What Planners Do: Power, Politics and Persuasion

What Planners Do is an innovative study of strategies used by urban planners in city governments of the United States to grapple with the political side of their profession. Hoch focuses on the attitudes of planners toward the compromises they make to accommodate political conflict, budgetary constraints, and bureaucratic red tape.

Covered are the ways planners utilize research, formulate plans, regulate development, organize political coalitions, cope with racial discrimination, and negotiate with members of business groups, community organizations, and government agencies. Throughout Hoch identifies the pitfalls of common approaches taken by planners and gives examples of helpful alternatives.

Hoch’s analysis features responses from interviews he conducted with 32 professional planners who share insights and observations about their experiences and describe their reactions to problems encountered on the job, from enforcing building codes to selling a town council on a renovation project. Also included is a comprehensive overview of planning theory and the results of past survey research and case studies.