Planners' Attitude Toward Growth A Comparative Case Study

Abstract

Planners' attitudes toward growth have received little attention despite the essential roles that growth and development play in planning. To contribute to an understanding of planners' attitudes and values, this paper compares planners' attitudes toward growth with those of the general public. Responses to eleven questions relating to quality of life, initiatives and referenda, growth limitation approaches, civic boosterism, and the costs and benefits of growth indicate that planners, at least in San Diego, hold more favorable attitudes toward growth than does the general population. Private sector planners favor growth more than public planners do. These findings are consistent with a historical and theoretical understanding of the relationship between the planning profession and those who benefit from growth.