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Fifth Edition
Urban Land
Use Planning
-·--v-
"r.t+ii.
Philip R. Berke, David R. Godschalk, and Edward J. Kaiser
with Daniel
A. Rodriguez
University of Illinois Press
Urbana and Chicago

Graph ic images used on the cover and part and chapter opener pages are reprinted with permission from
:\lichael Morrissey and the New Haven plan: Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company.
Graphic images for figures 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, and 4-9 reprinted with permission from Planning Support Systems,
Richard K. Brail a nd Richard E. Klosterman, Editors. Copyright 2001 ESRI. All rig hts reserved.
Figure 6-9 is reprinted with permission from the Journal of the American Planning Association. Copyright
:\utumn 2003 by the American Planning Association, Suite 1500, 122 South Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60683-
6107.
Figure 13-5 is reprinted with permission from the Journal of American Institute of Planners. Copyright Nov.
1967 by the
American Planning Association, Suite
1500, 122 South Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60683-6107.
~2006 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
:\ll rights reserved.
:\lanufactured in China
c 6 5 4 3 2
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Crban land use planning I Philip R. Berke ... [et al.].-5
1
h ed.
p.
cm. Re,·. ed. of: Urban land use planning I Edward J. Kaiser, David R. Godschalk, and
F. Stuart Chapin, Jr. 4
1
h ed. cl995.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISB:'\-13: 978-0-252-03079-6 (ISBN 13 - cloth: alk. paper)
!SB:'\-I 0: 0-252-03079-6 (ISBN 10 -cloth: alk. paper)
1. City planning-United States. 2. Regional planning -United States. 3. Land use, Urban -
Cnited States. I. Berke, Philip, 1951-II. Kaiser, Edward John. Urban land use planning.
HT167.U726 2006
333. 77'0973-dc22 2005012429

Contents
Preface
Part I: Conceptual Framework for Land Use Planning
1. Framing the Land Use Planning Process
The Land Use Planning Arena 4
Values, Planning, and Sustainable Communities 5
Land Use Values 18
The Land Use Planning Program 23
Core Planning Capabilities 29
Summary 30
Notes 30
References 31
2. Shaping Plans through the Sustainability Prism Model
Managing Land Use Change 36
Planning and the Tensions of Sustainable Development 37
Sustainable Development and Livable
Communities 38
A
Prism Model of Sustainability 39
Reaching the
Heart of the Sustainability
Prism 45
Summary 54
Notes 55
References 56
3. What Makes a Good Plan?
Core Purposes of a Plan 60
Types of Plans as Products of a Multistage Process 60
Criteria for Evaluating Plan Quality 69
Potential Limitations 75
Summary 77
Appendix 78
Notes 82
References 82
Part II: Overview of Building Planning Support Systems
4. Planning Support Systems
Planning Support System Technologies 90
Planning Support System Functions 102
Intelligence in the Plan-making Process llO
Summary 112
Notes
112
References
114
viii
1
3
35
59
85
89
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5. Population and Economy
How Population a nd Econo mic Analyses Are Used 118
Sources
of Population and Economic Data 125
Me
thods for Analyzing Population a nd Employment 126
The Critical
Role of Assumptions 142
Desirable Characteristi
cs of a Fore cast 143
Summary 145
Not
es 146
References 146
6.
Environmental Systems
Environmental Inventory and Classificati on 150
Analyzing Envi ronmental Information 1 77
Summary 191
Notes 192
References 193
7. Land
Use Systems
Forces of Land Use Change 198
Land Su
pply Inventory and Classification
203
Future Land Use Analysis 212
La
nd
Use Intelligence 217
S
ummary 221
Notes 222
Referen
ces 222
8. Transportation and Infrastructure Systems
Roles of Community Facilities 226
Transportation
Facilities 228
Water, Sewerage, and School Infras tructure 249
S
ummary 258
N
otes
260
References 260
9. State of Community Report
Preparing the State of Community Report
Aggregating Key Findings 267
Building
Community Conse nsus 271 Ongoing Involvement 2
81
Summary 283
N
otes 284
References 284
266
Part
Ill: Overview of Making Land Use Plans
10. The Plan-making Process
Preparation for Plan Making 292
Components Pro duced by Stage in the Plan-making Proce ss 294
Designing the Spat
ial Arrangements of La nd
Uses 300
Progression of Attention among Land Uses in the Design Proce ss 310
117
149
197
225
265
287
291

Summary 311
Notes 313
References 3
13
11. The Areawide Land
Policy Plan
The Concept and Purpose of an Areawide Land Policy Plan 316
The Overall Process for Areawide Land Policy Planning 318
Delineating
Open-space Conservation Districts for the Land Policy Map
Delineating Policy Districts for
Urban Growth and Redevelopment 333
Formulating Implementation Policies for Each Policy District 343
Bringing
It Together into a Comprehensive Areawide Land Policy
Plan
Summary 345
References 346
315
324
343
12. Communitywide Land
Use Design: Employment and Commercial Centers 347
Types of Land Uses and Activity Centers 348
Matching Land Uses and Activity Center Forms 357
Planning the Communitywide Spatial Structure of
Employment and Commercial Activity Centers 358
S
ummary 377
References
380
13. Communitywide Land Use Design: Residential Community Habitats 383
Formulating a Residential Community Vision 384
The Residential Habitat Pla
nning Process
400
Summary 418
References 4
19
14.
Small-area Plans 421
The Nature and Purpose of Small-area Plans 422
Types
of Small-area
Plans 424
What a Small-area Plan Looks Like 428
The Process
of Making Small-area
Plans 432
Summary 445
References 446
15.
Development Management 449
Development-management Concepts 450
Development-management Plan and Program Design 450
Participatory Processes 455
Technical Analysis 457
Tool Selection 460
Implementation 465
S
ummary 472
Notes 472
References 473
Index 477
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Preface
he need for planners to help communities shape a vision of the future and
plan to achieve the vision has never been greater. Co mmunities are con
fronting complex and multifaceted issues, many of which appear in the
form of a double-edged sword. Globalization and new communication technologies
mean that new wealth, jobs, and opportunities for revitali
zation can rapidly flow
into communities,
but flow out just as quickly.
Population shifts not only stimulate
diversity
and prospects for positive change, but also create pressures on the environ
ment, transportation and infrastructure systems, and housing supply, and can con
tribute to widening gaps between rich
and poor and cities and suburbs.
To planners, these issues pose great challenges.
Planners work to help commu
nities discern
emerging trends and issues, fashion visions of the future, and create
plans to achieve
their visions.
Planners must bring creativity, expertise, and deter
mination to the effort. They require skills to generate accurate information, create
thoughtful solutions, and build consensus among interests with a stake in land
use outcomes. They must continually apply new ideas, techniques, and practical
solutions to everyday
planning and development problems.
The perennial question in planning
is: How can we create future places that are
sustainable
and livable? This leads to further questions: How do land use plans affect
the
urban development process within human settlements? What methods and tech
niques are available to planners to create and implement high-quality plans
that
effectively guide land use change toward more sustainable outcomes? These qu es
tions frame the approach
of this fifth edition of
Urban Land Use Planning. Our pri
mary objective is to present methods and techniques for land use plan making and
to explain how plans can help to create human settlement patterns that promote
sustainable outcomes in metropolitan regions, cities, towns, and villages.
This fifth edition
is part of the continued evolution of land use planning methods
since 1957, when F. Stuart Chapin, Jr., wrote the first edition. The five editions repre
sent a major
part of the history of land use planning methodology in the
United
States. The first edition organized and synthesized the t echniques of planning prac
tice
during the
1950s, and explored emerging theories of the young and growing
profession. The second edition in 1965, also by Chapin, shifted away from the prac
tice
of applying planning methods to a more scientific approach founded on auto
mated data processing and mathematical modeling. More attention was given to
planning theory
and urban theory, especially theoretical explanations of human ac
tivity patterns
as the underlying bas is for land use planning. The third edition in
1979, by Chapin
and Kaiser, emphasized the increased influence of federal and state
planning
on local planning, integrated information systems, and dev elopment guid
ance systems to direct planning. The fourth edition in 1995, by Kaiser, Godschalk,
and Chapin, centered on the emergence of microcomputer technology, the rise of
participation and negotiation, the increased attention to developme nt management,
and the evolving state planning influen ces on local planning.

Several themes run through this fifth edition. The overarching theme is the
role
of land use planning in achieving sustainable development. Related major
themes include d
evelopment of analytical planning support systems, application
of consensus building, and integration of design and urban form goals into plan
making processes.
Planning support systems track current conditions and trends within a plan
ning area, provide information to build local knowledge about growth and devel
opment issues and trends, and facilitate collective decision making based on knowl
edge
of a planning area's population, economy, environment, land use, and infra
structure. Consensus building brings together major stakeholders to address con
troversial issues and
build agreement on planning visions and goals, while shar
ing information to generate new ideas that lead to creative solutions. Design deals
with the configuration and m
ix of land uses, the integration of transportation
and infrastructure systems within the envisioned land use pattern, and the mass
ing
and organization of buildings and spaces between them. The aim is the gen
eration
of a positive image of the future community-an inspirational planning
vision that
is solidly grounded and widely supported.
Throughout this book
we draw on the strengths of the rational, consensus build
ing, and visionary
urban design models of planning. We explore techniques to
build
community capacity to prepare, implement, and adopt plans that progres
sively guide change in ways that balance the multiple goals that make up sustain
able settlement patterns.
We emphasize a contemporary model of planning that
incorporates rational analysis, consensus building, a
nd participatory design. In
this model, the planner
is a facilitator who helps the community discover its vi
sion a
nd explores ways to achieve it, a technical analyst who provides objective
information, an innovator who offers creative alternatives and clarifies
opportu
niti
es for change, and a consensus builder who ensures that the process of plan
ning
is open and inclusive.
We attempt to span a broad spectrum of theories and techniques for creating
and implementing good plans. However, no book could hope to do justice to all
theories and techniques applicable to contemporary planning practice.
Our pur
po
se is not to create a grand overarching theory, but to identify key ideas, con
cepts,
and techniques for improving the performance of planners and planning.
This fifth edition consists
of three parts.
Part 1 reviews the societal context of
local land use planning, and lays out a conceptual planning framework that is
used for organizing the format and content of the book. It presents a sustainability
prism model for understanding a
nd reconciling the diverging priorities of stake
holders in the
land use arena, and reviews criteria for creating high-quality plans.
Part 2 covers the key data input and analysis techniques for the demographic and
economic, environmental, land use, transportation, and infrastructure compo
nents
of a planning support system.
Part 3 provides a detailed explanation of the
concepts and sequence
of tasks associated with preparing and implementing plans.
We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the people who helped us com
plete this new edition.
Our colleague, F. Stuart Chapin, Jr., has been our continu
ing inspiration in
constructing a systematic land use planning methodology
IX
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grounded in both theory and practice. Our graduate students at the Department
of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pro
vided critiques, new ideas, and assistance to improve the quality
of the manu
script in countless ways; Aurelie Brunie, Joel Mann, Bhavna Mistry, Helen
O'Shea,
and Julie Stein were especially helpful. We are obliged to several colleagues who
were
kind enough to read and suggest improvements to the manuscript, includ
ing Ann-Margaret Esnard, Florida Atlantic
University; Steve French, Georgia Tech
University; Lew Hopkins, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Dowell
Meyers, University of Southern Californi a; and Chris Webster, University of Cardiff.
We appreciate the diligent administrative and technical assistance in image pro
cessing
during various stages of the manuscript provided by
Udo Reisinger. The
Faculty Partners Program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gave
financial
support that was critical for producing the manuscript. Numerous prac
titioners provided examples
of plans, graphics, and studies that helped us illus
trate how
our explanations translate to practice and gave credibility to our work.
Finally, we are deeply grateful to the
support and intellectual companionship of
Jane, Lallie,
Pat, and Pia throughout this effort, and for the patience and support
of all our families.

PARTI
Conceptual Framework
for Land Use Planning
O
ur primary interest in this book is to explain how land use planning can
be applied to create
human settlement patterns that promote sustain
able outcomes in
metropolitan regions, cities, towns, and villages. We
start by exploring the societal context ofland use planning, and present a concep
tual framework
of local land use planning that will be used for organizing the
format and content of this book. We then propose a model for understanding and
reconciling the divergent priorities among competing stakeholders in the land
use planning arena,
and review plan-quality criteria for creating plans that are
influential in guiding future
land use change.
In chapter 1,
"Framing the Land Use Planning Process," we describe the dynamic
societal context
of land use planning.
We conceive land use planning as operating in
a high-stakes, multiparty, competitive game that
is tempered by the need for coop
eration.
We discuss the roles planners must play as stewards of the public interest.
Planners must mediate conflicts, build coalitions, and advocate the interests of
underrepresented groups. They must be visionary by looking beyond immediate
concerns to the needs
of future generations, and must communicate these visions to
inspire confidence in the reality
of sustainable land use patterns.
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Chapter 1 also sets forth a conceptual framework depicting the local land use
planning game that
is used to organize the concepts, methods, and techniques of
land use planning throughout the book. The framework consists of three concep
tual dimensions: stakeholder groups (or players) who seek to influence local land
use planning in
ways that support their individual interests; local land use plan
ners (or game managers) and their planning programs that act to help
communi
ties fashion consensus-based visions
of the future and plans to achieve those vi
sions;
and the sustainability of resulting land use patterns (or game outcomes).
In chapter
2,
"Shaping Plans through the Sustainability Prism Model," we in
troduce a sustainability prism model.
To account for the full range of complexity
and turbulence of the public domain, planners can apply the model to under
stand diverging priorities and reconcile conflicts
among players in the land use
game. The prism model
is useful because it emphasizes the point that if planners
narrowly pay attention to a single conflict, they will miss a range
of other conflicts
that may prevent development
of plans that are comprehensive, account for inter
dependency
among negotiated policy solutions, and are supportive of the public
interest.
Chapter 2 also discusses how planners
must develop a working synthesis of
skills to effectively use the prism model in the land planning arena. Selected pro
cedural
and urban-form theories of planning are reviewed to point out some use
ful ideas for
reconciling conflicts and promoting a substantive vision of
sustainability. These theories cover: 1) rational planning; 2) consensus building;
and 3) urban design.
Our purpose is not to create a grand overarching theory, but
simply to point out some useful ideas for improving the performance of planners
and planning.
In chapter
3,
"What Makes a Good Plan?," we focus on the central topic of this
book-the plan. Although the prism model of sustainable development presented
in chapter 2 serves
as a guide for crafting the direction-setting vision of a plan in
the land use planning game, the plan
must be high quality to be influential and
foster effective implementation
of the vision and other direction-setting features
(goals and policies). This chapter reviews the sequence
of several types of plans
that can be used individually or in combination to address land use and develop
ment issues. It then illustrates key criteria to guide the creation (and evaluation)
of high-quality plans. Two conceptual dimensions of plan-quality criteria are dis
cussed: internal plan quality, which deals with the content
and format of key com
ponents
of the plan, and external plan quality, which deals with the relevance of
the scope and coverage of the plan in fitting the local situation.

Chapter 1
Framing the Land Use
Planning Process ·
You are asked to help your community to prepare a new land use plan. Your
first task is to create a conceptual framework that will guide you and your
community
in preparing and implementing the plan. The framework should
be designed based on the assumption that planning operates
in a complex
and turbulent decision-making arena that reflects a high-stakes game
in
which the players attempt to gain land use decisions that most benefit
their
own interests. The framework should guide your community in carry
ing
out several tasks: 1) identify and account for the goals and values of
interest groups with a stake in the land development process; 2) establish
a land use planning program that integrates community-based information
with a collaborative planning process to create consensus-based plans for
a sustainable future; and
3) monitor and evaluate how well land develop
ment outcomes make progress toward sustainability. What are the key
dimensions
of this conceptual framework? What are
iheprimarv functions
of a local planning program within the framework? What special capabili
ties will you need to perform these functions?
ocal land use planning can be seen as a high-stakes game of competition
over a community
's or region's future land use pattern. To win the game
from a narrow, interest-group pe rspective
is to gain adoption of land use
plans, development regulations, and development decisions that most benefit a
particular group. Land use planners are central players and game managers in
their role
as stewards of the public interest. Effective planners act as mediators to
resolve conflicts, coalition builders to achieve multigroup benefits, and advocates
to advance the interests
of underrepresented groups. They must be visionary think
ers who look beyond immediate concerns to the needs
of future generations, and
effective communicators
of these visions of the future who inspire confidence in
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the reality of sustainable land use patterns. Planners must carefully watch and
respond to the interests, actions, and alliances
of other players. By not under
standing every stage
of the game, planners risk losing their credibility and author
ity
as well as the broader public's stake in the community's future.
The purpose
of this chapter is to illustrate the dynamic context of local land
use planning, the functions
of a planning program, and alternative visions that
guide planning toward more sustainable and livable places.
We first discuss the
basic premises
of the land use planning arena. We then present a conceptual frame
work
of the elements of local land use planning. The framework consists of three
conceptual dimensions:
1) land use values of stakeholders; 2) local land use plan
ning programs that help communities fashion consensus-based visions and plans
to achieve those visions; and
3) sustainable land use patterns. Finally, the chapter
summarizes the core capabilities that planners need to effectively advance out
comes that balance the values
of multiple stakeholder groups.
The Land
Use Planning Arena
The land us: pla~ning arena can be confusing and frustrating even to the experi
enced planner. Rather
than an orderly and rational procedure of adopting land
use plans derived from systematic studies aimed at the overall public interest, plan
ning can appear to be an ad hoc process based
on misleading perceptions about
rt;ality and narrow interest-group politics. Theories of ideal urban form, policy
intervention strategies, and statistical modeling techniques taught in planning
school often carry less weight with elected officials than the self-serving demands
of a crowd of angry speakers at a public hearing. Long-range projections may fail
as guides to decision making in complex and constantly changing decision-mak
ing arenas. Planning interventions can reverberate through the system in
ways
that can only be partially traced, and interventions may not account for unantici
pated changes in social, economic, and environmental conditions.
The
complexity and turbulence of the land planning arena pose a challenging
decision-making environment, but also offer the opporttmity to build innovative
and adaptive land planning programs. Rather than experiencing continuity and
stability, the land planning arena
is almost always in a state of change (Innes and
Booher 1999). Static systems have little capacity to respond and change to adapt
to new conditions. Dynamic organizations,
on the other hand, are in a position to
adapt. During times
of change, planning programs can play a key role in coordi
nating complex interest-group activities and to pursue new visions.
The land use planning and decision-making arena can be conceived
as a high
stakes
competition over an area's future land use pattern. However, the process is
tempered by the need for cooperation. Players are locked in a framework of inter
dependence in which they must gain agreement to achieve their goals. This re
quires that players participate in a multiparty consensus-building process, learn
ing from feedback about prior successes and failures, and experimenting with
new planning solutions and actions. Characterizing planning
as a serious game of
competition and cooperation helps to understand the dynamics of the process
and to visualize opportunities for improving game outcomes.

Thus, the land use plan is a key tool to coordinate community land use and
development activities. Planning is not simply a process, but is a process guided
by a plan. The plan fulfills many needs. It serves the traditional functions of guid
ing
urban infrastructure and setting parameters for zoning and other land use
regulations
on private and public property. It also serves newer purposes. The
plan helps turn competitors into collaborators through involvement in its prepa
ration.
It records a series of agreements among the players about ways to deal with
their different goals, serving as a community consensus-building tool. Around a
well-written plan, diverse interests can negotiate
and agree on policy. The plan
also sets forth factually
grounded graphic images of the future that can rally and
unite stakeholders to act. Citizens and interest groups like to back a plan that lets
them
"see" solutions to problems (Neuman 1998).
In the land use game, planners are not only players, they are also game managers,
providing information to ensure informed decision making, advocating coopera
tion among the players, transforming words and facts to a collective vision, and draft
ing plans
and rules to guide the game to achieve the vision. Because of these respon
sibilities, planners have a unique position
at the center of the land use game. They
have inside information and privileged access to other players. Land use planners
are expected
to keep careful track of all stakeholders' interests, actions, and alliances.
They also must continuously aggregate, analyze, and monitor intelligence from the
population/economy, land use, environment, and transportation/infrastructure
in
formation systems and make it useful for plan making through a community in
volvement and review process.
To lose track of the game status is to risk losing plan
ners' credibility
as experts, their role as visionary thinkers, their authority as land
use change managers, and their opportunities to facilitate cooperation among com
peting interests
in building a better, more sustainable community.
In practice, the inherent conflicts and
tensions"iff-the land planning arena are
moderated by the legal and governance systems -"the rules of the game." The rules
turn conflict into regulated competition and collaboration. Constitutional provi
sions, laws, regulations,
and planning powers protect overall public interests from
the extremes
of unregulated maximization of market values and overregulated maxi
mization
of social and environmental values. The planner must rely on legal and
governance systems to balance conflicts among values, to help make difficult choices
about community priorities, and
to ensure fairness in land use decisions. The plan
ner
is both the drafter and enforcer of the game rules (in the form of plan goals and
policies and development regulations)
but is not the final arbitrator. That role is
reserved for the elected officials
of the community or the courts if the elected offi
cials' decision is challenged. But the planner must understand the influences oflegal
and constitutional checks and balances on the powers of land use plans to achieve
community goals.
Values, Planning, and Sustainable Communities
Relationships between land use values of stakeholders, their planning programs,
and outcomes constitute the land use planning game. Figure 1-1 illustrates the
conceptual framework of the land use planning game. This framework guides the
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Land Use Planning
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Network of Plans
Values
Systems Issues
•Environment
·Areawide Policy
·Equity
·Population/Economy Visions 1
• Communitywide
·Economy
• Environment I Scenarios j
Design
•Land Use I
•Livability
·Transportation/
I ·Small Area
-I-+ Infrastr ucture
•Development
!
- Management
·Community Report
!
l
Monitoring, Evaluation. & Updating
Goal Form
Regulations
Expenditures
-
:-1 Sustainab
Comm uni
•Environm
·Equity
•Economy
•Livability
ty II
ent
I
·I
1
... ___ _J
Fig. 1-1 Conceptual framework of land use planning.
organizatiun arid ·presentation of the content and format of the chapters in this
book. The framework consists of three conceptual dimensions and the relationships
among them.
Starting with outcomes, the goal
is to seek sustainable community land use pat
terns that strike an appropriate balance among environmental, economic, social,
and livability values.
As will be discussed, there are alternative trends and visions
that are advocated
as the most preferable outcomes (i.e., conventional low-den
sity development, Smart Growth
and New Urbanism ). The inputs to planning
consist
of interactions with stakeholder groups who view development through
the lens
of their
land use values and seek to influence local planning decisions
about future urban form and change to
support their interests. The central di
mension
is the land
use planning program, which serves to help communities iden
tify existing and emerging issues; fashion visions, goals, and scenarios; create plans;
adopt development management plans, regulations,
and infrastructure expendi
ture programs;
and monitor how well outcomes achieve plan goals.
In
the remainder of this chapter we elaborate on a more complete definition of
each dimension in the arena of land use planning.
Under each dimension, we
explore various prescriptions from theory and practice about how planning should
be done
and what planners should do. We conclude with a review of the pressures
on planners and special capabilities that planners must develop to operate effec
tively within the land use game.
Sustainable Communities: Alternative Trends and Visions
The local land use game is subject to continuous change in response to trends in
land use, advances in technology that help planners to visualize current realities and
invent possibilitie
s, and the appearance of new and imaginative ide as about urban
design. Trends affecting the play
of the game at the beginning of the twenty-first
century continue and extend those
of the recent past. Conventional low-density

development patterns (or sprawl) have dominated the landscape while concepts of
sustainable development, Smart Growth, and New Urbanism have emerged to counter
the impacts
of sprawl.
Conventional Low-Density Development
America's communities and metropolitan regions face multiple challenges, most of
which are associated with sprawling, low-density development patterns caused by
the outward expansion
of suburban development on the urban fringe, and com
mercial strip development along highways leading into and
out of cities and sub
urbs. The societal costs and benefits
of conventional low-density development are
subject to intense debate. Supporters maintain that this dominant pattern
is shaped
by deeply embedded cultural values that are reflected in strong desires for:
1) de
tached single-family homeownership;
2) spacious individual lots with a rural, bu
colic appeal;
3) private automobile ownership, which provides personal freedom
and mobility; and
4) communities free of poverty (Gordon and Richardson 1997).
The positive effects
of these features tend to accrue to the individual or household.
Critics point to the downside
of conventional low-density development. In a com
prehensive review
of over
500 studies on the impacts of this land use pattern, Burchell
et
al. ( 1998) concluded that the negative effects of conventional development exceed
the benefits, and that these effects tend to be distributed throughout an entire area.
Negative effects
of sprawl are most clearly evidenced by increased demand for land
to accommodate each new increment
of population growth. Figure 1-2 indicates
that between
1982 and 1997 the percentage of increase in urban land dramatically
outpaced the increase in population growth in all four regions
of the country. These
land consumption rates place intense pressure on environmentally sensitive lands
and increase the costs
of public infrastructure because lower densities require more
linear feet
of roads and sewer and water lines to
sernce~ch lot (Burchell et al. 1998;
Speir and Stephenson 2002). The increased spread between land uses also creates
West ············-48.9%
32.2%
South •••.•••••••••••• 59.6%
22.2%
·------39.1%
Northeast
6.9%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%
Change in Population •Change in Urbanized Land
Fig. 1-2 Between 1982 and 1997, the percentage of increase in urban land dra
matically outpaced the increase in population growth in all four regions of the
country. Source: Fulton et al. 2001. Reproduced by permission from the Brookings
Institution.
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greater auto dependence. Between 1982 and 2000, auto passenger miles of travel
increased 85 percent in metropolitan areas (Texas Transportation Institute 2002)
and the average annual peak delay per road traveler grew from sixteen to sixty-two
hours. Conventional low-density development has also been linked to the exacerba
tion
of social inequities b ecause some analysts believe that it drains fiscal and hu
man resources from older core areas to the expanding suburban fringe (Downs 1994,
1999; Lucy and
Phillips 2000).
Sprawl also has been linked to health concerns, as public health professionals
have rediscovered the impacts
of the built environment on physical activity.
Physical
inactivity has been shown to contribute to chronic disease, osteoporosis, poor
mental health, and obesity (Frank, Engelke, and Schmid 2003, 1 ). Traditional low
density development patterns, with separated residential
and commercial land
uses, increased reliance on automobile travel, and a lack of adequate infrastruc
ture for bicycling
and walking, act as barriers or inhibitors to physical activity.
Accumulating evidence sug
gests that transportation, land use, and urban design are
related to peop
le's decisions to be physically active.' Thus, transportation, land use,
and urban design plans all can affect neighborhood factors that encourage
physical
activity. For example, researchers found significantly lower obesity rates for resi
dents
Of tnore compact, denser, pedestrian-friendly, and transit-supportive ar eas of
the Atlanta region (Frank, Engelke, and Schmid 2003, 185). In a nationwide study of
the health effects of sprawl covering the 448 counties where 75 percent of Americans
live, researchers found that people living in counties marked by sprawling develop
ment are likely to walk less, weigh more, and suffer from hypertension (high blood
pressure) (McCann and Ewing 2003). The study's county sprawl index included six
variables reflecting residential density and the connectivity
of the street network.
2
Another nationwide study found that changes in the amount of land developed,
holding population constant, were related to larger increases in obesity
(Vandegrift
and
Yoked,
2004).
Land use planning in America has traditionally meant planning that supports
this conventional low-density development process. The extended ribbons
of com
merci
al development along highways all follow standard zoning, as do big tracts of
suburban housing each the same size on the same lots. The large-scale conversion of
open landscapes to suburban developments often results from requirements of stan
dard subdivision ordinances. The Chicago region's outward-spreading urban form
reflects this pattern
of change (see Sidebar 1-1 and Figures 1-3 and 1-4 ). As the two
Landsat imag
es in Figure 1-3 show, urban land has spread outward from the historic
center over the twent
y-five years between 1972 and 1997, replacing agricultural land.
The plan notes that this territorial growth rate
is far in excess of the rate of popula
tion growth, resulting in low-density sprawl and social segregation.
In an attempt to counter the outcomes
of this development process, the Chicago
Metropolis
2020 plan offers a range of sustainability recommendations that depart
from conventional land use planning practice. The overarching goal
of this plan is
not to simply accommodate the market demand that caters to the individual devel
oper and homeowner,
but to guide individual market decisions toward producing
a more sustainable urban form. The intent
is to ensure that public-interest goals
are
met while also realizing narrower aims. These recommendations span from

improving education, workforce development, governance, and the inequitable liv
ing conditions associated with race
and poverty to redeveloping and infilling within
the city and older suburbs, maintaining quality built environments, and preserving
valuable natural areas and working landscapes.
In this case, zoning is viewed only as
a mechanism, and, as the stakeholders in Chicago's metropolis have learned, it can
be used to safeguard the environment, encourage neighborhoods with mixes
of build
ing types and housing affordable to a range
of incomes, and require inner cities and
older suburbs that are compact and walkable.
Rapid Expansion of
Urban Form
The Chicago Metropolis 2020 plan (Johnson 2001) for the Chicago metropolitan region
analyzes social, economic, environmental, and livability aspects of regional development.
The Chic ago region's urban form is reflected in its land use pattern. Figure 1-3 shows that
urban land has spread outward into the countryside from the historic center between 1972
and 1997. This spatial rate of expansion far exceeds the rate of population growth, resulting
in low-density sprawl and social segregation. Although this spatial transformation has of
fered a
number of benefits to households and businesses, it has also exacted serious costs.
These costs
include reduced vi ability of public transportation, reduced air quality, inc.reased
in
frastructure costs, lessened sense of community, and loss of agricultural lands and envi
ronmentally important open space. Worst of all, the spatial transformation has resulted in
p
overty concentration and social segregation on a scale and to a degree unprecedented in
hi
story (Johnson
2001, 48).
1909 Burnham Plan and 2020 Regional Development Strategy
It is interesting to compare the Metropolis 2020 plan ~ith th7tamous 1909 Burnham
Plan of Chicago. Both plans are sponsored by the Commercial Club of Chicago. Both seek
to harness "two seemingly warring impulses: privatism and public control" (Miller 2001,
ix). Both take a regional view of land use and transportation. The Burnham plan is best
known for its twenty-mile-long lakefront park system and its radial and concentric boule
vards, which are present-day landmarks. The Burnham plan, a businessman's vision of
urban reform, turned out to be primarily about urban beautification, rather than housing
and human services.
As Donald
Miller
(2001) points out in his preface, a strength of the Metropolis 2020 plan is
its
attempt to connect job training, transportation, and housing policy. The Metropolis
2020
plan "sees the entire Chicago region as an interconnected ecosystem and presages a return
to the symbiotic relationship between city and suburb that existed in the age of the electric
streetcar" (emphasis supplied). It "promises to narrow economic inequities and right the
social balance in Chicago
while keeping it a capitalist
powerhouse" (Miller 2001, xvi). The
2020 plan proposes a metropolitan regional development strategy based on networked
intermodal villages centered on transportation hubs and connected by continuous public
greenways,
as shown in Figure 1-4.
In keeping with the Chicago ethic , the plan states that this
strategy need not be imposed; but should develop naturally as opportunities are recognized
and organized by local authorities,
with facilitation and incentives provided by a regional
coo
rdinating council. Thus, the Metropolis
2020 plan offers a regional vision, whose imple
mentation depends on the extent to which the future network of local plans acknowledges,
and seeks
to implement, its goals.
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Land cover 1972
BUrban Land
Agriculture
•Vegetation
•open Water
Land cover 1997
Fig. 1-3 Urban land in Chicago has spread outward over the twenty-five years between 1972 and
1997, replacing agricultural land.
Sustainable Development
The term "sustainable development" has generated popular appeal because it im
plies that the production and consumption
of goods and services and the devel
opment
of the built environment can be accomplished without degrading the
natural environment. The
1987 report
Our Common Future from the United Na
tions World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) set forth
the most widely used definition
of the concept:
"Sustainable development is de
velopment that meets the needs
of the present generation without compromising
the ability
of future generations to meet their own
needs" ( 43). The vision of
sustainability has influenced the formulation of a generation of international,
national, state, regional, and local plans and programs over the decade that fol
lowed the WCED report (Krizek and Power 1996; Lindsey 2003; Porter 2002).
Table 1-1 illustrates a range of definitions of sustainability from U.S. planning
and policy practice. Through diverse approaches to achieve sustainability, these
definitions attempt to weave together various combinations
of societal values re
ferred to
as the three Es (environment, economy, and equity) originally set forth
by the WCED (Berke
2002). A fourth value, livability, has become prominent in
planning practice involving the
human interaction with the physical environment
with a focus
on making places that fit the needs and aspirations of residents. The

Ii
lntermodal villages
developed around
· transportation hubs
~ Open space;
l limited development
j Existing suburbia
City of Chicago
f"ll Continuous public
L]greenway
Fig. 1-4 The strategy of networked intermodal villages need not be-Tmposed but should develop
naturally as opportunities are recognized and organized by local authorities. The Regional Coordi
nating Council facilitates and provides incentives.
definitions reflect work by planners and policy makers at the national, state, re
gional, and local levels in seeking to guide human settlement patterns in ways that
balance the core values, and in the process exposing and tackling the inherent
tensions among the values.
The central goal
of sustainable development is intergenerational equity, which
implies fairness to current and coming generations. That
is, current and future
generations must strive to achieve a decent standard
of living for all people and
live within the limits of natural systems. The concept of sustainable development
is stimulating a rethinking of many facets of how we live, not the least of which is
the conventional low-density suburban development pattern that has dominated
growth in metropolitan and rural fringe areas since World War
IL Defining the
key elements
of sustainable land use patterns for communities and regions
de
pends on many actors, each with a definition of what is important.
3
For example,
Berke
and Manta-Conroy
(2000) argue that land use plans should be developed
based
on six long-range sustainable development principles:
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Table 1-1
Examples of Sustainable Development Definitions from Practice
National Porcv
"Our vision is of a life-sustaining Earth. We are committed to the achievement of a dignified,
peaceful, and equitable existence. A sustainable United States will have a growing economy
that provides equitable opportunities for satisfying livelihoods and a safe, healthy, high
quality of life for current and future generations. Our nation will protect its environment, its
natural resource base, and the functions and viability of natural systems on which all life
depends" (President's Council on Sustainable Development 1996, i).
State Planning Policies
"Sustainable development links the environment, economy and social equity into practices
that benefit present and future generations" (North Carolina Environmental Resource Pro
gram 1997, 1).
"Sustainable development is development that maintains or enhances economic and com
munity well-being while protecting and restoring the natural environment upon which people
and economies depend" (Minnesota Planning and Environmental Quality Board 1998).
~ .
Regi,on al Plan
Sustainable development involves " ... achieving positive change that enhances the ecologi
cal, economic, and social systems upon which South Florida and its communities depend.
Once implemented these strategies will bolster the regional economy, promote quality
communities, secure healthy South Florida ecosystems, and assure todays' progress is not
achieved at tomorrow's expense" (Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida,
1996, 2).
LocalPlansand Programs
"Sustainability includes: ecological integrity to satisfy basic human needs; economic security
including local reinvestment, employment opportunities, local business ownership; empow
erment and responsibility including respect and tolerance of diverse values and equal
opportunity to participate; and social well-being, including a reliable food supply, housing
and education, creative expression through the arts, and sense of place" (City of Burlington
[Vermont] 1996, 2-3).
Sustainability is the "long-term cultural, economic, and environmental health and vitality"
(City of Seattle [Washington] 1994, 4).
Sustainable development is" ... the ability of [the] community to utilize its natural, human and
technological resources to ensure that all members of present and future generations can
attain high degrees of health and well-being, economic security, and a say in shaping their
future while maintaining the integrity of the ecological systems on which all life and produc
tion depends" (City of Cambridge [Massachusetts] 1993, 30).
"Sustainability means using, developing, and protecting resources at a rate that enables
people to meet their current needs while providing for the needs of future generations"
(Multinomah County [Oregon] 2003, 1).
"As a community, we need to create the basis for a more sustainable way of life both locally
and globally through the safeguarding and enhancing of our resources and by preventing
harm to the natural environment and human health" (City of Santa Monica [California] 1995,
1 ).

• Harmony with nature: land use and development support ecosystem pro
cesses.
• Livable built environment: development enhances fit between people and
urban form.
• Place-based economy: local economic activity operates within natural sys
tem limits
and meets local needs.
• Equity: land use patterns provide equitable access to social and economic
resources.
• Polluters pay: those who cause pollution bear its costs.
• Responsible regionalism: communities minimize harm to other jurisdic
tions in pursuit
of local goals.
In an analysis
of thirty high-quality local plans adopted between 1985 and 1995,
Berke and Manta-Conroy
(2000) discovered that plans do not take a balanced,
holistic approach to guiding development and moving toward sustainability. In
stead, they focus on creating more livable built environments, but have not
branched out into nontraditional subject matter in the planning field involving a
host
of other sustainability goals (i.e., harmony with nature, place-based economy,
equity, polluters pay, and responsible regionalism). These findings demonstrate
the utility
of the sustainability concept by revealing that new, expansive direc
tions must be taken to fundamentally reform how planning practice approaches
plan making.
Our primary interest in this book is to explain how land use planning can be
applied to create
human settlement patterns that promote sustainable outcomes
in metropolitan regions, cities, towns, and villages.
Two concepts prevalent in
contemporary
planning-Smart Growth and New
U.rJ2anism-are related to sus
tainable development and promote various aspects
of sustainability, although they
are
not the same and do not substitute for sustainability.
4
Smart Growth
Since the early
1990s, the concept of Smart Growth has been proposed as an alter
native to conventional development (Porter 2002). Smart Growth programs seek
to identify a common ground where communities explore ways to accommodate
growth based on consensus on development decisions through inclusive and par
ticipatory processes. Smart Growth promotes compact, mixed-use development
that encourages choice
of travel mode (walking, cycling, transit, and autos) by
coordinating transportation and land use, requires less open space, and
gives pri
ority to maintaining
and revitalizing existing neighborhoods and business cen
ters. State and local Smart Growth initiatives include incentives and requirements
to direct public and private investment away from the creation
of new infrastruc
ture and development that spreads
out from existing areas (Porter 1998).
The Smart Growth movement evolved from statewide growth management
initiatives and drew its name from legislation and programs developed by the
State
of Maryland (see sidebar 1-2 and Figure 1-5). This program concentrates
development through the designation
of county-certified existing or planned
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Vision
development areas, and targets valued open spaces (e.g., prime agriculture lands,
natural areas like forest s, and aquifer recharge zones) for acquisition with state funds.
Several
other states have become active in mandating or encouraging communities
to adopt Smart Growth as new programs have been developed in Delaware, Mary
land, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, and Washington (Godsc halk
2000).
Although Smart Growth's central concern has been to reform state growth
management legislation (Meck 2002), its concepts have also influenc ed local plans
and been endorsed in the policy statements of professional-and business-interest
groups, such as the American Planning Association, the International City County
---
Sidebar 1-2
MARYLAND'S SMART GROWTH PROGRAM
Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth Areas A~ was adopted to counter suburban sprawl. The
core elements of the vision are: concer'ltrate dEM31opmerit in suitable ar as; prutect sensij
tive .areas.; and direct rw~ I gr.owth to existing villagasto create or maintain compacc urban
forms. ' -
Priority Fund"ng Ar~as
Tho state provide·s funding for 'nfrastructure to support growth only in state· and county
designated priority fundinQ areas (PFAs). The county-certified PFAs are delineated on the
basls that areas are sui able for planned growth, infrnstructure is provided, and suitable
areas are of adequate size to meet th~ demands of future development.
Counties must prepare plans that designate PFAs. Types of areas eligible for i;Jesi!.Jna
tion itlclude: existing communities served by sewer and water; ar as zoned for industry
and
employment; rural villages desi,gnate·d in local comprehensive plans;
and areas that
reflec:t a county's long-term policy for promoting orderly developmem and are planned to
be served by se~ver and water. To qua,ify for stare funding, counti es rnustalso adopt a mix
of incentives and re-gulations to promote development within the PFAs. Figure 1-5 fllus
trates
the PFAs
of Montgomery County, Maryland. Ttia main core of PFAs represent the
county's existing and planned growth corridor, and the smaller PFAs disconnected from
the core are primarily rural villages.
Rural Legacy Program
The Rural Legacy Program provides funding and focus to identify and protect the most
valuable farmland and natural resourc. es 01.1tside the PFAs through the purchase of eas -
rnents and devel
opment
rights of landowner s. T 1e goal is to preserve 200,000 acres by
2001. In Montgomery County, these areas are located in tile wedges of open space adja,
cent
to
the growth corridor of designated PFAs (see fig ore 1-51.
Related Programs
The Live ear Work Pm{lram offers employees a one-time payment toward the purchase
of a house cfose to their places of work; the Job Creation Tax Credit Program offars re·
ducecl taxes to businesses that locate in PFAs; and the Voluntary Cleanup and Brownfields
Program is desi gned to red'9'v·elop ab;:iridoned or u derutiliz,ed sites.

Priority Funding Areas
Montgomery County, Maryland
Location of PFAs
Fig. 1-5 Priority funding areas in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Source: Maryland Department of Housing and Urban Development 2003.
Management Association, the National Association of Homebuilders, and the
Urban Land Institute. Its tenets are promoted by the Smart Growth Network
(www.smartgrowth.org) and the Sustainable Communities Network
(www.sustainable.org). ,. ~ ·~
New Urbanis~
Compared to Smart Growth, New Urbanism is more architecturally prescriptive
and detailed in specifying the physical layout of a community in which design,
scale,
land use mix, and street-network elements dominate (Calthorpe 1993;
Calthorpe
and Fulton
2001; Duany and Plater-Zyberk 1991; Duany, Plater-Zyberk,
and Speck 2000). Its nonprofit organization-the Congress for the New Urban
ism ( CNU)-addresses the social cohesion and sense of place implications of ur
ban design decisions. Members adopted a charter in 1996 (Leccese and McCormick
2000), which states:
We stand for the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within
coherent metropolitan region
s, the reconfiguration of sprawling sub
urbs into communities
of real neighborhoods and diverse dist ricts, the
conservation
of natural environments, and the preservation of our built
legacy.
We recognize that physical solutions by themselves will not solve
social
and economic problems, but neither can economic vitality, com
munity stability, and environmental health be sustained w ithout a co
herent
and supportive physical framework. (v)
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The charter of the New Urbanism is basically a design manifesto that lays out
twenty-seven principles for three scales of development (Calthorpe and Fulton
2001, 279-285): 1) region, metropolis, city, and town; 2) neighborhood, district,
and corridor; and 3) block, street, and building. For example, the charter states
that communities should be designed to create compact, mixed-use urban forms
designed
to foster close-knit social communities by enhancing civic interaction
between public
and private spaces, as well as to increase community legibility and
sense of place (see Figure 1-6). Streets should be pedestrian (not auto) friendly
and use a grid layout to shorten trip lengths, in contrast to the looped cul-de-sac
pattern of conventional suburban developments (see Figure 1-7). Linkages are
created
among commercial, office, residential, and transit facilities; common com
munity areas serve as spatial focal points; and each community is designed at the
half-mile-wide "village
scale." These features are strongly reminiscent of the "neigh
borhood unit" approach to planning first popularized in the 1920s by the Re
gio-nal Planning Association
of America
(Perry 1939).
Fig. 1-6 Streetscapes of the new urban development in Southern Village (left) and conventional
development in Parkside (right) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. New urban development shows
narrower streets (twenty-six feet compared
to thirty-two feet) and other features that
lead to
reduced imperviousness-smaller lots, shallower setbacks, and porches rather than driveways and
garages. However, sidewalks are on both sides of the street for new urban development. Photos by
Philip R. Berke 2002.
Fig. 1-7 The preferred diagram shows a pedestrian-friendly layout that uses a grid layout to
shorten trip lengths, in contrast to the looped cul-de-sac pattern of conventional suburban develop
ments. Source: Sacramento County Planning and Community Development Department 1990.

Individual New Urban developmen ts are con ceived as fundamental building blocks
of New Urbani
sm at the regional scale (Calthorpe a nd Fulton
2001; Duany and Talen
2002). They form an interco nnected netw ork of mixed-use, high-density nodes of
development linked by transit co rridors (see Figure 1-8). Within this network, re
gional open spaces cr
eate a la ndscape-scale co mmons and ecological ide ntity that
serve as parks, act as b
arriers to limit outward expansion of urban develo pment, and
p
rotect farmla nds and environmentally sensitive areas. This New
Urban version of
regionalism builds
on a long tradition of planning most ostensibly p romulgated by
British planners
Patrick Geddes and Ebenez er Howard in the late nineteen th cen
tury and the Regional Planning Associati on of America in the 1920s (Wheeler 2002).
Fig. 1-8 The Transportation-Oriented Development Concept. Each transit
oriented development (TOD) of 50-100 acres is a cluster of housing, retail space,
offices, and civic uses c entered on a transit station. TODs would be strung like
beads along transit lines. Source: Sacramento County Planning and Community
Development Department 1990.
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Relationships of Smart Growth and New Urbanism to Sustainable
Development
Although Smart Growth and New Urbanism offer visionary alternatives of de
sired outcomes compared to the
dominant pattern of conventional low-density
development, there are questions about whether they
fall short of the broader
goals
of sustainable development. Smart Growth specifies a macroscale commu
nity land use
and infrastructure policy framework that is rooted more broadly in
urban planning
and public policy principles compared to New Urbanism, though
it also includes
urban design principles. However, Smart Growth does not offer a
physical design image
and layout of community form that is essential for guiding
decisions about land use and urban development. The more detailed and site
specific design principles
of New Urbanism take on many of the substantive poli
cies
of Smart Growth,
5
but only offer limited guidance and subsequent influence
on the protection of environmentally sensitive areas, revitalization of inner cities
and urbanized areas, and provision of affordable housing.
Given these limitations, a more holistic and integrated vision
of community
building
is needed. The vision of sustainable development would extend Smart
GrowtrrandNew Urban concepts to embrace natural systems, place-based econo
mies, and social equity,
as well as broader regional ( and global) concerns.
Under
the sustainability vision, Smart Growth and New Urbanism would play an essen
tial role
as mid-range visions designed to guide communities toward long-range
sustainable outcomes. Moreover, the vision
of sustainability needs to be flexible
and adaptable to meet the needs
of diverse interest groups, fit in different con
texts, and serve
as a guide to consensus-based discourse and open communica
tion in the planning process. (In chapter
2, we offer a more in-depth discussion of
the management of land use change and provide a prism model of sustainability
for guiding the plan-making process.) Tying such a vision into the land use plan
ning arena demands several collaborative skills.
Land
Use Values
To be an effective player and manager in the land use game, the planner must
understand the goals and values of other major players with a stake in game out
comes. The inputs to planning come from stakeholders who view development
through the lens
of their land use values (see Figure 1-1). Planners must seek
opportunities to forge consensus among competing stakeholder groups to ad
vance
common interests and public purposes that are essential for building more
sustainable communities. They must be able to track, identify, and clarify the di
verging
and complementary values among these groups. The composition of the
groups and alliances among them can shift over time as consensus about how to
resolve land use issues
is achieved and new issues are raised (Jenkins-Smith and
Sabatier 1994). As noted, there are several dominant stakeholder groups attempt
ing to influence the direction
of future urban growth and change, with each group
giving the most weight to one
of four sets of land use values: economic develop
ment, environmental protection, social equity, and livability. These values can be
separate
and competing or intermingled and supporting.

Economic Development Values
Economic development values depict land as a commodity for the production,
consumption, and distribution
of products and services for profit. These values · represent the engines of community building, adding value to the land through
investment in industry, commercial structures, and residential buildings. From
the perspective
of these values, the most obvious measure of winnings in the land
use game
is the profit from the sale of land and buildings.
Logan and Motoloch ( 1987) explain how land development markets work by
identifying three types
of entrepreneurs who seek profit: serendipitous entrepre
neurs who inadvertently gain wealth from land (inheritance); active entrepreneurs
who depend
on good forecasting skill and wise investments; and structural specu
lators who seek to structure markets by influencing political decision making about
land use
and infrastructure investment. The structural speculators tend to work
in organized coalitions or
"growth machines;' and are the most important entre
preneur. Growth machines include bankers, lawyers, real estate agents, develop
ers, and elected officials who work in concert to promote their development agenda.
They scrutinize land policies, regulations, and plans for their impacts
on the mon
etary values
of the land. This group is sometimes joined by those who simply
advocate the lessening
of government intervention into the market as an ideo
logical position.
These economic development investment interests are constrained by land plan
ning and market demand.
To succeed, their projects must pass both a government
test
and a market test. They must satisfy the intent of governmental plans and
regulations adopted by the local elected representatives to obtain a development
permit. They must satisfy the consumer's taste to sell and make a profit. They
operate in a market
of buyers and sellers that
i~in.tlu.enced by public plans and
service programs
but are not driven by them. For this interest group, the driving
forces are the growth
of the population, the economy, and interest rates, which
affect demand and capital availability. _
Land use planning affects the development market by identifying land that
is
available or planned for development; by limiting the type, location, timing, and
density
of development that can take place; by programming the infrastructure to
support development and allocating its costs between the public and private sec
tors;
and by specifying the standards under which development proposals will be
reviewed. These actions define the supply
of suitable land for development. They
have been described
as
"managing the market." Although that description is too
extreme for most cases, it
is clear that the active land planner is attempting to
guide the process
of land use change in accordance with community goals. In that
sense, the land planner can be seen
as both a
"development manager" and a "man
ager of change."
Environmental Protection Values
Environmental protection values view the city as a consumer of resources and
land and a producer of wastes. Environmental groups that take on these values
range from those who seek to protect the environment for utilitarian purposes to
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those with a deep intrinsic value for nature. Often these groups are lo cal chapters
of such national advocacy groups as the Sierra Club, Ducks Unlimited, a nd the
Isaac
Walton League. They v iew land polici es and plans through an ecological
len
s, seeking the protection of existing natural environmental featur es such as
wetlands, streams, and forests. Sometimes they may form coalitions with neigh
borhood groups opposed to growth.
In practice, environmental values are often presented to the planner in the form
of three perspectives: direct utility values, indirect utility valu es, and intrinsic val
ues.
Direct utility va lues ask the question
"What good is it?" Many people value
only the direct utility
of nature for themselves. Th ey use the powerful
"product" -
oriented argume
nt for nature (e.g., board feet from forests, fish as a source of
food). Under some circumstanc es, groups that take on these values might help
raise public suppo
rt for protecting certain parts of ecosystem s, but they cannot be
used to justi
fy seemingly economically worthless life forms.
Indirect utility values focus on ecosystem services offered to human communi
ties. Th
ey recognize the value of interdepe ndent relationships within an ecosys
tem that are
not taken into account by the direct utility values. Exampl es include
soil generation and dec
omposition functions for food growth, and wetlands and
beaver
da¥1s th~t offer flood miti gation and water pollutant filtering services. The
indirect utility perspective helps justify
the enactment of development controls
like stream
buffers to protect water quality and tree preservation to supp ort wild
life
and aesthetic beauty.
Intrinsic values counter the shortcomings of direct and indirect utilitarian ar
guments by emphasizing the deep, intrinsic appreciation for a ll life forms. In his
1948 classic book,
A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold maintains that human
beings are part oflarger com munities or ecosystems, and that "conservation based
solely
on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided. It tends to ignore and thus
eventually eliminate, many elements
of the land community that lack commercial
value,
but that are essential to its healthy functioning. It assumes falsely that the
economic
parts of the biotic clock will funct ion without the uneconomic
parts"
(Leopold 194 8, 251 ). The Leopold perspective on land stewardship helped justify
the passage
of the federal Endangered
Species Act in 1973 and international trea
ties to save whales
and ban trade in ivory.
The
connections between community land use and environmental quality will
intensi
fy as more scientific knowledge of environmental systems is accumulated
and is translated into findings relevant for land use planning. As a result, environ
mental groups will be able to de mand more sophisticated environmental quality
monitoring, the setting of more precise perfor mance standards, and the applica
tion
of new land suitability a nd environmental impacts methods in the local land
use planning process.
Equity
Values
Social equity values depict the community as a location of conflict about the distri
bution of resources, services, and opportuniti
es. Advocates of these valu es contend
that land
use patterns should recogn ize and improve the conditions oflow-income
and minority populations a
nd not deprive them of basic lev els of environmental

health and human dignity. Equitable access to social and economic resources is es
sential for eradicating poverty and in accounting for the needs
of the least advantaged.
Advocates
of environmental justice oppose the unfair siting of hazardous waste fa
cilities, highway construction projects that cut through inner-city neighborhoods
to link downtowns to wealthy suburbs, garbage dumps in minority communities,
and discrimination in urban housing markets. They believe
that the benefits and the
burdens
of a consuming society are not shared equitably. Too often the ability of the
wealthy to prosper depends upon the restriction of other people's rights to commu
nities that are clean, safe, and economically viable.
Feminist
urban scholars
(Spain 1992, 2001) assert a different set of social eq
uity values in which gender is
an organizing force equal to class and race. Gender
does
not lead to spatial segregation but to different urban forms within defined
areas
of class and ethnicity. In this view, conventional development patterns, ori
ented to male activity patterns, do
not meet the needs for women's daily activities
that involve waged, domestic labor, and child care. Separation of work places and
residential areas under conventional development isolates women's space and
lengthens travel times for work and household activities.
Scholars
of nonconformist groups, including gay men, lesbians, and others,
assert
another perspective of social equity values in which sexuality can be a fac
tor that explains community formation and land use change. Research has high
lighted cultural
and social reasons for nonconformist groups moving into and
gentrifying urban neighborhoods
that are equivalent to or more powerful than
economic reasons. Castells (1997), Forsyth
(2001), and Lauria and Knopp ( 1985),
among others, maintain that forces driving gay and lesbian community forma
tion are linked to group support, safety,
and identify formation. Not all members
of nonconformist groups, or even a majority, were determined to be high-income,
middle-class professionals. Many people were
only able-to live in their neighbor
hoods because they were willing to make significant economic sacrifices.
Planners can gain
important lessons about how the values of the increasingly
influential nonconforming
but traditionally marginalized groups affect land use
change. Planners typically react
to needs of conformist groups (e.g., providing
housing for heterosexual families
or dual heads of households), but have less ex
perience with nonconformist ones.
In light of an increasingly diverse population,
the challenge for planners is
to reconsider core values about family, culture, and
community and to anticipate how urban forms should be adapted to meet emerg
ing needs.
Livability Values
Livability values are expressed by those who react to land use change based on
their social and community interests. Advocates of these values typically call for
the preservation
and enhancement of the social and physical amenities of com
munities
that support desired activity patterns, safety, lifestyles, and aesthetic val
ues. They scrutinize land policies
and plans for the impacts on their quality oflife
while also keeping
an eye on the impacts on the market value of their property. In
the absence of an informed community consensus about future growth, those
who give weight
to these values may mobilize to block or modify development.
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Neighborhood groups sometimes include those who seek to prevent any new
development,
or at least prevent adjacent de velopment at densit ies higher than
theirs. The stopping power
of these groups often creates local gridlocks. Terms
such
as
"not in my backyard" (NIMBY), "local unwanted land uses" (LULU), "build
absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone" (BANANA), among others, have be
come symbolic
of neighborhood livability values. Citizen-participation planner
Randy Hester sums
up the state of affairs in the neighborhood-preservation mo ve
ment since the
1980s by arguing that contemporary public participation can be
characterized
as self-interested, short-sighted, segregated along class and racial
lines, legally sophisticated,
and fearful (1999, 19).
Although Hester
's depiction is too extreme for most communities, local plan
ning programs are well situated to break the barriers that create self-serving be
havior. Planners can apply participatory urban design techniques to educate resi
dents about urban forms that reflect the larger
public interest necessary to help
change the narrowly defined view
of livability to a broader, more inclusive view. -Planners can also work to develop communication and consensus-building strat
egies across neighborhood groups and create cooperation and bring about plans
that promote mutual benefit.
Coalitions of
Land Use Values
In the land use planning arena, distinct alliances (or coalition s) of groups may
form when their values overlap. These coalitions are often in conflict.
Two tradi
tional adversaries are the
"anti-growth" versus "pro-growth" coalitions. The "anti
growth" coalition consists of neighborhood associations dominated by
homeowners who share an interest in the preservation of the rural character of
urbanizing areas and in limiting development to achieve those ends. Their inter
est
in limiting development is shared by environmental groups who seek protec
tion
of the ecological integrity of the landscape. The
"pro-grow th" coalition in
clud
es developers, l and owners, and the building industry who share an interest
in profits from the development of land. Their interest in promoting develop
ment
is shared by downtown businesses, suburban businesses, and the chamber
of commerce, who believe that development will bring new people who, in turn,
will become their customers, promote their economic prosperity, and, indirectl
y,
promote the prosperity of the community.
A third alliance, the
"social advocacy" coalition, is often an adversary to both
the "anti-growth" and "pro-growth" coalitions. It consists of low-income groups
and minority populations that share an interest
in making the distribution of the
benefits
of a healthy living environment and economic developme nt more equi
table. Difficult issues
must be
tackled if conflicts associated with this coalition are
to be resolved. A core issue for this coalition
is how those at the bo ttom of society
can find greater economic opportunity if environmental protec
tion mandates di
minish economic growth.
Poor communities, for example, must frequently con
front a no-win choice between economic survival
and environmental quality when
the only economic opportunities are landfills, waste incinerators, and polluting
industrial plants that more affluent communities often oppose
(Bryant 1995). In
many cases, the poor communities consist mostly of minority populations, thus

raising the specter that environmental racism is an integral feature of conflicts
associated with the "social advocacy" coalition.
Planners
must understand that the adversarial behavior assumption does not
always hold. The relationships among diverse interest groups are often interde
pendent. For example, inner-city residents share an interest with suburban em
ployers oflow-wage workers
in having frequent transit service and close location
of transit stops. Their interest in promoting mass transit is shared by environ
mental advocacy groups who want transit to reduce dependency
on automobiles
that generate considerable air pollution. The competitive orientation within the
land planning arena
is thus tempered with the need for cooperation.
The task for planners in the
land use game is to help communities build rela
tionships by developing
mutual trust and cooperation needed to improve overall
game outcomes.
To be acceptable and effective, land use plans must recognize and
reconcile the pluralistic interests of other various stakeholder groups with those
of markets. They must work to inspire and motivate groups to understand inter
dependencies
and gain confidence in the reality of a common good or civic pur
pose. In
The Spirit of Community, Amitai Etzioni speaks of building
"social webs
that
bind individuals, who would otherwise be on their own, into groups of people
who care for
one another and who help maintain a civic, social, and moral
order"
(Etzioni 1993, 248). The "connectedness" within a place is the glue that binds
social
and natural communities. Planners should offer guidance to communities
seeking to create and restore those elements
of place that foster the social fabric of
communities, including, for example: identifying buildings and natural landmarks
of cultural importance to evoke a connection to the community's history; creat
ing built environments
that encourage spontaneous face-to-face interaction (e.g.,
pocket parks, pedestrian-oriented streets); encouraging public life
in private places
by encouraging spaces created by small
businesses (-e.g~,Sidewalk cafes, taverns,
and bookstores), not just corporate theme spaces like shopping malls and
Disneyland; and improving opportunities for community participation among
all groups in planning for a sustainable future.
The Land
Use Planning Program
This section focuses on the land use planning program, which is the central di
mension in the land use game (see Figure 1-1).
A local planning program serves three key functions:
1) planning support sys
tems;
2) a network of plans; and 3) monitoring and evaluation. Because the focus of
this book is on plan making and plans, the concepts and procedures for creating
planning support systems and plans are emphasized.
Part 2 (chapters 4 through 9)
covers the key data input and analysis techniques for the demographic, economic,
environmental, land use, transportation, and infrastructure components
of a plan
ning support system. Chapter 3 provides an overview
of the network of plans and
evaluation criteria to guide the creation
of high-quality plans, and
Part 3 (chapters
10 through 14) provides a detailed explanation of the concepts and sequence
of tasks associated with preparing plans. Chapter 15 in Part 3 offers a general over
view
of the remaining two functions that address the daily work of planners in plan
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implementation. This includes preparing new and amending existing ordinances,
budgeting capital improvement projects, reviewing site plans
of development projects,
and establishing the main components for monitoring, evaluating, and updating plans.
Planning Support Systems
The first function is to establish a planning support system to collect, collate, and
analyze spatially referenced data. The system tracks current conditions
and trends
about a planning area, as well
as determines compliance with federal and state
policy to avoid penalties
and gauge local eligibility for grants. It also provides
information to build local knowledge
about issues and trends and to facilitate
discourse
and decisions about a planning area's population, economy, environ
ment, land use,
and infrastructure. This means making information available upon
request to players in the land use game when they need it, during advance plan
ning, problem solving,
and permitting procedures. A product of the planning sup
port system is a State of Community Report which provides a summary of issues,
scenarios,
and visions to be used in the plan-making process.
A planning support system aids in improving knowledge
and consensus build
ing by
modeling the impacts of alternative scenarios of land use patterns, which
allows for assessment
of the compatibility of alternatives with interest group val
ues and agreed
upon visions of the community (Klosterman
2000, Wachs 2001).
The crafting of scenarios that accomplish different combinations of values is ex
emplified
in the creation of the 1996 San Jose General
Plan. This plan considered
a series
of alternative land use scenarios ranging from a continuation of past de
velopment
practices-which was determined to be unacceptable from environ
mental
and urban infrastructure perspectives-to the prohibition of development
outside the urbanized area-which was found to be unacceptable politically and
economically. The compromise solution permitted the expansion of the urban
area, but only in limited areas adjacent to existing urban development where ur
ban services
could be provided at a minimum cost and environmental impacts
could be adequately mitigated (City
of San Jose 1994).
A Network of
Plans: Areawide Land Policy, Communitywide Land Use
Design, Small Area, and Development Management
The second function of a local land use planning program is preparing and adopt
ing a long-range plan. Sometimes called a master, general,
or comprehensive plan, a
plan
is a long-range policy document that guides the location, design, density, rate,
and type of development within a community over a twenty-to thirty-year time
frame. The core purposes
of a plan are to offer a consensus-based community vi
sion for future development; provide facts, goals, and policies for translating this
vision into a land use pattern; inject long-range considerations into short-range
actions that promote a future land use pattern that
is socially just, economically
viable, and environmentally compatible;
and represent a
"big picture" of the com
munity that
is related to broader regional (and potentially global) trends. To stay
relevant, the plan
is updated from time to time as local development trends, natural
system conditions, and policy goals change.

Planners and their communities can select among three spatial scales of plans
as well as use combinations
of these plans to formulate an integrated network of
plans for guiding development. An areawide land policy plan specifies a general
spatial
pattern that delineates areas where transition from rural to urban develop
ment will occur to accommodate future growth and where redevelopment or sig
nificant infill will occur.
It also indicates where development should not occur in
environmentally sensitive areas. A
communitywide land use design plan includes
more specific arrangement of land use patterns that primarily focus on human
use vaiues (e.g ., commercial and employment areas, mixed-use areas, major ac
tivity centers,
urban open-space systems) in urban districts outlined in the areawide
land policy plan. Proposed areas of agriculture, forestry, and environmental uses
can also be delineated. Densities are often indicated as well. A
small ( or specific)
area plan
provides the most detail in specifying urban land uses and natural sys
tem protection within the framework of areawide land policy and communitywide
land use design plans. These plans are focused on central business districts, neigh
borhoods, transportation corridors,
and open-space networks for environmental
protection
and recreation.
A
development-management plan is a fourth type of plan that can be formu
lated at various geographic scales
and is often folded into the other plans rather
than provided as a stand-alone plan. It consists of a combination of various tools
for guiding land use change (e.g., development regulations, capital impro
vements,
and incentives). It may also give close attention to the timing of urbanization and
ensuring that expansion of public infrastructure is concurrent with the pace of
private development.
A related development-management function
is establishment of a development
management program. A development-management program translates the devel
opment-management plan into implementation
~ctfons. Although the plan is a docu
ment that sets forth the community's desired future land use pattern, it typically
does not actually manage land use and development. A development-management
program, however,
is conceived as a set of implementation actions to achieve form
based goals (i.e., goal forms), shown as the
output from the network of plans leading
toward the sustainable community (see Figure 1-1). A local development-manage
ment program relies on a variety of traditional and innovative tools, including po
lice power regulations, public expenditures for infrastructure, taxation, and land
acquisition techniques. These tools impose
or encourage adherence to land use and
development standards
by the public and private sector.
In many instances, lay citizens, elected officials, and even some planners look at
drafting and adoption of a land use ( or comprehensive) plan as the solution to man
aging land use change. They do
not understand that ordinances, infrastructure im
provements, and other governmental actions must be enacted before a community
has an effective planning program. Moreover, beyond the adoption
of ordinances, a
development-management program includes the ongoing process
of reviewing and
approving the location, type, size, density, timing, mix, and site design of pro
posed developments. It also includes enforcing the ordinances and otherwise play
ing
an active role in the land use game. In addition, it includes making decisions
about water and sewer extensions, transportation corridors and facilities, parks
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and recreation, and other public facilities. Finally, development management in
volves feedback to planning support systems, plans,
and problem-solving functions,
as well as adjustment of land use controls in response to experience in striving for
sustainability. In short,
we see direct involvement in development management as
an extension of planning. Planning becomes action, and action is the final step in
the design
of policy.
This concept
of a network of plans is based on the actual diversity of
U.S. plan
ning institutions. It does
not assume either a hierarchical authority structure or a
single combination
of plans specified by the network of plans that is appropriate
for every community.
We do not argue for a
"one-size-fits-all" approach. Commu
nities may select various types
of plans.
Others may combine elements of different
types
of plans within the network into a single hybrid plan. In each instance, the
community's network
of plans should be tailored to fit particular issues and offer
balanced solutions
that account for multiple values. As in the Denver case discussed
in
c:;hapter 2, often different agencies will prepare different functional or area-based
plans. However, these plans will be more effectively implemented if the area's plan
ners
and decision makers recognize the opportunities for consistent networking.
As will
b~ dis5ussed in chapter 3 and chapters 10-15, there are multiple types of
plans that fiave l:ieen used successfully. They range from the general to the specific,
from regional to neighborhood scales,
and from visionary designs to practical
day-to-day development management. These choices comprise a rich
and varied
array
of alternatives from which planners and their communities can assemble a
combination that best fits their needs
and capabilities.
6
The physical land use plans discussed in this book are sometimes criticized on
the grounds that they place too much emphasis on the physical characteristics of
a community and give insufficient attention to either the process of planning or
to the free market. According to this view, physical planning imposes too much
order and infringes on personal freedom, does not do enough to foster open par
ticipation,
and frustrates consumer choice. Elaborate critiques of physical plan
ning have been
spun by postmodernists (Harvey
1990) and the libertarian right,
which views the expansion
of the planning function as perilous to society (Gor
don and Richardson 1997).
As discussed, we argue that the procedural perspective has merit, but there also is
merit in the physical plan. We do not propose that planners be given powers to man
date top-down, unitary conceptions
of land use and urban forms. This approach to
planning was the downfall
of modernism, and planners have been keenly aware that
plans should be produced from an open
and participatory process. But plans should
also represent a consensus-based vision
of urban forms that support the common
good.
Studies have shown that high-quality plans with clear goals and policies and a
strong fact base have exerted considerable influence
on land use patterns that achieve
a variety
of public goals, including natural hazard mitigation, economic develop
ment,
and environmental protection.
7
Moreover, numerous examples in planning
practice show that visionary, physical plans and their graphic images
of the future
make a difference in land use outcomes. The
"wedges and corridors" vision of the
Washington, D.C., metropolitan area (i.e., wedges of open space and corridors of
development) was embodied in the 1969 Montgomery County Plan, Maryland, and

successfully implemented (see Figures 1-9, 1-10, 1-11). The principles and a dia
gram
of this vision included in the plan helped to establish a countywide ethos that
pla
ces civic responsibility over individual interests.
8
The plan gave cities, suburbs,
and rural towns a medium
to communicate through and a means to achieve consen
sus in defining shared interests and
common goals. An updated version of this vi
sion serves
as the central organi zing framework in the 1993 plan for the county.
Fig. 1-9
"Wedges and corridors" vision
for Washington Metro.
Urban Ring
1-270 Corridor
Suburban Communities
Residenti
al Wedge
Agricultural Wedge
ARlltJGTON
COUNTY
P1aee nern.;,s are 1dert1fied for g&0g rap~ ICfl." lerenc OJ ooly
Fig. 1-10 Land areas map for Maryland counties
in Washington Metro.
Fig. 1-11 General plan for Montgomery County,
Maryland, 1993.
Source for Figures 1-9, 1-10, 1-11 is Maryland
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
1993.
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New modes of planning and participatory democracy also led to design-based
plans in Europe
that mattered. Grassroots planning initiatives produced vision
ary physical plans
that guided the restoration of historic centers of Barcelona and
Madrid (Spain), the renovation of Bologna, Italy, and the Thames River Gateway
Strategy in Britain. Indeed,
during the
1970s through the 1990s, all of Western
Europe experienced a resurgence of long-range visioning and physical plans
(Neuman 1996, 1998).
Monitoring and Evaluation
The third function is to monitor environmental, economic, and social outcomes
caused by changes in land use,
as illustrated in Figure 1-1. The monitoring data
feeds into the planning support system that continuously tracks progress of plan
implementation and evaluates success based on the extent to which outcomes
achieve plan goals.
Monitoring provides a planning support system with a factual
basis for making plan revisions. It also serves to
inform citizens and interest groups
and to help them participate in evaluation procedures for revising plans at regular
five-
and ten-year intervals.
A growing
number of communities have been developing urban sustainability
indicators for monitoring progress toward achievement of plan goals that repre
sent the
long-term economic, social, or environmental health of a community
over generations. There are three ways in which urban sustainability indicators
can be distinguished
from typical objectives in plans that are designed to measure
progress (Maclaren 1996). First, sustainability indicators
integrate the linkages
among social, environmental, and economic dimensions of a community (e.g.,
land use change influences travel distances, contributing to air-quality decline,
especially in inner-city low-income areas). Second, sustainability indicators are
forward-looking in terms of linkage to reference points (or benchmarks) that de
fine intermediate steps in
moving toward goals. Third, they are distributional in
that indicators not only take into account intergenerational equity but also the
distribution of conditions within a population based on age, gender, ethnicity,
income,
and location.
In sum, the
planning support system, the network of plans, and monitoring
represent the core components of a local government strategy for managing the
complex
and turbulent land planning arena, and for seeking sustainable develop
ment outcomes that balance social, environmental, economic, and livability val
ues
within communities. Achieving sustainability requires strong commitment
by local elected officials and citizens to implement the strategy. Planners must be
prepared to continually adjust over time to reflect the lessons learned from imple
mentation and changes in the land planning arena (Hopkins
2001). Local land
use planning programs must be designed to be flexible and adaptable to respond
to continuous change in system conditions. Planners also must be aware that the
rigor
and depth of the methods employed in creating a planning support system,
the detail in which plans address
land use arrangements, and the mix of develop
ment-management tools adopted to implement the plan vary in accordance to
the particular circumstances
of a local government charged with creating the plan.

Core Planning Capabilities
In the face of pressures to alter land plans to suit a changing panoply of public and
private interests and trends, local planners need a strong sense of their own role
values
to maintain the i ntegrity of the planning process. While the other players
unabashedly advocate their own interests and often feel free to use any available
means
to achieve their ends, planners are expected to advocate overall public in
terest
and to be constrained by professional methods, ethics, and tenets to facili
tate achievement
of the ends of other players. Although plan ners can make sub
stantive recommendations, these will be subject to intense scrutiny
and attack by
other players. And because pla nners write and enforce the rules of the game, they
will be subject
to constant pressure to favor one side or the other or to make
exceptions for them.
To counter these press ures, planners should have several special capabi lities to
be effectively engaged in the land planni ng arena. Sidebar 1-3 illustrates planners'
capabilities, which suggests
that planners should be visionary, comprehensive, tech
nically competent, fair, consensus seeking, and innovative. Together, these capabili
ties constitute
the professional expertise that the public and the planning profes
sion expect
of planners. Subsequent chapters demonstrate how these capabilities
play a role in shaping plans
that advance more sustainable com munities.
-
--~ ~ ~ -~~-~~ ------._--, .. ~-::::::--_,_~•r• -- .-_
_ : · --_ _..: ,~ Sidebar .. 1-3 _
-...:... -- - . -
. __ .}cofle ~,_cAeAe1uti1Es ·oF PLAN
1NeRs
!'" •• _:_-=..-:!,:''f .. - •'"''"''.-""'1.-or-~, ... _ -
Planners should be:
• Visionary. They must look beyond immediate concerns ~he needs of future gen
erations. Planners must be able to foresee and shape the scope and character of
future development, identify existing and emerging needs, and fashion plans to en
sure that those needs will be met. Visionary thinking also requires skills to create
powerful images for advancing visions of future urban form.
• Comprehensive. Planners should see links among local groups with similar goals
that sometimes work on parallel tracks without collaborating. Comprehensive think
ing can help break barriers of parochial thinking conditioned by locality, class, ideol
ogy, and culture to form broad-based coalitions that emphasize the larger public
vision. Substantively, planners must see li nks among urban systems as interdepen
dent parts of a whole, and not succumb to pressure to focus only on one-dimen
sional plans that affect a particular system in isolation from others.
• Technically competent. With a strong emphasis on political effectiveness, planners
s
ometimes do not give technical analysis sufficient consideration.
Planners should
expect particular interest groups to advocate a plan change on the basis of partisan
analysis.
However, the
planners should be able to carry out technical tasks with rigor,
objectivity, and sensiti vity to assumptions. Technical competence includes applica
tion of forecasting methods to project future needs and impacts, detection of trends,
and d erivation of research-based policy recommendations.
• Fair. In a fair process of planning, all interest groups affected by the plan must have an
opportunity to influence plan content. Fairness involves analy zing plan alternatives
Continued
29
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concerning the impacts on different groups and seeking to fairly distribute the costs
and benefits. The courts may overturn plans that ignore the principle of equity, but
many subtle ways to plan unfairly may escape legal scrutiny. Equity of process and
content is a critical characteristic of socially responsible land use planning .
• Consensus seeking. Planners should ensure that the plan-making process is based
on consensus building that is open, inclusive, and accounts for and balances the
needs of all stakeholders. The process should go beyond mere participation and strive
for a constructive, consensus-seeking approach to resolving disputes and creating
joint gains. It should be open to information contributed by citizens and to technical
information developed by professional analysts.
• Innovative. The public and local government officials look to their planners for new
approaches to problems associated with human settlements. Although there is pres
sure to repeat tried-and-true solutions, new policy innovations should also be con
sidered. Innovative thinking will challenge planners to consider actions previously
left unconsidered, broaden their perspect ives, reexamine communities' values, make
future generations part of the collective hope, and act on the future generation's
behalf. lnnqvative ideas almost always require more effort to launch and involve more
risk than prior ways of doing things. The creation of more sustainable places entails
continual change that demands new, creative solutions. Planners should not be timid
about advocating change in the plan-making process and plans.
Summary
Notes
We observed that contemporary land use planning operates in a complex and
turbule nt decision-making arena t hat reflects a high-stak es game. Game players
attempt to gain l
and use decisions that most benefit their own interests.
Planners
play a central role as mediators, coalition builders, communicators, and visionar
ies to be effect ive managers and stewards of the public i nterest.
The conceptual framework
of land use planning presented in this chapter will
help pla
nners guide their communities to more sustainable land use patterns. The
framework sets forth three primary tasks: 1) to identify and accou
nt for land use
values of groups with a stake in the
urban development process; 2) to establish a
land use planning program designed to formulate consensus-based visions
of the
future and plans to achieve those visions; and 3) to monitor how well land devel
opment outcomes make progress toward plan goals. Finally, the chapter
summa
rizes
the core capabilities that planners need to support the publ ic interest while
at the same time accounting for
the values of multiple stakeholder groups.
The next chapter introduces a sustainability prism model that planners can
apply to understa
nd and reconcile the diverging priorities and conflicts among
stakeholders.
To effectively apply the model, a working synthesis of analytical,
consensu
s, and design practices is presented.
1. For reviews of the existing evidence, see Ewing and
Cervera, 200 l; Frank and Engelke,
2001; Humpel et al., 2002; Saelens et al., 2003; and Trost et al., 2002.

2. The county sprawl index variables were gross population density, percentage of popu
lation living at less than 1,500 persons per square mile (low suburban density), percentage
living
at greater than
12,500 persons per square mile (transit supportive), net population
density
of urban lands, average block size, and percentage of small blocks (less than
.01
square mile).
3. For a range of definitions of sustainable development see, for example, Beatley and
Manning 1998, Berke and Manta-Conroy 2000, Laurence 2000, Wheeler 2002.
4. In many respects, the agenda for sustainable development is the next natural progres
sion in the evolution
of planning history.
Since the 1970s, the planning field has experi
enced a gradual expansion
of the notion of planning, from narrow considerations of zon
ing
and subdivisions to broader public-interest goals focused on growth management.
5.
Several documents indicate the detailed and specific guidelines and standards for
New Urban development projects ( Calthorpe 1993, Duany and Plater-Zyberk 1991, Duany,
Plater-Zyberk, and Speck 2000).
6. Donaghy and Hopkins (2004) criticize the concept of a network of plans, asserting
that it assumes a command-and-control structure of planning and decision making that
ignores markets and diverse planning efforts. They view the network framework as rigid
and unresponsive to the contingent needs for different types
of plans. They argue that the
network concept falsely assumes the existence
of a hierarchy of authorities that work in
harmony to create a seamless and internally consistent network of plans across spatial
scales.
On the contrary, we believe that network theory nicely represents the often messy,
overlapping,
and loosely coordinated planning institutions, initiatives, and processes that
make
up the context ofland use planning in a democratic society.
7.
Studies indicate that plans have a positive influence on land use patterns that support
natural hazard mitigation (Nelson and French 2002), economic development (Knapp, Deng,
and Hopkins 2001), and watershed protection (Berke et al. 2003).
8. This observation was based on interviews with planning staff of Montgomery County,
Maryland,
on October 6,
2000.
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Chapter 2
Shaping Plans through the
Sustainability Prism Model
To prepare plans that strive to achieve sustainable land use patterns, you
must first understand the deeply held values that frame how interest
groups believe that alternative visions
of urban development will affect
them and their
community. We propose using a conceptual sustainability
prism model to understand the diverging priorities and points
of recon
ciliation among
players in the land use game. You must also build a set of
practices based on rational planning, consensus building, and commu
nity design in order to effectively craft negotiated land use planning so
lutions to achieve sustainable outcomes. What are the key dimensions
of this conceptual model and how do they illustrate tensions among
interest group values?
How can
you reconcile the diverging demands of
rationality, participation, and design?
went -first-century land use planning faces major challen ges to achi eve
its core mission of producing, administering, and implementing plans for
future settlement patterns. Planners must cope with the demands of in-
creasingly diverse interest groups who are seeking to influence local l
and use deci
sions
to support their values. They face tough decisions ab out where their com
munities stand
on protecting the environment, advocating equity, promoting liv
able cities, and supporting econ
omic development. The tensions among these
values are at the forefront
of contemporary battles over land and its use.
In this chapter,
we first discuss the challenges to managing land use change. We
then introduce a sustainability prism model that planners can apply to under
sta
nd the diverging priorities and conflicts among players in the land planning
game. Next,
we illustrate the prism's usefulness in reconciling conflicts and guid
ing l
and use change through an applicati on to the network of plans in the Denver
35

36
-g metropolitan region. We then draw on the major conceptual traditions in land
5
~ use planning-rationality, participation, and design-to illustrate the core prac-
~ tices necessary to work effectively in the land planning arena. These practices en-
~ compass technical skills to anticipate and accommodate change, urban design
CL
l'5 approaches to guide the substance of plans, and consensus-building skills to re-
c
8 solve conflicts and build coalitions. Finally, we illustrate how these practices are
• successfully used in Seattle's long-range planning program.
I
CC
~ Managing Land Use Change
Managing land use change is not simply preparing and adopting an "end state" mas
ter plan and expecting it to
be built out at the end of a twenty-year period. Although
change management requires an advanced land use plan, it also requires actions to
enlist public regulatory and spending powers in plan implementation, monitor the
effects
of plans, and establish continuous dialogue with citizens and interest groups.
Complexity and turbulence complicate change management. The history
of
U.S.
planning exhibits a continuous functioning in a state of turbulence, as practitioners
work within a complex, dynamic decision-making environment to solve develop
ment and landllse problems. This environment involves not only an increasing rate
of social and technological change but also a decreasing ability to predict change
(Wachs 2001). Planners continually face pressures to respond to the event of the
moment. Characteristics
of complexity and turbulence in the land planning arena
include, for example: increasing fragmentation among a growing myriad
of special
purpose governing units with land use control authority; an increasingly diverse
population that creates an expanding range
of competing pressures from organized
interest
s; and a growing inability to forecast the future despite use of increasingly
elaborate databases, mathematical models, and algorithms (Meyers
2001). Innes and
Booher characterize the turbulence by stating that "Policies fail to turn out as those
crafting them
desire-not only because of emergent technologies, unanticipated
major events,
or changes in the structure of the economy that are beyond their abil
ity to predict or control,
but also because there are so many
players" (1999a, 150).
Cyclical processes related to community growth and decline further compli
cate change manage
ment. Planners must regularly monitor and interpret these
processes to
understand the stocks and flows of urbanization and to estimate the
impacts
of public intervention policies. They must engage in dialogue with other
players in the land use game, adjusting rules
and strategies in response to their
changing demands
and needs.
The land use plans created by planners and their communities rarely deal with
the creation
of totally new communities. Occasionally, planners must deal with ma
jor changes in land development programs in response to state or federal policies,
new interpretations
of local conditions, or new political issues. Typically, they deal
with incremental additions
of new urban land and infrastructure at the fringe and
redevelopment
of older neighborhoods and public facilities at the core. Ensuring
that the cumulative impact
of these incremental changes does not disturb commu
nity continuity but fosters progressive change
is the land use game challenge.

To account for the full range of complexity and turbulence of the public do
main, planners can apply the concept
of sustainable de velopment to help under
stand the diverging priorities and
conflicts among players in the land planning
game. Sustainability represents a big idea
in contemporary planning and has po
tential to serve
as a central organizing principle for planners in their efforts to
reconcile conflicts
and guide change in ways that create settlement patterns that
are livable and sustainable.
Planning and the Tensions of Sustainable Development
As noted in chapter l, in 1987 the World Commission on Environment and De
ve
lopment set forth a definition of the sustainability concept and brought it to
worldwide attention (WC
ED 1987).
On the surface, the WCED's definition is quite
simple with an emphasis
on the goal of intergenerational equity-current and
future generations must strive to achieve a decent standard of living for a ll people
and live within the limits of natural systems. WCED's vision has influenced the
formulation of a generation of plans and programs seeking to guide human settle
ment patterns in ways that balance the core values of players in the land use game
(Krizek and
Power 1996; Lindsey 2003; Porter 2000).
Although the sustainability concept has considerable promise and local plan
ning programs have forged ahead in experimenting
and applying their own vari
ants, management
of conflicts arising from the separate thrusts of environment,
economy,
and equity has often been l ess than tractable. Experience has shown
that conflicts among these goals are not superficial ones arising from abstract
notions about utopian societies
that are socially just, ecologically harmonious,
and economically viable. Rather, they
are groun~ed in differences in deeply held
values that frame
how people believe that alternative visions of development a nd
land use change will affect them and their community.
To help understand the tensions among the diverging priorities that planners
deal with, various conceptualizations
of planning for sustainable development
have b
een developed.
1
In a critique of planning for sustainability, Campbe ll ( 1996)
illustrates the three
primary contradictions among the goals of sustainable devel
opment as a triangle with a goal at each point, and conflicts occurring along the
axes as a res
ult of contradictions in the opposing goals (see Figure 2-1):
2
• The "property conflict" between economic grow th and equitable sharing of
opportunities arises from competing claims on uses of property: as a private
commodity (e.g., land) to be used for profit and, at the same time, subject to
government
intervention to ensure that social benefits are provided the same
property (e.g., require affordable housing for the poor).
• The "resource conflict" between economic development and ecological
sustainability arises from
competing claims on the consumption of natural
resources
and the preservation of their ability to reproduce. The issue is to
determine
how much of the exploited resource s hould be consumed to en
sure a sustainable yield.
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Ecology
Development conflict Resource conflict
Equity Economy
Property conflict
Fig. 2-1 The three primary contradictions among goals of sustainable development.
Source: Godschalk 2004. Reproduced by permission from Journal of the Ameri
can Planning Association.
• The "development conflict" between social equity and environ mental pres
ervation arises from competing needs
to improve living conditions of the
poor through economic growth while protecting the environment. Environ
mental
injlJ_stice is at the core of the conflict as poor minority communities
are often faced with the choice between economic survival and environmen
tal quality (see Bullard, Johnson,
and Torres
2000).
The triangular model illustrates that if planners narrowly pay attention to a
single con
flict, they will miss a range of other conflicts that may prevent develop
ment of plans that are comprehensive, account for interdepe ndency among nego
tiated policy solutions, and are supportive
of the public interest. However, the
model falls short in embracing conflicts associated with the livable community
goal that is linked to the increasingly influential Smart Growth and New
Urban
movements in contemporary pl anning practice.
Sustainable Development and Livable Communities
The vision of livable communities constitutes an important arena of planning for
sustainable development. Livability focuses on everyday pla
ce making, w hich in
v
olves the design of public spaces (s treets, sidewalk s, parks) to encourage civic
engagement; a
mix of building types to enhance accessibility and accommodate a
diversity
of activities; and the preservation of historic structures to promote sense
of place (Barnett
2003; Bohl 2002). Livability encompasses two-dimensional fea
tures
of the built environment emphasized by the three Es (econom y, ecology,
equity) of sustainable develo pment, and the three-dimensional aspects of public
space,
movement systems, and building design. Livability thus expands the l and
use orientation of the triangular model of sustainability to include urban design,
ranging from the microscale
of the block, street, a nd building to the macroscale
of the city, metropolis, and region.
As discussed in chapter 1, two main approaches fall under the livability concept
New Urbanism and S
mart Growth. New
Urbanism is an urban design moveme nt
focused o n built environme nts designed to counter the effects oflow-density spraw l.

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Urban centers and residential neighborhoods mix land uses rather than segregate
them, produce pedestrian-oriented streets instead
of wide boulevards designed to
accommodate automobiles,
and restore a sense of human scale as opposed to
modernist structures like shopping malls and high-rise residential towers. New
Urbanists contend that "the issue is not density, but design, the quality of place, its
scale, mix,
and
connections" (Calthorpe and Fulton 2001, 274).
Critics charge
that New
Urbanism conceals important value conflicts. Pollard
(2001) observes that New Urbanism in green fields is little more than "New
Suburbanism" since most of the developments are located in greenfields. Accord
ing to this view, such New Urban developments are nearly identical to conven
tional
suburban sprawl because both development patterns contribute to the loss
of green spaces and degrade the landscape. Beatley and Manning (1998) further
contend
that New Urbanism is not environmentally oriented because most projects
do
not integrate practices that reduce the ecological footprint and environmental
impacts,
and do not consider spatial conservation concepts developed in the field
oflandscape ecology (chapter 6 reviews these concepts).
Smart Growth, an aligned movement, is more closely associated with planning
and development management, but also deals with urban design principles. Smart
Growth's value conflicts arise from the way that
it is defined (Avin and Holden
2000). Definitions of development-oriented interest groups emphasize develop
ment facilitating procedures and incentives, such as expedited project reviews,
flexible design standards,
and density bonuses, for their market-oriented constitu
ents. Social equity groups define Smart Growth
as expanding opportunities to
improve housing choice, mobility,
and public health through less polluted living
environments for
minority racial and ethnic groups. Environmental groups de
fine
Smart Growth primarily in terms of environmental preservation and open
space protection.
Planners and public offieialsdefine Smart Growth in terms of
its cost savings in providing infrastructure to compact cities and its opportunities
for revitalizing older
urban areas. Because Smart Growth is an umbrella term, its
meaning is viewed through the lens of the stakeholder. Thus, there may be as
many internal conflicts as there are stakeholders, unless the groups have agreed
on a Smart Growth definition, priorities, and an implementation strategy.
Although there are internal conflicts within the visions
of New Urbanism and
Smart Growth under livability, they tend to be less divisive than across the three
Es of the triangular model of planning for sustainability. Both approaches con
tain unitary characteristics focused
on countering the effects of sprawl rather than
the integration of opposing values. By assessing the values of livability, New
Ur
banism and Smart Growth encounter serious conflicts with the three E values. To
understand these tensions, we offer a conceptual model that enables us to identify
and assess the interactions of sustainability and livability values.
A Prism Model of Sustainability
The sustainability prism makes explicit the interactions among the core values
(see Figure 2-2). The points
of the prism illustrate the primary values of equity,
economy, ecology,
and livability. The connecting axes represent the interaction
39
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Gentrification
conflict
Livability
Economy
Green cities
conflict
Ecology
Growth management
conflict
Fig. 2-2 The sustainability prism illustrates the primary values of equity, economy,
ecology, and livability. Source: Godschalk 2004. Reproduced by permission from
Journal of the American Planning Association.
among the values. At the prism's heart lies the elusive, perhaps utopian, ideally sus
t
ainable (a nd livable) urban area. Not only does the prism remind us that land use
planning
must deaLwith a three-dimensional spatial world, it also offers a structure
for identifying and dealing with value conflicts inherent in the differe
nt visions.
Value conflicts between livability
and the economy, environment, and equity
values arise
on each axis of the prism:
• Tensions between livabili ty and economic growth result in the "growth
management conflict," which arises from competing beli efs in the extent to
which unmanaged development, beholden only
to market principles, can
provide high-quality living environments. This debate focuses
on alterna
tive avenues toward the American Dream (see
Ewing 1997 for the argu
ment that supports growth management to achieve livability versus Gor
don and Richardson 1997 for the arg ument that favors reliance on the free
market to achieve livability).
• Tensions between livability a nd ecology result in the "green cities conflict,"
which arises from competing beliefs in the primacy of the natural versus
the built environment. This debate
is over the extent to which ecological
systems should dete
rmine urban form (see Duan y,
Plater-Zyberk, and Speck
2000 for the argument in favor of the primacy of the built environment
versus
Beatley
2000 and Beatley and Manning 1998 for the argument in
favor
of the natural environment).
• Tensions between livability and equity result in the "ge ntrification con
flict," which arises from competing beliefs in the preservation of poorer
urban neighborhoods for the benefit
of their present populations versus
their redevelopment
and upgrading to attract middle- and upper-class
populations back to the central city (see Smith
1996 for the argument in
favor
of preserving poorer neighborhoods versus Bragado, Corbett, and
Sprowls
2001 for the argument in favor of infill and redevelopment for
economic benefits).

Looking through the prism at the three-E conception of planning for sustainability,
New Urbanism, and Smart Growth (the livability approach) reveals that none of
them respond to all four of the goals or resolve all six of the value conflicts to the
same degree. Although there is considerable variety in the plans produced under
each of the three approaches, we can infer some central tendencies from the pub
lished descriptions and critiques (Campbell 1996; Duany and Talen 2002; Owens
and Cowell 2002).
The triangular model's approach to sustainable development tends to be most
focused on ecology and on resolving the resource conflict between economy and
ecology. Although the definition of sustainable development refers to
intergenerational equity, this equity is achieved through maintaining environmen
tal resources and economic livelihoods for future generations. New Urbanism's
highest value appears to be livability, with a focus on resolving the growth man
agement conflict and integrating livability and economic values through urban
design. Smart Growth's highest value also is livability, though it focuses on resolv
ing
both the growth management and the green cities conflicts through land use
planning and design.
Value conflicts influence planning, design proposals,
and the ensuing politics. For
example, all
of the approaches oppose sprawl, the common enemy, but they call for
different planning responses to it. Thus, the triangle model's conception
of sustain
able development tends to see the environment
as most threatened by sprawl result
ing from economic growth
and thus most in need of governmental interventions to
protect ecological systems. New Urbanism argues that attractive spaces for everyday
life are the best defense against sprawl,
and that the remaining values will fall in line
once a compact
urban form and attractive public spaces are created through urban
design.
3
Finally,
Smart Growth advocates c_ombqting sprawl through a restructuring
of growth-management legislation to reforn1the-decision-making processes of state
and local governments to guide choices on plan making, public facilities, and infra
structure,
and to ease inflexible land use regulatory controls that constrain market
innovations to produce diverse, compact, and pedestrian-oriented urban forms.
The prism model also allows planners to identify limitations in how well the vi
sions acco
unt for the interests of different stakeholders. In the case of social equity,
these approaches to
land use and urban form do not emphasize this goal and the
resolution
of conflicts linked to it. The model illustrat es that to advance sustainability,
planners
must expand contemporary approaches to confront the inequities of sprawl
and proactively respond to the needs
of marginalized groups. They should advocate
choices for public transit investments
that make suburban jobs more accessible to
inner-city residents, fair-share affordable housing opportunities
throughout metro
politan areas, and improvement in environmental health in the inner city.
Scale is a critical factor in assessing value conflicts. The World Commission on
Environment and Development's approach to sustainability emphasizes the linkage
between global
and local concerns, as indicated by the widely publicized phrase, "think globally, act locally ."
4
However, the issues driving land use planning practice
in the United States are primarily at the regional and local scales. Seen through the
prism, regional scale issues are
quite different than similar issues at the neighbor
hood scale. For example, the gentrification conflict at the regional scale is a matter
41 n
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Piccole storie
del mondo grande

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Title: Piccole storie del mondo grande
Author: Alfredo Panzini
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Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PICCOLE STORIE
DEL MONDO GRANDE ***

Alfredo Panzini
Piccole Storie
del
Mondo Grande
LEUMA E LIA
IL CUORE DEL PASSERO
LE OSTRICHE DI SAN DAMIANO
NELLA TERRA DEI SANTI E DEI POETI
LE VICENDE DEL SIGNOR X*** E DELLA SIGNORINA Y***
I TRE CASI DEL SIGNOR AVVOCATO
LA BICICLETTA DI NINÌ
IL PRIMO VIAGGIO D'AMORE
IL CINABRO RIVELATORE
LE VIOLE
MILANO
Fratelli Treves, Editori
—
13.º migliaio.

PROPRIETÀ LETTERARIA.
I diritti di riproduzione e di traduzione sono riservati per tutti i paesi,
compresi la Svezia, la Norvegia e l'Olanda.
Milano, Tip. Treves — 1920.

INDICE.
Dedicatoria Pag. v
Leuma e Lia 1
Il cuore del passero 75
Le ostriche di San Damiano 93
Nella terra dei santi e dei poeti 111
Le vicende del signor X*** e della signorina
Y*** 195
I tre casi del signor avvocato 221
La bicicletta di Ninì 255
Il primo viaggio d'amore 285
Il cinabro rivelatore 313
Le viole 333

DEDICATORIA
ALLA MIA CARA MAMMA
Filomena Santini îedoîa Panòini.
Queste novelle, mia cara mamma, siano dedicate a te, anche perchè
un poco di merito ce l'hai tu.
Non che tu le abbia emendate o mi abbia incoraggiato a scrivere:
anzi!
Ti ricordi? Le mattine d'estate, quando suonava la campanella, tu
piano piano uscivi dalla tua stanza — i cari bambini dormivano
ancora o sognavano la spiaggia del nostro bel mare — con lo scialle
nero in testa e il libro della messa: alzavi il saliscendi della porta
della mia stanza e mi trovavi già curvo su le carte e sui libri. Tu
dicevi: “Guarda che bel sole (e il sole, sorto da poco, filtrava dalle
persiane verdi), monta in bicicletta, va a fare una bella passeggiata,
invece di star lì a ammuffire tutto il santo giorno„, e te ne andavi
scuotendo il capo con mestizia e commiserazione.
Nè devi ancora esserti dimenticata che qualche mio scritto fece
inavvertitamente, per opera tua, conoscenza con le fiamme del
focolare. Allora te ne rimproverai, ma oggi...! oggi, chissà? Forse,
meglio: alle fiamme purificatrici i fantasmi della passione e del
pensiero: nel mondo e fra gli uomini le sane e forti opere. Certo tu
non pensavi, ma intuivi così, cara mamma!
Anche per quello che riguarda l'arte non ebbi da te troppi
ammaestramenti. Tu, in fatto di romanzi e di letture, sei rimasta,

caso mai, fedele alla vecchia scuola: cioè i gran romanzi, in uso molti
anni fa, pieni di avventure che ti conciliano piacevolmente il sonno
dopo il desinare del mezzodì. Quanto al pane dell'anima, sei
contenta delle semplici parole di Cristo che sono ne' tuoi breviari, da
te postillati con parole buone di speranza, di perdono e d'amore. La
nuova arte che scruta sottilmente le passioni e le tempeste dei
mortali, è passata vicina alla tua ignoranza: e tu non ti sei accorta di
queste superbe conquiste dell'ingegno.
Dunque non grande conforto, come vedi, io ebbi da te a questi miei
studi e a queste tormentose e pure affascinanti fatiche dell'imaginare
e dello scrivere.
Però se tu, cara, avrai la pazienza di scorrere queste belle pagine —
belle per la onorata veste dell'arte tipografica — vi troverai qualche
cosa di te, e capirai perchè a te le volli dedicate.
Queste novelle — ancor che umile frutto di quella passione e di
quella nobile malattia del pensiero che spesso distrugge la vita
scorza a scorza — non sono opposte a quei principi umani a cui è
stata conformata la tua vita. Vi troverai l'amore e la venerazione per
le cose e per le opere semplici e generose: vi troverai anteposta la
coscienza e la verità alla fortuna e il disdegno di ogni proficua viltà;
e questo è avvenuto non per alcun merito mio o per deliberato
proposito di far opera morale (tanto più che la morale, proseguita da
sola, ha in arte un ben tenue valore: inoltre — affermano i savi
moderni — la morale è fenomeno mutevole di sentire secondo il
mutare della società e della storia), ma perchè tali principi mi furono
da te inspirati, e in questa maniera di sentire e di operare tu, benchè
non dotta di filosofia e di lettere, mi fosti naturale maestra del pari
che il Maestro mio venerato e grande di Bologna (tu ne conosci il
caro nome, spesso ripetuto sotto il nostro umile tetto!).
Certo con tali principî la conquista materiale della fortuna non è stata
agevole, anzi...! e non lo sarà, a quel che pare, nè meno per
l'avvenire!
Vero è che non sarai tu a farmene rimprovero.

Ma il sole splende su tutti e non fa pagare i suoi raggi, e poca terra
ricoprirà noi come i conquistatori della fortuna e della vita!
Troverai anche in queste novelle accenni a care persone che più non
sono e che molto amammo e che tu nutri fede di rivedere.
Per queste ragioni accetta l'offerta di questo libro e vivi a lungo sana
e consolata per mio conforto.
Milano, ne l'aprile del 1901.
Alfredo Panòini.

LEUMA E LIA.
Da sette anni l'onorevole Astese non vedeva il dottor Leuma, anzi —
a rigor di termini — non sapeva nè pur più dove fosse: se in questa
vita o nell'altra.
Ma secondo ogni verosimiglianza dovea essere in questo mondo
perchè non fu mai detto che i dottori muoiano come una persona
qualsiasi.
Ora è certo che l'onorevole Astese, se avesse avuto a pena una
settimana libera, si sarebbe messo subito alla ricerca di quel caro
compagno di Leuma. Oh, lo avrebbe sì ripescato e avrebbe con lui
rinnovato alcuna cosa della giovinezza, oimè, della giovinezza così da
poco tempo fuggita e pure già così lontana. Oh, potersi riposare
all'ombra o al sole con Leuma e provare il gran piacere di dire delle
sciocchezze senza la paura di perdere di gravità, e portare anche i
mattoni a quelle gran fabbriche di castelli in aria di cui Leuma era
maestro architetto! Ma, oimè, se Leuma era vivo, li sapeva ancor
fare i bei castelli, cioè era ancora viva la sua giovinezza del cuore; o
era morta come era morta in lui?
Morta in lui? Che ne sapeva mai lui, Astese? Quando mai egli aveva
avuto tempo di fare queste profonde analisi di se stesso?
Ma della giovinezza di Leuma si ricordava bene!
Erano stati compagni di collegio a Venezia per alcuni anni: egli era
fra i grandi e Leuma fra i piccini; un pallido, meditabondo giovanetto
con una grande anima che si apriva allora piena di sussulti in un
esile corpo; ed egli, Astese, ne riceveva le prime confidenze, e lo
amava con quella idealità e pur non so quale tenerezza di sensi

come spesso avviene in collegio, e lo difendeva dalla protervia de'
compagni. Poi lo ricordava per alcun tempo, fuor del collegio,
ventenne, bellissimo. Come si era trasfigurato con la libertà! Ebbro di
entusiasmi, con i capelli lunghi, i fiori su la bottoniera, nitrente verso
l'avvenire come un puledro. “Signori, — pareva dire — Venezia è da
vendere? Il mondo va male? lo trasformerò io: I segreti della gloria e
della fortuna sono nel taschino del mio gilè.„
E poi?
Scomparso!
*
Astese non aveva mai avuto nessuno dei fremiti e dei sogni di
Leuma, anzi si divertiva a contemplarne lo spettacolo in Leuma:
talvolta anche si aggrappava, per così dire, alle gambe di lui; ma a
pena si sentiva un po' lontano da terra, lo pregava di tornar giù e
fare il piacere di mettere il piede sul sodo.
Eppure a trentasei anni Astese si era fatta — si può dire dal nulla e
senza sforzi eccezionali — una posizione invidiabile: avvocato quasi
celebre, pubblicista autorevole, in fine, deputato.
Anche io come molti altri mi sono chiesto in che mai consistesse il
segreto di tanta fortuna, e non ci sono riuscito. Se lo sapessi dire,
come diventerebbe prezioso questo mio libro, e come ne
approfitterei io stesso! No, non lo so dire. Ecco: forse ne' suoi
occhiali d'oro che ridevano sempre su lo scarno e arguto suo volto
sbarbato, e parevano dire: “Noi, dopo aver bene esaminato, pigliamo
il mondo sul serio per quel tanto che basta a non diventare scettici o
filosofi pessimisti.„
In pretorio, quando cominciava a parlare, diventavano di buon
umore anche i giudici: eppure Astese non era un farceur!
Nell'ultima battaglia elettorale glie ne scrissero e dissero d'ogni
colore gli avversari: una sola dimenticarono, cioè questa: “Signore,
siete antipatico!„ Eppure Astese col suo naso, col suo collo ricordava
lontanamente il cammello.

Astese non era un artista e non era un uomo di genio: eppure i suoi
articoli erano letti e citati.
Sì, è vero: vi sono piccole qualità preziose: un motore minuscolo
produce di più che tutto l'impeto di un uragano. Esistono nel mondo
morale, come nel mondo fisico, gli infinitamente piccoli da cui si
genera la fortuna nel commercio della vita.
E la potenza di adattamento all'ambiente non la si conta?
Ah, sì! Quando la scienza ci avrà fornito il mezzo per apprendere la
forza di adattamento, noi almeno, poveri inseguitori di farfalle e di
ideali, impareremo di gran cose!
*
— Ah, onorevole, come dovete essere felice voi! senza moglie, senza
figli, senza fastidi: un mondo di quattrini: un portafogli in
prospettiva! — sospiravano gli amici.
— Taci, — rispondeva Astese in tuono lugubre. — Sai tu cosa v'è qui
dentro?
io mi sento simile al saltambanco
che muor di fame, e in vista ilare e franco
trattien la folla.
“Io allegro, io felice, io? — ripeteva poi talvolta a se stesso, specie
nel silenzio mattutino della sua stanza. — Felice tu, miserabile?„ e si
appuntava con volto tragico il dito contro la specchiera: ma poi gli
veniva da ridere, guardandosi. “Va là, mato anca tì!„ concludeva
vestendosi in fretta e facendosi “ciao„ nel suo inestinguibile dialetto
veneto.
*
— In prima non c'è più posto, onorevole.... Le carrozze sono tutte
occupate da una compagnia di americani che vanno a Roma a
vedere il Papa....

— Allora favorisca dirmi dove posso montare....
— Se crede, faccio attaccare una carrozza, onorevole.... — gli
andava dicendo dietro il capostazione.
— Manco per sogno: monto in seconda....
E il capostazione stesso gli aperse uno sportello di seconda classe
con un: — qui, passi qui: c'è posto; — e sospinse su l'onorevole
Astese, che era proprio lui ed era assai impicciato perchè avea il
plaid, la sacca da viaggio, il portafoglio curiale, il bastone, l'ombrello,
la spolverina e la testa fuori di posto che è il peggio bagaglio. Era
stato chiamato a Modena per una grossa causa di fallimento. Era
giunto al mattino: avea perorato, avea quasi vinto. Avrebbe così
potuto dire come Cesare: veni vidi vici: cosa che ad Astese accadeva
di frequente. Questa volta interruppe la vittoria un telegramma del
Presidente del Consiglio che lo chiamava d'urgenza a Roma per il
voto di fiducia.
— Parto, ma giuro, signori, — diceva ferocemente ai clienti che ritti
sull'andana lo ossequiavano, — giuro che fra tre giorni, al mio
ritorno, se non pagano, porteremo via anche i chiodi. Cosa? Non ci
sono i danari? Oh, li faremo venir fuori noi....!
Lo schianto del treno, partendo, lo fece cader giù sul divano. Poco
dopo, i chiodi, la ferocia, la causa fuggivano via dal finestrino
insieme al fumo della sigaretta. Queste gravose cose egli dava ad
intendere che le portava seco; ma nel fatto le lasciava presso i
clienti.
Quando i vapori della concitazione avvocatesca cominciarono a
dissiparsi, vide uno che lo guardava come se lo volesse conoscere.
Diede un gran salto e gridò:
— Tu sei Leuma, tu sei!
— Tu sei Astese, — disse un bel signore giovane, il quale aveva
un'elegante barba nera e quadrata. Ma nel dire queste parole le gote
arrossirono e gli occhi, assai dolci, presero un'espressione di

imbarazzo e quasi di timidezza: rossori e timidezze che quella barba
virile avea la missione di nascondere.
Ma Astese non se ne accorse: gli si buttò a dosso, lo baciò con certe
espressioni d'amore, famigliari su le lagune di Venezia, che gli erano
rimaste in fondo della memoria dal tempo del collegio; le quali se
convenivano a Leuma, quando era adolescente, disdicevano a Leuma
con quella barba nera.
Leuma sorrise e si vedeva che cercava di parlare anche lui a pena
fosse cessata la tempesta delle domande e delle carezze.
Allora un sottile scoppio di risa si udì, benchè fosse assai sottile e
come represso, il quale però ebbe la virtù di fermare le parole di
Astese e fargli volgere gli occhi dalla parte da cui veniva quel riso
motteggiatore. Gli occhi di Astese si incontrarono in due altri occhi
incantati su di lui come su di un saltimbanco, ed appartenevano al
volto di una giovanetta di fine e commovente bellezza.
I quattro occhi si fissarono per un istante, e quelli dell'onorevole
Astese si sarebbero certamente corrucciati e le parole avrebbero
detto: “Signorina, lei è un'impertinente!„ ma quegli occhi
esprimevano una meraviglia così pura e quel volto era così
adorabilmente giovane, che Astese non increspò il sopracciglio nè
disse parola.
La signorina capì nondimeno d'aver fatto male, si voltò subito dalla
parte del finestrino e pareva molto confusa: e un signore di mezza
età che le sedeva di fronte, le battè su le ginocchia e fece segno col
capo, come a dire: “Via, così non sta bene!„
Leuma approfittò del silenzio per dire: — Amico mio, noi siamo
arrivati oramai.... È un peccato doverci lasciare....
— Arrivato? lasciarci? ma nè pur per sogno, — disse Astese.
— Ma io non posso proseguire, — disse Leuma con imbarazzo.
— Ma mi fermo io, tesoro. Il Ministero farà a meno del mio voto: non
sarò certo io quello che terrà su la baracca....

— Già, tu sei deputato.... non ci pensavo nè meno più, — disse
Leuma; e lo disse timidamente, come se questo pensiero lo ponesse
in condizione di evidente inferiorità.
— Ma perchè se sapevi che io ero deputato e tante altre cose di me,
non mi hai mai scritto? e io che ti cercavo per mare e per terra!
— Perchè? — rispose Leuma con non so quale amarezza — perchè io
sono rimasto troppo ignoto.... Tu invece....
Il treno intanto frenò di botto: ed egli, Astese, raccoglieva le sue
cose, che urtate e mal prese, balzavano dai sedili come malvagi
spiritelli.
Scesero che ne ebbero a pena il tempo, e il treno avea ripreso la sua
corsa verso le tenebre che velavano oramai l'emisperio d'oriente,
mentre l'occidente si incendiava al passaggio del sole. Era una
piccola stazione perduta nella pianura, e quando si spense il fragore
del treno, ben si sentì il canto dei grilli e si sentì odore del trifoglio
falciato, il quale metteva nell'aria un'indistinta frigidezza di verde e di
viole.
Allora Leuma, levando il braccio, disse sorridendo:
— Io ti presento, Astese, mia moglie e il mio buon suocero: non l'ho
fatto prima perchè tu me ne hai tolto il tempo; — e indicava ad
Astese il signore e la signorina che erano nel treno e che pur essi
erano discesi, nè Astese vi avea posto mente. — E questi è il mio
amico, l'onorevole Vittorio Astese, di cui vi ho parlato tante volte; —
proseguì quando Astese si fu levato dal profondo inchino che per la
sorpresa gli avea fatto cadere gli occhiali dal naso; un naso sottile e
gibboso che gli tagliava il volto olivigno: un naso dove gli occhiali
aveano una base resistente a tutte le scosse oratorie. E pur questa
volta erano caduti.
A quel residuo di vanità che rimaneva ad Astese a dispetto della sua
grande saviezza, parve che la signorina, o per dir più propriamente,
la signora rimanesse a bastanza indifferente davanti all'onorevole
personaggio; ma guardava ogni tanto verso un viale di alti pioppi dal

cui fondo ora spuntava una timonella e si udiva la sonagliera del
cavallo.
Quando arrivò la timonella, caricarono le valigie, presero posto e si
avviarono di bel trotto pel lungo viale ove i raggi del tramonto
traversando l'una spalliera dei pioppi, saettavano l'altra di languide
frecce.
Astese, seduto davanti alla sposina, si era acquetato e pareva come
assorto nella strana combinazione che lo metteva di fronte a quel
volto infantile, invece di trottare verso Roma per recare aiuto al
cadente Ministero. Ma ecco si scoprì la facciata di una villetta.
Davanti al cancello v'era una signora con una fantesca che avea un
bambino in braccio: il bambino, appena vide la carrozza, cominciò a
alzar le mani, e subito la sposina spiccò un salto dalla carrozza giù
verso il piccino senza badar a nessuno. “Ocio, che la no casca!„ le
disse dietro l'onorevole Astese, spaventato a quel salto mentre la
carrozza era ancora in moto. La signora, che era la suocera, accolse
l'amico di Leuma con belle parole e con quell'accento emiliano pieno
di umili inflessioni che hanno sol di per sè un suono di natia
gentilezza italiana. Ella non d'altro si meravigliò se non che Astese
fosse deputato, giacchè i deputati se li imaginava mica giovani e
neanche così alla buona.
— Ma scusa, — disse finalmente Astese fermando Leuma per un
braccio, quando furono saliti al primo piano nella stanza ospitale
destinata all'amico, — anche quel bambino è proprio tuo?
— Sì....
— Ma quant'è che hai preso moglie?
— Quasi due anni fa.
— E la tua signora quanti anni ha?
— Oramai diciannove.
— Ma se la xe una putela....

— Te lo dirò poi, — disse Leuma sorridendo, — ora fa il comodo tuo;
— e posò un largo lume a petrolio, che cominciava ad annottare.
Era una stanzetta intatta con il soffitto a vôlta, dipinta d'azzurro,
secondo lo stile di un sessant'anni fa; proprio la stanza degli ospiti.
Astese guardò attorno i mobili dalle antiche sagome, disposti in
ordine e sgombri: parevano dire: “Sì, signore, proprio la stanza degli
ospiti.„ Spinse l'occhio fuori della finestra e vide molta pace e molto
silenzio intorno alla villa. Sotto vi dovea essere un giardino e si
distingueva un'ombra di donna e una voce che chiamava: “Pi, pi, pi!
a nanna!„ Saettarono alcune ombre, piccine, convergenti in un sol
punto; le galline che andavano a letto.
Frattanto in abbondante acqua cominciò a detergersi dai sudori della
concione e dalla polvere: alzò il ciuffo di una capigliatura sottile e
sfumata: adattò una cravattina bianca ad una camicia di batista, un
soprabito nero su la camicia, sì che avea preso un aspetto più
conforme all'alto suo grado.
E così sporgendo il ciuffo e il naso che sorreggeva le lanterne degli
occhietti vivaci, apparve nella sala da pranzo ove la famiglia era
raccolta sotto una bella lampada presso una tavola candida e fiorita
di bellissimi fiori. Leuma gli andò incontro e la sposa allora sorrise
vedendolo.
— Benedetta, che la ride finalmente! — disse Astese — non deve
mica aver paura di me; non glielo porto mica via il suo sposo! Ma sai
— e si rivolgeva a Leuma — che io ci pensavo a questo caso, cioè
che una delle tante fate di nostra anzi di tua conoscenza ti avesse
rapito e sottratto alle delusioni del mondo?
Il complimento ebbe la virtù di fare a pena sorridere Leuma, ma Lia
rimase seria. Allora Astese, accorgendosi che quel tasto rispondeva
poco bene, pensò di prendere in braccio il bambino, a cui rivolse
molte domande:
— Come stai? Vuoi bene al papà? La fai arrabbiare la mamma? Vuoi
fare l'avvocato quando sarai grande? Ih, come sei cattivo!

Il bambino aveva per un po' guardato quella faccia nuova, poi
scoppiò in un disperato pianto che sconcertò l'onorevole Astese.
— Dia, dia a me, onorevole, — disse la sposa ridendo, — perchè il
piccolo fagiolino le può rispondere con delle sorprese; lui non
distingue mica un onorevole dalla sua mamma, vero, cocco? — e se
lo prese sottraendo l'abito del signore da possibili guasti.
La signora suocera entrò sorreggendo trionfalmente fin su la tavola
una gran fiamminga, e disse:
— Minestra di tagliolini fatti in casa: roba alla buona, signor
deputato: favorisca la sua tondina.
Fuori delle finestre aperte c'erano gli alti pioppi che stavano a
vedere; e saettò allora dalla densa verzura un trillo di rosignolo che
salì, poi si franse e cadde come gemme in alabastro.
— Avete anche i rosignoli, avete?
— E le lucciole, — disse Lia; — vedrà quante: fra poco andranno
tutte a spasso per il grano.
Il pranzo fu rallegrato da squisite vivande dichiarate con breve chiosa
dalla signora suocera, e dalle più felici arguzie di Astese, tanto che il
signor suocero non si poteva in cuor suo persuadere che una
persona tanto per bene e cordiale fosse uno di que' signori che, a
suo giudizio, mandano a perdizione la patria.
E quando il pranzo fu finito, Astese, benchè la giovane sposa si
schermisse, volle sapere tutta la storia. Ma gli convenne molto
pregare e anche disse:
— Veda, sposina, questo mio povero amico di Leuma che da tanti
anni più non vedevo, io lo credevo perduto: ora invece lo ho
ritrovato e mi pare che abbia trovato anche la felicità.
E rivolto a lui, aggiunse con tuono lievemente patetico ed enfatico,
forse più per l'abuso dell'arte sua che per deliberato volere:
— Sotto la barba nera che ora ti ricopre il mento, io non riconosco
più il volto soave dell'adolescente che allora eri. Ma gli occhi sono

sempre gli stessi, e anche la bella parola. Ti ricordi che i compagni di
collegio ti burlavano perchè parlavi l'italiano? Ti ricordi nella corte
presso i sicomori fioriti che passeggiavi su e giù solitario, meditando
sui versi del Prati? e piangevi che volevi essere libero perchè ogni
notte le fate ti portavano un sogno e tu mi assicuravi che il tempo
fuggiva? E avevi quindici anni! Io ridevo. Ma avevi ragione tu, sai? Il
tempo fuggiva. Povero piccino; io ti amava allora e ti confortava; ma
tu adesso hai trovato un conforto ben maggiore e un affetto più
sicuro.
Così disse Astese, ed all'evocazione del ricordo antico Leuma sorrise
da vero melanconicamente e — Tristi tempi, in fondo — mormorò. —
Giovanezza tradita!... — Poi lambendo con la mano la testa della
sposa, proseguì: — Le cose che tu sei curioso di sapere, sono
semplici; il tuo amico che aveva mezzo mondo da conquistare e poco
tempo da perdere perchè la gloria e le fate, che tu hai ricordato
molto a proposito, gli dicevano di fare presto, il tuo amico si è
trovato un bel giorno nella necessità di conquistare la carica di
segretario comunale qui, in questo comune. Quanto poi al tempo, mi
era venuto tanto in uggia che l'avrei fermato volentieri come quando
si butta per terra un orologio che ci secca col suo tic-tac. Cos'hai
adesso? — e questa dimanda era rivolta a Lia.
— Niente: perchè parli così? — disse Lia che gli teneva stretta la
mano e lo spiava nel volto.
— Così per ridere, figliuola: così per spiegare a questo mio amico
come talvolta vanno le cose del mondo.
Del resto la concitazione e il sarcasmo nella voce di Leuma furono
una cosa tanto fuggevole che Astese non se ne sarebbe nè meno
accorto senza la interruzione di Lia.
— Dunque, — proseguì Leuma, — io divento segretario comunale
del paese. Allora qui avevamo un ginnasio, una di quelle tante
fabbriche di spostati che abbondano in Italia. Adesso, grazie al cielo,
lo abbiamo abolito.

— Il nostro Leuma, onorevole, — avvertì pianamente il suocero, — è
assessore....
— Puoi dire che è lui il sindaco.... — corresse la suocera.
— Via, via, — interruppe Leuma sorridendo, — finiamola con questa
storia: il sindaco è il conte Losti....
Il suocero si accontentò di alzare le spalle.
— Non ci creda, sa, onorevole, — disse la suocera, — il sindaco vero
è Leuma.
— Be', andiamo avanti: dunque ti dicevo che avevamo un ginnasio
con tre professori, professori così per dire, e una ventina di scolari in
tutto. Io era a pena in paese da sei mesi, quando mi vengono a
pregare di supplire il professore di quarta classe che avea preso il
volo per altri lidi. Un avvocato può supplire a tutto: io poi sapevo di
lettere, quindi ero indicatissimo come professore. Accettai. Vado a
scuola, e indovina un po' chi vedo fra i quattro scolari? Una certa
signorina, anzi una certa bambina che si chiamava a punto Lia....
— Così che tu hai sposato la tua scolara? — disse Astese.
— Proprio così.
— Adesso comincia il bello, conta, conta su.
— Cosa vuol contare? — disse Lia; — la storia è finita e il bambino
ha sonno: io ho sposato lui e lui ha sposato me.
— Ma i particolari, sposina. Ma scusi, la storia senza particolari non
val nulla.
— Il particolare più importante è questo: lui ha voluto bene a me e
io — disse ella arrossendo — ho voluto bene a lui, e adesso punto e
basta. Vero che hai sonno, piccino? vero che è la tua ora d'andare a
nanna?
Tutte le argomentazioni di Astese — e ognuno può pensare se ne
aveva a dovizia — non valsero a far sì che Lia desse il suo
acconsentimento di proseguire.

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Urban Land Use Planning Fifth Edition 5th Edition Philip R Berke

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Urban Land Use Planning Fifth Edition 5th Edition Philip R Berke

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