Congratulations to Arthur C. (Chris) Nelson, Professor of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development at the University of Arizona and Presidential Professor Emeritus of City and Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah, for 50 years of service to the planning profession! I was honored to be asked by Chris to contribute an article to Agenda for Building a Changing World Responsibly: Commentaries and Reflections by Leaders in Urban Planning, Policy, and Design, a Festschrift celebrating his many professional accomplishments. The Festschrift was published as a special edition of Georgia State University’s Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy.
My contribution to the Festschrift is an article entitled The Future of the Comprehensive Plan. The article begins with a brief history of the comprehensive plan from its historic roots to the present day. It then considers contemporary comprehensive planning practice, using the Comprehensive Plan Standards for Sustaining Places developed by the American Planning Association as a benchmark. The article concludes by exploring how the comprehensive plan can and must evolve to address the major challenges of the 21st century. It draws on research and content from The Comprehensive Plan: Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Communities for the 21st Century (Rouse and Piro 2022).
In a postscript to the Festschrift, Chris draws on his vast knowledge and experience in the profession to advocate an approach he calls “smart planning.” He describes this approach as addressing the needs of people consistent with six aspirational goals, with community engagement in the planning process as an overarching principle:
- Provide public and common goods;
- Maximize the use of existing and new infrastructure to minimize costs;
- Maximize positive land use interactions and minimize negative ones;
- Equitably distribute the benefits and burdens of change;
- Elevate the quality of life; and
- Preserve choices for future generations.
Chris uses concise, precise language to explain these goals and how planning practice reoriented as smart planning can achieve them. His pragmatic solutions to complex problems combine an understanding of what works (and what doesn’t) with a vision of how planning can change the world for the better. Congratulations again to Arthur C. Nelson for an amazing career in planning!