A Public Planning Perspective on Strategic Planning

Abstract

Strategic planning based on corporate practice is being put forward and used as an approach to more effective communitywide public planning. This article critically assesses the approach by comparing it to ideas common in the planning literature and by interviewing practitioners exposed to exercises in corporate-style strategic planning in their communities. We conclude that most of the ideas subsumed in this approach have been a part of planning education for decades and that most practitioners trained as planners view the approach as “old wine in new bottles.” Nevertheless, we argue that planners should view the new popularity of corporate-style strategic planning as an opportunity to revive interest in planning.