The Politics of Planning

Let me first say that for most of my sentient life, I've been relatively conservative. I've never been into guns or against a woman's right to choose, but I've definitely been a free-market, meritocracy type of guy. Recently, this political attitude (which though somewhat softened, remains relatively in tact) has created some internal tension given my sense that careful, master planning is a good--even necessary--thing. In a sense, this might be a continuation of the whole prisoners' dilemma post. I think I can connect this: if the role of government is to help disparate members of society reach the optimal, cooperative choice, then planning makes sense. Take architectural guidelines, for instance. A classic conservative (don't even think about political parties here, please) would say that architectural guidelines infringe on personal liberty. A person should be able to build or renovate a house to his liking, regardless of what others think. The wisdom of his choices will be reflected in the resale value of his house and that, in turn, will help ensure that he doesn't make any wildly inappropriate design decisions. But if every resident of the street designs and builds the house of his choosing, we may end up with a Spanish villa, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and a Shingle Style beach house one after another. Each house may be a beautiful example of its own architectural style, but the street, as an experience, won't work. It won't have the "feel" that makes townhomes on New York's Upper East Side or Boston's Back Bay so attractive and sought after. Of course, not every house should be identical. That's precisely the problem with much exurban development these days. But the houses (like the prisoners...) must cooperate for their collective well being. Surely a townhome on 64th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues is worth more than that same townhome would be on 54th Street at the same longitude, precisely because it's a part of a residential whole in the more uptown location. Only the government (or the quasi-governmental entity, in the case of an Homeowners Association) has the power and legitimacy to corral the various homeowners into the cooperative, optimal design choices. This can be done through Comprehensive Planning and Zoning Ordinances in the case of a government entity, or Rules and Regulations and Architectural Guidelines in the case of private property owners associations.