The Birth of City Planning in the United States,1840 – 1917.

The Birth of City Planning [2003] by Jon A. Peterson is an interesting take on the American planning profession. He recounts its history from 1840 to 1917 and laments its transformation from city planning to urban planning. The subsuming of cities and counties by regional metropolitan areas that are highly urban is undeniable; however, as a practitioner, who is the urban client? Whether a public employee or consultant, the question remains – who is the decision-maker in the urban setting? The governance issue is well known, but the importance of jurisdictional planning, especially for cities, cannot be neglected. Cities are the ones that get things done; city planning is the vital skill.

[embeddoc url=”http://www.theamericancity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Birth-of-City-Planning2.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]