The Failure of Planning: Permitting Sprawl in San Diego Suburbs, 1970-1999

By 1970, uncontrolled growth plagued San Diego County suburbs and threatened to destroy the "paradise" of postwar San Diego, which had attracted a flood of immigrants since 1945. Fortunately, Mayor Pete Wilson, fresh from a Rockefeller Brothers land-use policy forum and armed with the latest progressive planning vision, sponsored a "big picture" planning solution, which has since been institutionalized as "smart growth." Despite the triumph of progressive planning, however, and the multimillion-dollar-planning effort that continues to characterize suburban development, suburban sprawl continues. Freeway gridlock continues. Already exorbitant housing costs keep rising. In short, progressive planning has failed. This book explains how and why this has happened, not only in San Diego but more generally, and considers conservative, liberal, and radical paths toward a more successful future. Richard Hogan is associate professor of sociology and American studies at Purdue University.