Leave Planning To Planners

In this column, APA Executive Director Paul Farmer expounds on the other professions that are inappropriately making planning decisions, and discusses how New Urbanists are close to repeating the mistakes of other modernist movements.

2 minute read

January 9, 2008, 2:00 PM PST

By Nate Berg


"Architects cannot claim to be planners on the basis of their architectural knowledge and competencies. The systems of human settlement, from neighborhoods to cities and regions, are far different from building systems. Traffic engineering, to take another example, has some overlap with transportation planning, but it also requires vastly different abilities. Traffic engineers are not transportation planners, and transportation planners are not traffic engineers. We need to respect the core competencies of allied professions, just as we expect them to respect ours.

The planning profession has its own mistakes to account for. Early in my planning career, wetlands were considered a development opportunity. The plan for the Hackensack Meadowlands in New Jersey won numerous awards. Would we honor it today, given the haphazard building that has taken place where natural systems should have been protected?

In New Orleans, developing wetlands had disastrous results in the Lakeview neighborhood, where greedy developers and politicians joined to give the city its share of suburban sprawl. Engineers were of little help, and local planners knew too little about the land itself - or about the results of dewatering. In fact, planning as a profession in Louisiana was for many decades embryonic at best.

Today, new urbanism is dangerously close to repeating the mistakes of the earlier modernists. Its advocates in the post-Katrina Gulf South have often been irresponsible in neglecting environmental factors in their promotion of replacement housing in vulnerable areas. And Seaside, the movement's icon, should never have been built in its high-hazard location."

Note: This article is only available for members of the American Planning Association.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 in Planning

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Aerial view of Chicago with river in foreground.

Chicago Approves Green Affordable Housing Plan

The Mayor’s plan calls for creating a nonprofit housing corporation tasked with building affordable housing that meets Green Building standards.

May 8, 2025 - CBS News Chicago

Man reaching for young girl sliding down playground slide.

Quantifying Social Infrastructure

New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?

30 minutes ago - Happy Cities

View of downtown Dallas, Texas skyline with skyscrapers against twilight sky.

Dallas Code Reform Makes Way for Missing Middle Housing

The Dallas City Council voted to change the city’s building code to allow up to eight residential units in three-story buildings.

1 hour ago - Strong Towns

Wire sign over street "Welcome to Chinatown" in New York City.

Mahjong Game Highlights Displacement of Seniors in NYC’s Chinatown

‘Aging Out of Place’ explores the mechanisms that displace vulnerable seniors, and how the community can help preserve key resources and institutions.

2 hours ago - Next City