A Call for 'Replanning' As A Discipline Of Community Planning

Planning for reconstruction and rebuilding in places like Iraq is neglected by the planning profession. Craig Raborn proposes a new field of planning: Replanning, which would establish the rules that will govern reconstruction, new construction, and infrastructure provision in ways appropriate for the culture and environment.

Each day brings more news about shortcomings and failures of reconstruction and rebuilding activities in Iraq. These problems have developed because the planning for reconstruction and rebuilding was and is still being neglected. Right now, the agenda seems only to be to recreate what has been destroyed. For lack of a better word, we should also "replan."

To limit post-war operations to such a small scope of activities as reconstruction and rebuilding is to ignore the potential application of all we know about community planning, economic redevelopment, city management, historic preservation, culturally-sensitive dispute resolution, sociology, public policy, and other allied fields. Before, or at least as part of, reconstruction and rebuilding, we should practice "replanning." The crises that require reconstruction and rebuilding should be seen as opportunities for improvement, not just restoring the past. They are opportunities to help the people who are suffering from an immediate crisis; to plan communities based on what we know about the causes of the crisis, the relevant cultural and historical factors, and planning as practiced in their society. In short, replanning is an opportunity to apply the practice and theory of community planning in a new and valuable way.

Replanning should be both distinct from other specialties of planning and the allied fields listed above and inclusive of them. It is conceptually distinct because most planning -- as currently taught and practiced -- is focused on undeveloped places or expansion of existing ones, and not in response to some crisis or recent destruction. Replanning should occur in places that are or were already established and populated, but due to crisis need something new. It is conceptually inclusive of the current fields because its basic premise is to 'simply' take these specialties and apply them in situations not usually envisioned by most planning practitioners, researchers, and teachers.

"Replanners" will need to understand real-world planning, as well as planning theory. They must know or learn how to work in the severe environments where this new field is needed. They must know how to analyze and recommend planning-related policies at both local and national levels. They must be knowledgeable of political science, anthropology, sociology, and dispute resolution. They must know how to work with engineers, architects, and local officials who operate under the pressures of crises. This diverse collection of skills suggests that teams of planners with such expertise will be needed to implement replanning in places like Iraq, but academics should be able to develop advanced knowledge throughout the field.

The most obvious immediate application of 'replanning' would be in Iraq, but recent history from Bosnia provides another example.

The destruction wrought in Bosnia arose from a number of social and economic problems. These problems include hatred between ethnic groups that had been forcibly repressed for decades, forced integration over the same time period, a centrally-planned economy, a banking system that effectively prevented entrepreneurship, and poverty that led to general frustration and dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Our efforts to bring peace and stability in Bosnia have mostly failed to encourage the redevelopment and investment necessary for that country to recover from its civil war. In the cities were I worked or visited (as a political analyst about to become a community planner) significant battle damage remained even three years after the civil war; and it remains today, nearly five years later.

When I was there, many homes were still abandoned or damaged; residents who had gone to live with relatives in Sarajevo or in other countries were still afraid or unable to return. Many of the homes that were occupied still had plastic sheeting for windows, because a minor part of the tax code served as a disincentive for completing the repairs. Community planners with the expertise to solve these problems should have been involved, but were not. Those involved from nongovernmental organizations and USAID cared and wanted to help with these problems, but their skills were not in community planning. Replanning could have been very valuable.

In Iraq our efforts already show a failure to understand the cultural nuances necessary to effectively accomplish the overall stated goal of establishing a representative government. Iraqis seem to protest every single action we take, especially those at local levels. It was a mistake not to expect that we would need people trained in more than just fixing water plants and electrical systems. We have failed to understand the tribal and cultural realities that are now preventing the establishment of stable municipal operations. Planners trained in culturally-attuned dispute resolution should be involved in bringing the diverse interests and participants to agreement on the important local decisions; planners who understand traditional Arabic and Islamic town planning should be there to help guide reconstruction; planners with knowledge of historic preservation should be involved in protecting the integrity of what remains; planners with knowledge of development regulations should be involved in establishing the rules that will govern reconstruction, new construction, and infrastructure provision in ways that are appropriate for the culture and environment.

Planners should be involved in post-war Iraq as equals to the civil engineers and architects in the rebuilding and reconstruction process. We should see this as an opportunity to apply the practical experience of community-building and the theory of planning in a place where it can do tremendous good. We should also see this as a valuable opportunity to expand the knowledge of planning as a profession and an academic field.

Although there is an immediate application of replanning in Iraq, and probably an unfortunate yet constant potential for its application in our future world, the concept of replanning should not be limited to places where war or sudden change to the built and social environment has occurred. Replanning skills will also be applicable in non-crisis situations. Already we realize how our 1950s suburbs foster unhealthy lifestyles and lead to excess pollution and consumption of resources, and are trying to find ways to convert them to better places. Replanning will provide an expertise in turning defective places into better ones. Many of our inner cities remain neglected and vacant as a result of 1960s civil strife and subsequent disinvestment, although we continue to make grand plans, as well as parcel-by-parcel improvements. Replanning can bring a new perspective, understanding, and level of experience to these efforts.

Replanning should not replace current planning science and practice, but instead apply it in a new way and in situations not currently envisioned. It can provide a valuable service for people and places in need. It can add additional experience to the planning profession that will be useful in non-crisis situations. It can bring new possible areas of scientific inquiry to the academic side of planning. Properly developed and applied, replanning can help meet the planning profession's promise and potential to support broader social goals. In short, it can improve and expand the profession and science of planning.

Craig Raborn spent a year working on local politics in post-war Bosnia and is a contributor to the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development. He currently works in the office of Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR) as the American Planning Association's Congressional Fellow. After his fellowship, he will return to the private sector as a planning consultant.