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specified what the content of a comprehensive devel-
<br />opment plan should include:
<br />• A land use plan, indicating the locations and
<br />amounts of land to be used for residential, commer-
<br />cial, industrial, transportation, and public purposes
<br />• A plan for circulation facilities
<br />• A plan for public utilities
<br />• A plan for community facilities
<br />T. J. Kent's Urban General Plan
<br />Kent's view of the plan's focus was similar to that
<br />of the 701 guidelines: long -range physical develop-
<br />ment in terms of land use, circulation, and commu-
<br />nity facilities. In addition, the plan might include
<br />sections on civic design and utilities, and special areas,
<br />such as historic preservation or redevelopment area
<br />It covered the entire geographical jurisdiction of the
<br />community, and was in that sense comprehensive. The
<br />plan was a vision of the future, but not a blueprint; a
<br />policy statement, but not a program of action; a for-
<br />mulation of goals, but not schedules, priorities, or cost
<br />estimates. It was to be inspirational, uninhibited by
<br />short -term practical considerations.
<br />Kent (1964, 65 -89) believed the plan should em-
<br />phasize policy, serving the following functions:
<br />• Policy determination —to provide a process by which
<br />a community would debate and decide on its policy
<br />• Policy communication —to inform those concerned -
<br />with development (officials, developers, citizens, the
<br />courts, and others) and educate them about future
<br />possibilities
<br />• Policy effectuation —to serve as a general reference
<br />for officials deciding on specific projects
<br />• Conveyance of advice --to furnish legislators with
<br />the counsel of their advisors in a coherent, unified
<br />form
<br />The format of Kent's proposed plan included a
<br />unified, comprehensive, but general physical design
<br />for the future, covering the whole community and rep-
<br />resented by maps. (See figure 2.) It also contained
<br />goals and policies (generalized guides to conduct, and
<br />the most important ingredients of the plan), as well as
<br />summaries of background 'conditions, trends, issues,
<br />problems, and assumptions. (See figure 3.) So that the
<br />plan would be suitable for public debate, it was to be
<br />a complete, comprehensible document, containing
<br />factual data, assumptions, statements of issues, and
<br />goals, rather than merely conclusions and recommen-
<br />dations. The plan belonged to the legislative body and
<br />was intended to be consulted in decision - making dur-
<br />ing council meetings.
<br />TWENTIETH CENTURY LAND USE PLANNIN,
<br />Kent (1964, 25 -6) recommended overall goals for
<br />the plan:
<br />• Improve the physical environment of the commu-.
<br />nity to make it more functional, beautifixl, decent,
<br />healthful, interesting, and efficient
<br />• Promote the overall public interest, rather than the
<br />interests of individuals or special groups within the
<br />community
<br />Effect political and technical coordination in com-
<br />munity development
<br />• Inject long -range considerations into the determina-
<br />tion of short - range actions
<br />• Bring professional and technical knowledge to bear
<br />on the making of political decisions about the physi-
<br />cal development of the community
<br />F .Stuart Chapin, Jr.-Is .Urban Land Use Plan
<br />Chapin's - ideas, though focusing more narrowly
<br />on the land use plan, were consistent with Kent's in
<br />both the 1957 and 1965 editions of Urban Land Use
<br />Planning, a widely used text and reference work for
<br />planners. Chapin's concept of the plan was of agener-
<br />alized, but scaled, design for the future use of land,
<br />covering private land uses and public facilities, includ-
<br />ing the thoroughfare network (Chapin 1957, 275 -7,
<br />378).
<br />Chapin conceived of the land use plan as the first
<br />step in preparing a general or comprehensive plan.
<br />Upon its completion, the land use plan served as a
<br />temporary general guide for decisions, until the
<br />comprehensive plan was developed. Later, the land
<br />use plan would become a cornerstone in the compre-
<br />hensive plan, which also included plans for transpor-
<br />tation, utilities, community facilities, and renewal,
<br />only the general rudiments of which are suggested
<br />in the land use plan (Chapin 1957, 277, 388). Pur-
<br />poses of the plan were to guide government ded
<br />sions on public facilities, zoning, subdivision control,
<br />and urban renewal, and to inform private developers
<br />about the proposed future pattern of urban devel-
<br />opment.
<br />The format of Chapin's land use plan included a
<br />statement of objectives, a description of existing con -
<br />ditions and future needs for space and services, and
<br />finally the mapped proposal for the future develop-
<br />ment of the community, together with a program for
<br />implementing the plan (customarily including zoning,
<br />subdivision control, a housing code, a public works ex-
<br />penditure program, an urban renewal program, and
<br />other regulations and development measures) (Chapin
<br />1957, 280 -3).
<br />APA JOURNAL - SUMMER 1995 1369
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