Anthony Flint reports on a number of planning initiatives stopped in their tracks by protesting Tea Party members, who are strongly opposed to "smart growth communism."
A growth management program in Florida, that state's high-speed rail project, a comprehensive plan in Virginia -- these and other planning initiatives have been stopped or slowed by Tea Party protests:
"What's prompting the ire is anything from a proposed master plan to a new water treatment plant, rules governing septic tanks, or a bike-sharing program. What's driving the rebellion is a view that government should have no role in planning or shaping the built environment that in any way interferes with private property rights."
Those engaged in planning have been dedicated, in the tradition of Jane Jacobs, to bringing all parties to the table to make enlightened decisions, writes Flint. So how to incorporate the Tea Party into the process, particularly when they believe "...that planners have draped the public process with the trappings of citizen input, while in fact all the decisions to promote smart growth have already been made"?
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