THE GOALS OF COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING

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Abstract
Comprehensive planning requires of planners that they understand the overall goals of their communities. Truly comprehensive goals tend, however, to be too general to provide a basis for evaluating concrete alternatives. Consequently, it is difficult to stir political interest in them, and politicians are rarely willing to commit themselves to let general and long-range goal statements guide their considerations of lower-level alternatives. Many planners have themselves abandoned the comprehensive planning ideal in favor of the ideal of middle-range planning. Middle-range planners pursue operational, though still relatively general, goals. The middle-range planning ideal has much to recommend it. It provides no basis, however, for planners to claim to understand overall community goals. With it as a guide, therefore, the fundamental distinction between planning and other specialities is lively to become progressively more blurred.

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