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I wrote this series of blog posts to try and articulate for a non-professional audience some of the main planning concepts that should be guiding the long-term development of our communities, and the rationale behind them. Planning and decision-making processes can often be hard to understand as well as difficult and time-consuming for the average person to track, so explaining a few basic concepts may be helpful.

So, how are these concepts being conveyed to the citizenry, are they being implemented, and are they effective at creating better communities? One of the hardest jobs for planners is to develop a planning process, at whatever scale and for whatever purpose that respects the desires of all of the people who will be affected while also keeping in mind the human, environmental and fiscal health of the community.

Navigating a path that allows a plan to truly reflect these values, and the ambitions and hopes of the whole community is difficult, with many compromises along the way. Frequently a subset of people dominates the discussions, leading to potential policies that run counter to one of the values described in this series. But if the decision-makers hear from representatives of all constituencies they can almost always chart the right course over the long term.

This takes courage and perseverance. In the Portland area we鈥檝e been able to develop plans that largely reflect the attributes I鈥檝e described, but not without some lengthy and painful processes. The results over the last couple of decades have been largely successful at delivering a 鈥渉ealthy鈥� region. Yes, there are still many areas for improvement 鈥� more affordable living, less homelessness, a more equitable economy 鈥� but the basic plans have been developed to help us navigate our way to a better future.