The Legal Basis of Planning

Powers and Limitations of Local Government
Where do substate units obtain their powers?
What is Dillon’s Rurle?
What limits the powers of local governments?

Eminent Domain
What is eminent domain?
What parts of the U.S. Constitution enable eminent domain?

Public Control of Private Property
How is public control over private property different than public taking of private property?
What does it mean to say that the public control of private property “involves the imposition of uncompensated losses on property owners”?
How is public control over private property different from eminent domain?
Why do some on the political right view zoning as illegitimate?
What is police power?
How does the legal concept of police power legitimize zoning?
How do police power and property rights come into conflict?
What is the “taking issue”?
How did the public control of private property evolve?
Where was the first modern zoning ordinance enacted, what did it cover, and why did it stand up to court challenges?

The Supreme Court and the “Taking” Issue
How has the Supreme court shaped the public control over private property since 1987? 
What happened in Nollan v. California Costal Council (1987)?  Do you agree with the outcome?
What happened in Lucas v. South Carolina Costal Council (1992)?  Do you agree with the outcome?
What happened in Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994)?  Do you agree with the outcome?
What happened in Palazzolo v. Rhode Island and do you agree with the outcome?

State government and Planning
What does state enabling legislation do?
Why might state enabling legislation require the adoption as well as preparation of a comprehensive plan?
What is the effect of state planning on localities?

Federal influence on Planning
How does the Federal Government legally influence local and state planning through grants and mandates?
How and why did the system of granting of federal funds to localities develop?
Why are federal requirements attached to grants self enforcing?
What are advantages and disadvantages of mandates?

Planning and Politics
Why is planning a political activity?
What power do planners have?

Why is the ability to create a shared vision important for planners?
What is the modern view of politics in planning?
What is the planner’s proper political role according to the modern view of politics in planning?
Why is it important to involve the community in the planning process?
Who is the community?
How is power fragmented in cities?

Styles of planning
What are the characteristics of the following styles of planning?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?  Which one(s) do you sympathize the most with?  
1.  Planner as neutral public servant
2.  Planner as builder of community consensus
3.  Planner as entrepreneur
4.  Planner as advocate
5.  Planner as agent of radical change

Planning Agencies
How are planning agencies organized?
How is the planning director or commissioner selected/hired?
How are planning staff selected and hired?
What is the role of a planning board and how does one become a member?
How do planners interact with municipal legislative bodies (e.g. city council)?
How are large planning agencies structured?
What is the role of a planning consultant in municipal planning?
With what types of groups do planners interact?
What types of formal contact does the planner have with the community?
What types of informal outreach to the community do planners do?

Social Issues
How and when did a concern for social issues emerge in the planning profession?
To what extent can physical design solve social problems?

Housing
How do planning decisions affect the cost of housing?
How do planning decisions affect segregation in housing?
How can planning decisions affect access to public services and employment?
What happened in the Yonkers Housing Case?
What are the consequences of not providing a variety of types of housing in a community?

Private Communities
What is the role of the planner in the creation of private communities?
What does it mean to say that a community is “master planned”?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of private communities and gated communities?  For whom are these advantages and disadvantages?
Is the American Dream really about “racial and class integration”?  pg. 97.

Homelessness
What roles do planners play in both creating and alleviating homelessness?
Who are the homeless?
What are the different explanations for why people become homeless?
If the cause of homelessness is rooted in the character and behavior of individuals do planners have any role in dealing with the problem of homelessness? 
How might planners affect housing policy to reduce homelessness?
What effect might rent controls have on homelessness?

Economic Development and Social Issues
What role do planners have in creating jobs in a city?
Should subsidies be given to firms to locate in a community?
Should environmental concerns take precedence over social concerns in planning?

Social Planning
In what ways to planning decisions impose losses and gains both to individuals and communities?
What does it mean to be a “social planner”?
Should planners attempt to plan for the benefit of the less fortunate or should they serve the majority of the community?
To what extent should planners serve minority interests?
To what extent should planners serve a general public interest?
What is in the interest of the public?  Is there such a thing as the general public interest?