Let's Do Some Planning

Let’s Do Some Planning fulfills a practical need when working with groups. It’s one thing to be familiar with planning concepts, and it is another to be able to apply or utilize these concepts in actual practice. This is a how-to book that provides step-by-step descriptions for a variety of applied planning methods and techniques. The descriptions are concise, include essential information to get started, and are practical platforms for the development of applied skills. One can use these skill sets in a variety of applications within communities and organizations of any size.

Let’s Do Some Planning fulfills a practical need when working with groups. It’s one thing to be familiar with planning concepts, and it is another to be able to apply or utilize these concepts in actual practice. This is a how-to book that provides step-by-step descriptions for a variety of applied planning methods and techniques. The descriptions are concise, include essential information to get started, and are practical platforms for the development of applied skills. One can use these skill sets in a variety of applications within communities and organizations of any size. Working with groups can be challenging, so several chapters provide what is often a missing link in understanding process designs and moving from good ideas to making good ideas happen. Each chapter independently makes sense, and collectively they paint a portrait that captures the dynamic nature of several applied planning concepts. The chapter on the technical audit additionally reduces many functional planning components into visual, bite-size pieces that make it easier to understand the complex interface existing between technical and interpersonal aspects of planning. The final chapters include reflections on the art and science of planning and bring closure to an informative planning journey that involves working with groups to accomplish applied planning.

Dr. Garry Cooper, FAICP is a retired professor of community and regional planning. He was a practicing planner for over 35 years and a mentor trainer and TOP®-certified (Technology of Participation) group facilitator. His planning experience began in the military where he was a career Army officer who worked as an installation planner, a real estate manager, and a water resource planner for a five-state geographical area in the southeastern United States. Garry began teaching at the university level after retiring from the Army. As a practicing planner, he facilitated a variety of workshops and meetings and worked with local governments on planning projects that included public involvement programs, analytical studies, comprehensive and strategic plans, and implementation and action planning activities. Most of his work involved small towns, rural communities, and non-profit organizations. Three plans that he prepared for North Carolina communities received state awards for planning excellence from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association. In addition, he was, for several years, a member of a town planning commission. Garry received a doctoral of environmental design degree and a master of urban and regional planning degree from Texas A&M University in 1979 and 1976.