Introduction To The General Plan

This book introduces community planning as practiced in the United States, focusing on the comprehensive plan. Sometimes known by other names—especially master plan or general plan—the type of plan described here is the predominant form of general governmental planning in the U.S. Although many government agencies make plans for their own programs or facilities, the comprehensive plan is the only planning document that considers multiple programs and that accounts for activities on all land located within the planning area, including both public and private property. Written by a former president of the American Planning Association, Community Planning is thorough, specific, and timely. It addresses such important contemporary issues as sustainability, walkable communities, the role of urban design in public safety, changes in housing needs for a changing population, and multi-modal transportation planning. Unlike competing books, it addresses all of these topics in the context of the local comprehensive plan. There is a broad audience for this book: planning students, practicing planners, and individual citizens who want to better understand local planning and land use controls. Boxes at the end of each chapter explain how professional planners and individual citizens, respectively, typically engage the issues addressed in the chapter. For all readers, Community Planning provides a pragmatic view of the comprehensive plan, clearly explained by a respected authority.

The practice of comprehensive planning is changing dramatically in the 21st century to address the pressing need for more sustainable, resilient, and equitable communities. Drawing on the latest research and best practice examples, The Comprehensive Plan: Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Communities for the 21st Century provides an in-depth resource for planning practitioners, elected officials, citizens, and others seeking to develop effective, impactful, comprehensive plans, grounded in authentic community engagement, as a pathway to sustainability. Based on standards developed by the American Planning Association to provide a national benchmark for sustainable comprehensive planning, this book provides detailed guidance on the substance, process, and implementation of comprehensive plans that address the critical challenges facing communities in the 21st century.

The city's development from ancient times to the modern age. Winner of the National Book Award. "One of the major works of scholarship of the twentieth century" (Christian Science Monitor). Index; illustrations.

To understand Construction Estimating one must also understand plan reading and construction techniques. This book is designed to teach the construction student these three core skills in equal measure. Using hundreds of plans, sketches, and photos, the book builds case studies of the major construction divisions including concrete, masonry, carpentry, and more. Over forty cases are divided into sections following a specially designed format: Plans: Scale drawings of floor plans, sections, or elevations. Plan Interpretation: The drawings are explained with comments. Scope of the Work: A written description of the boundaries of the work is given for each section. Construction Techniques: The construction processes and their sequence are explained. The Takeoff: A takeoff is shown at the end of each section. This approach helps foster confidence in plan reading, building methods, arithmetic, takeoffs, and estimates. The various products and terms used in the industries of structural steel, doors and hardware, and roofing are defined. The shop drawing process is explained, which is so important in many industries, as well as the role of and difference between manufacturers, fabricators, and suppliers/distributors. The book ends with a study of "front end" documents, including Division 00 General Conditions, AIA 201, and Division 01 General Requirements, and a chapter on Ethics. This textbook can be used to teach a variety of classes including plan reading, construction techniques, and estimating 1 and 2 (takeoffs and pricing).

While many authors have written about what urban plans should contain and how they should be used, this comprehensive book leads you step by step through the entire plan preparation process. Citing examples from across the country, Larz Anderson shows how to prepare, review, adopt, and implement urban plans. He explains how to identify public needs and desires, analyze existing problems and opportunities, and augment long-range general plans with short-range district and function plans. Anderson presents these guidelines as tasks. For each task, he explains the rationale behind it, recommends a procedure for completing it, and identifies the expected results. Throughout, Anderson encourages improvisation — he urges planners to adapt the guidelines to meet local needs. Excerpts from recently adopted general plans illustrate Anderson's points and provide examples of variations even within his recommendations. A related glossary gives comprehensive definitions to words that, though not technical, have meanings specific to the urban plan.

It's time for America to move beyond zoning, argues city planner M. Nolan Gray in Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. With lively explanations, Gray shows why zoning abolition is a necessary--if not sufficient--condition for building more affordable, vibrant, equitable, and sustainable cities. Gray lays the groundwork for this ambitious cause by clearing up common misconceptions about how American cities regulate growth and examining four contemporary critiques of zoning (its role in increasing housing costs, restricting growth in our most productive cities, institutionalizing racial and economic segregation, and mandating sprawl). He sets out some of the efforts currently underway to reform zoning and charts how land-use regulation might work in the post-zoning American city. Arbitrary Lines is an invitation to rethink the rules that will continue to shape American life--where we may live or work, who we may encounter, how we may travel. If the task seems daunting, the good news is that we have nowhere to go but up

The author's classic text focuses on the development of cities and how they have been planned and managed through the ages. The tie between land use and municipal administration is explored throughout. Topics include the roots of city management and planning; physical and socioeconomic views of cities; how city planning works within city government; the ties between planning and city politics; zoning and urban design; new towns; and regional planning. This work is the culmination of the author's long career in planning practice. His involvement in government, business, and academics means this book relates to a wide variety of fields. And the author writes in a clear, nontechnical style. Whether you're a city official, a professional, or a concerned citizen, you'll find this a cohesive, readable, and authoritative introduction to the field of planning.

This extensively revised and updated edition of Planning in the USA continues to provide a comprehensive introduction to the policies, theory and practice of planning. Outlining land use, urban planning and environmental protection policies, this fully illustrated book explains the nature of the planning process and the way in which policy issues are identified, defined and approached.