Dare to Plan is the title of an article written by Andrew M. Isserman in 1985 and published in Town Planning Review, 56, 4, UK. The purpose for writing this post is as a challenge to all who post, comment, and read the blog. This challenge surfaced due to the tragic and sudden death of Andy during an evening pickup basketball game with colleagues and graduate students last spring. Andy was once my professor and then my colleague in the UIUC Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He made such a big impact on the discipline that there were two special sessions at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning conference, just held, and an upcoming two-day symposium the first week of November at the Alum Center. All of this focus brought back to mind the importance of the article, Dare to Plan.

Even though the article is a quarter of a century old, the application to how planning is done today is profound. As Isserman, who engaged in population projections as a regional economist, writes "The basic premise of this essay is that planning has lost sight of the future. The planning profession today proclaims its problem-solving orientation and its pragmatism. In the meantime, planning is sacrificing its roles as visionary and idealist about what might be and what ought to be. Population forecasts and their use in planning practice are analyzed to illustrate that the relationship between planning and the future is askew. Courses of study are recommended that are designed to help planning schools rediscover the future and in the process restore our confidence in planning and our pride in its accomplishments."

When he writes about the future and planning education, he challenges planning academics to take students back into planning history to better understand the planning foundations laid and appreciate those who "dared to plan" and the difference this made in our country.

The neglect of the future has four causes argues Isserman. The third listed is "budget cuts and a climate that makes idealism, vision, and inspiration seem anachronistic." I argued this during a session at the conference. To this I added the fear of job loss and thus health insurance have laid a governor over planners to such an extent that they do not do the job of "daring to plan."

He writes "I fear that we are surrendering too quickly, that planning is becoming a form of general trade training in a mix of skills with enough specialization to allow planners to undertake activities which leave them indistinguishable from other professions." Or planning graduates go into economics, law, real estate, engineering, bankers, social workers, hospital administrators, etc.. Adding these degrees to one in planning, it is argued, increases job possibilities; yet, most of these professions work in counter to planning.

As a last point among many that he makes " The planning profession has lost sight of the future and is abandoning its responsibility in the design of cities and oriented more toward social sciences and scientific method. Work of other professionals is not being properly coordinated." He bemoans the lack of publications 25 years ago and still today that put into perspective in depth planning mistakes so we can continue to learn from these.

Whether you are a citizen planner, such as a member of a planning commission, zoning board of appeals, school board, etc. or one of the professional planners in the community, a reread of Andy's article might move us all to "Dare to Plan" and discover the future.

Here is where you can read the article   http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/40112237?seq=9