Departmental Papers (City and Regional Planning)
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
September 1988
Abstract
"The seminal thinkers of the profession are now largely historical figures, few 'heroes' have emerged to replace them," Michael P. Brooks recently wrote (Brooks, 1988). Brooks is unduly alarmist. Significant figures like Daniel Burnham and Rexford Tugwell have their counterparts today. But these contemporary planners are different. They do not espouse exaggerated visions nor call brashly for revolutionary changes. American life also is different. Big cities are no longer novel nor is the economy emerging from a major depression. The country now is dealing with seemingly intransigent issues like the underclass and runaway metropolitan growth and adjusting to major industrial restructuring.
Date Posted: 19 September 2007
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
Reprinted from Journal of the American Planning Association, Volume 54, Issue 4, September 1988, pages 421-424.
The author, Dr. Eugenie L. Birch, asserts her right to include this material in ScholarlyCommons@Penn.