One Hundred Years of City Planning's Enduring and Evolving Connections

Abstract

Problem: In 2009, 100 years after the first national meeting of the Progressive reformers who laid the foundation of the profession, the field of city planning marks a landmark anniversary. While enormous changes have occurred in the United States, then, as now, dealing with growth is a persistent theme. Purpose: This article introduces the centennial issue celebrating the field's anniversary in the Journal of the American Planning Association, provides context for articles appearing here, explores the implications of the past for contemporary planning, and points to some ideas for educating city planners in the succeeding decades. Methods: The authors employ the traditional methods of their specialty as planning historians, including reviewing and synthesizing primary and secondary sources related to the topic at hand. Results and conclusions: Three themes unify this centennial issue. First, the articles explore the interplay of ideas, societal trends, and development of authority over managing growth that shaped the field. Second, they show how common concerns persist over time. Third, they look at the concept of “change,” how it is variously defined, and how it has been a central theme and driver of the field. Takeaway for practice: The centennial issue emphasizes the importance of understanding the context of planning (i.e., locating people, places, and policies in time) in order to track the growth of the profession and its concerns. It performs the key function of planning history: to illuminate the past in order to explain the present and inform the future. Research support: None.