US Urban and regional planning history, theory and partnerships for a new century

Planning history reflects the major social, economic and political events that shape a society. Planning has been variously defined by scholars and planning practitioners alike. This paper presents a set of definitions of urban and regional planning (URP) in order to create a common ground with which to analyse planning’s history and theories of urban revitalisation and partnership collaborations at the turn of the 20th century. The planning history includes the City Beautiful movement, the Urban Renewal period and the City Enterprise. The planning theories range from rational planning, incrementalism and advocacy to communicative and collaborative planning. Finally, partnerships refer to collaboration and cooperation among businesses, non-profits, government agencies, education institutions and community leaders with a certain set of aims and goals. The takeaway points are that a partnership’s success depends on the scale and scope of the arrangement, and the type and number of actors. Furthermore, urban revitalisation partnerships should be built on shared interests, reciprocal support and mutual benefit, with partners contributing according to their respective resources, strengths and areas of expertise.