Why Plan? -- A Note from the Trenches
by Bruce D. Bender
A former planning commission director considers what makes people want to serve on planning commissions.
Read first few paragraphs of article:
What motivates people to want to plan for their communities. Put
another way, what makes otherwise rational people join their
local planning board so they can spend a couple of evenings each
month getting growled at by their fellow citizens for
interfering with private property -- or for failing to do so?
Why plan? "Because if you don't, you get a big mess," is one
quick answer. But like most flip answers, it is susceptible to
snappy replies, like: "Yeah, but even if you do plan, you still
end up with a big mess. It just costs more and takes longer."
Or: "You want to talk about a big mess? Look at the USSR:
everything is planned. They can't even keep food on the
shelves!"
Let me give you my "insights," derived from watching folks
become involved in the planning process, mostly in small and
middle-sized towns. I'll do so by suggesting six different
reasons why people get involved in local planning.
...