City Planners and Public Service Motivation

Abstract

Once planners came to terms with the futility of being objective technicians, concerns arose regarding how they used their values in practice, particularly within the public sector. This study examines which factors are associated with the public service motivations of city planners in the USA. Variables representing individual characteristics of planners and the nature of their organizations and communities were analyzed in terms of their relationship with three scales measuring public service motivation. Regression results found that different aspects of planners' public service motivations were associated with being female, having different jobs (e.g. current planning, historic preservation), the entrepreneurial nature of their organizations, and the extent to which their citizens verbally bashed government workers. Understanding these factors can help practitioners reflect on how they serve the public.

Acknowledgements

The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey 2000 data used in this publication were collected by Professor Robert D. Putnam of the Saguaro Seminar Civic Engagement in America, a project of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and numerous community foundations nationwide, and made available through the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. The author is thankful for the support, suggestions, and guidance provided by Bruce B. Frey, John C. Pierce, Stacey Swearingen White, and the anonymous reviewers. In addition, it is important to thank all the city planners who responded to this study's survey back in 2006 because, without their help, this research would not be possible.