How Plans work -

Chapter by: Lewis D Hopkins professor of urban and regional planning Uni of Illinois

The Standard City Planning Enabling Act (SCEPEA) was written in 1928 to describe the forms and functions of planning. This was essentially one large foundation to build and develop the planning profession upon and it was the start of great things to come.

Outlined in this document were the five aspects of what makes a plan:

Agenda - A list of things to do
Policy - A framework for fair, consistent and predictable decision making (the if-then rule)
Vision - Image of what should be
Design - A coordinator of independent actions or a fully worked out outcome
Strategy -A set of decisions that form a contingent path through a decision tree

Also, were four criteria for evaluation of whether the plan worked:

Effect - Effect on decision making, actions or outcomes

Net benefit - was the plan worth making and for whom.
Internal validity - did the plan work
External validity - Did the claims meet external criteria (such as just society)

My own thought: I guess what we really see a lot of today is well thought out modern processes and diagrams for reaching specific goals with urban planning. But despite the most progressive intentions of sustainable, environmentally friendly and co-existent urban plans, it really comes down to what the government wants and what the developers (who have the money) want. Planners must learn to be mediating the two, to get a plan that works for all.