Real city planning isn’t complicated. Real city planning doesn’t have to involve laws or regulations. Real city planning doesn’t need a degree or important people. Real city planning is you. You, your vision, your attitude for your community.
The single greatest force in any community is the will of its people. Complacency, spirit de corps, hope, and stubbornness are all easily identifiable traits in every community. It only takes a visitor a couple of seconds to know and understand how its citizens feel.
City planning is at its best when it is a direct reflection of a positive attitude on the part of the city’s inhabitants. Similarly, a community whose citizens are careless, apathetic, cantankerous, or lazy will exhibit those characteristics to all who visit or live there. Your neighborhood can become an instrument of your vision or your lack thereof.
Your attitude is yours, but your community will live on and carry with it your sentiments of today. Plan to face your co
I live in the original planned community (Reston, VA). The feel it has is very different from other cities and towns I have visited. Currently, Reston is undergoing major changes as the economy continues to grow here and the new metro stations begin to appear. There is are many calls coming for residents to come and see plans for changes, but I do not see many people attending the meetings. I would hate to see this quiet town turn into another suburb along the metro line.
That is unfortunate. In Tulsa, they conducted a city-wide master plan campaign to get feedback from citizens. In all, only 1% of the population participated. The worst part about that is after the projects approved by the 1% start, the 99% may or may not approve. Ergo, the community will grow only more segregated politically and people will have yet another reason to not trust their leadership, even if it was their own fault for not knowing what was going on and participating.
I hope your quiet town doesn’t turn into a suburb too!