Local Government Planning Agencies and the Community
The Planning Process, as related to communities in general and Community Parks and Recreation Planning, in particular, is a process of searching, testing, learning
and developing actions.
It must begin and proceed in the context of time, the setting and the needs and
considering what is known, what is not known and what can be learned.
The process cannot be carried out through simple, routine operations and tasks.
A major part of a community's planning needs to be "comprehensive planning or
master planning." This idea recognizes that various aspects of community life
interconnect, that economics, values, physical arrangements and social structures are
all woven through the fabric of the community.
Comprehensive planning, however, does not require that everything be taken
into account at all times. It does mean that when any one element is under
consideration, it is thought about and investigated in the context of the whole
community.
Although planning may focus on a particular part of community conditions, it is
recognized that, in real life, actions in one area are not detached from the others.
Several are going on in various ways within city government and its various
boards or commissions; non-profit organizations in the Hannibal area; Marion County
government boards and commissions; join ventures among school districts and state
government agencies, like "Caring Communities" via the Families and Communities
Together Collaborative and private ventures through churches, athletic leagues or
tourism and cultural heritage interpretation organizations.
The structure of local governments tends to get more complicated. New
commissions and agencies are added to the organization of local governments
frequently. Citizens and public officials are pressed toward improving their abilities to
control and properly use the complicated structures of government that democratic
values and the circumstances of modern living have created. That requires effort and
involvement in a constant process of planning, evaluating and adjusting the functions of
local governments.
In order for planning to be effective in a community, all the following may be
necessary:
- Studies and plans expressed on paper
- funds and programs available from external resources
- opportunities for knowledgeable people to get their ideas across, and
- a means to get projects and recommendations of special interest groups as they relate to the whole community.
None of these constitute the purpose of planning, however. The purpose of the
official planning operation is to improve the community's ability to a) adapted to the
expected, b) create the desirable and c) avoid the undesirable. In American
communities, experience indicates that this is practical only when there is broad
involvement in the planning process. The talents, energy and knowledge of trained
professionals, governmental officials and citizens are all necessary in the planning
process. Planning, to be practical, must be a joint enterprise among many different
kinds of people.
In the end, elected and appointed officials must answer to the public the
following questions regarding what is ultimately implemented: What are the costs?
What are the benefits, Who pays? And Who benefits?
Presentation to Hannibal Parks & Recreation Board
October 16, 1997
David L. Hill, Community Resource Specialist
University Outreach & Extension