Two Punk’s Guide to Community Planning by Kamala Parks and Jason Wittenberg

What Is Planning? Have you ever been traveling on a familiar street in your community and been struck by something new in its midst? A building under construction, a bikeway, a park, a traffic signal at an intersection? You might have a variety of opinions, such as, “Finally, they built something on that abandoned lot!” or, “Let me explore this,” or, “Damn, the gentrifiers have discovered my neighborhood.” Regardless of how we feel about this new thing, it often seems to come out of nowhere. The embryos of these projects, however, start with community planning. There’s a long gestation period during the planning process when nothing seems to be happening. The genetics of this project may be found in policies passed by elected officials—who may already be retired from public service—and in zoning codes created years ago. It may have even received special attention and refinement in a specific plan. Even though its arrival is anticipated by many, a project’s birth is still a shocker to m