between statutory planning and long range planning, I think you typically have more time as a long range planner to work on projects. But ultimately, I think planners need more power and respect: to implement pilot projects on the smaller end of the spectrum, and acquire land for thoughtful, intentional growth on the larger end of the spetrum.
Spot-on diagnosis of how the Jacobsian turn left planners reactive and sidelined, ceding ground to engineers, NIMBYs, and car oriented inertia while cities suffer the consequences
Having spent time in the public sector as a planner and then a transportation project manager, a big problem is that many planners' jobs are 50% customer service, 40% administrative tasks and 10% managing consultants. The profession needs a new focus on long range planning and how to communicate ideas to the public and elected officials.
Thanks Mark! I wish more planning departments were empowered to do the work that they hire consultants to do. If a department is split between statutory planning and long range planning, I think you typically have more time as a long range planner to work on projects. But ultimately, I think planners need more power and respect: to implement pilot projects on the smaller end of the spectrum, and acquire land for thoughtful, intentional growth on the larger end of the spetrum.