Fundamentals of Plan Making: Methods and Techniques

Urban and regional planning programs aspire to prepare practitioners to write and implement plans, primarily at the local level of government. These programs are very much "professional" in their aspirations, as opposed to research oriented. Yet, academic planning programs often place greater emphasis on theory than practice. For decades, the planning academy has acknowledged a major disconnect between what the planning academy teaches students and the techniques and skills needed to be a successful professional practitioner.

Fundamentals of Plan Making will give planning students an understanding of research design as it applies to planning, develop familiarity with various data sources, and help them acquire knowledge and the ability to conduct basic planning analyses such as population projections, housing needs assessments, development impact analyses, and land use plans. Students will also learn how to implement the various citizen participation methods used by planners and develop an appreciation of the values and roles of practicing planners.

In Fundamentals of Plan Making, Edward Jepson and Jerry Weitz bring their extensive experience as practicing academics and give planning students the practical, hands on tools they need to implement the various methods used to create and implement real plans and policies. Its chapters on transportation, housing, environment, economic development and other core development topics also make it a handy reference for planning practitioners.

Edward J. Jepson, Jr. is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and holds a Master of Regional Planning (MRP) degree from the Pennsylvania State University and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Over the past 30 years, he has worked as the executive director of two nonprofit development organizations, a community planning and development consultant, a planning professor at the University of Tennessee, and an adjunct professor at East Carolina University, the University of Western Georgia and the University of Oregon. His research and scholarly work has focused on planning for sustainability and his teaching experience includes courses on planning methods, economic development, planning theory, urban studies, and environmental planning.

Jerry Weitz is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP) and holds a Ph.D. in urban studies, a Master of City Planning degree, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History. He has worked for city, county, regional, and state governments during his career, which spans 30 years. Since 2001, as president and principal of his own planning consulting firm, Jerry Weitz & Associates, Inc., he has prepared numerous local comprehensive plans and land-use regulations. From 2010 to 2015, he was associate professor and director of the urban and regional planning program at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, where he taught land-use planning, land-use regulation, historic preservation planning, planning practice studio, and ecological landscape planning. From 2001 to 2014, Weitz was editor of the only member publication of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Practicing Planner.