Goal Achievement, Relationship Building, and Incrementalism: The Challenges of University-Community Partnerships

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Abstract
The University of Illinois at Chicago's Neighborhoods Initiative is used as a case study of how planning occurs in a situation of shared power; what the relationship is between the goals of participants and what actually gets done; and what the role of planners is in linking knowledge to action. The collaborative planning model is characterized by incrementalism, and relationship building is a key element. Relationship building and goal achievement are not opposites; the achievement of goals requires some level of trust in a partnership. The relative emphasis on one or the other depends on the specific context in which planning is done. The implications for planners and planning education are a greater emphasis on political and communicative skills in order to be effective in collaborative planning.

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