 | The Urban General Plan by T. J., Jr. Kent
Buy used from: $108.31 Let's start with a classic. Published in 1964, the original authority on what should be included in a community's comprehensive plan.
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 | More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads
Buy new: $18.98 / Used from: $10.85 If you have to ask why I'd include a Talking Heads CD in my essential planning library, then you have to take a look at this CD. Look at the artwork (front and back), and listen to the last track (The Big Country)
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 | Small Town Planning Handbook, 3rd ed. by Thomas L. Daniels
Buy new: $52.07 / Used from: $44.17 This one focuses on planning for small towns and rural areas, but gives a great overall view of the planning process.
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 | The Political Culture of Planning: American Land Use Planning in Comparative Perspective by J Cullingworth
Buy new: $230.00 / Used from: $19.95 There is no avoiding politics when you're in the planning profession.
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 | Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives by The National Archives
Buy used from: $0.99 Speaking of politics, (and inevitably, property rights) every planner should have a copy of the Constitution, and other documents leading to the formation of our country (and more).
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 | The American City : What Works, What Doesn't by Alexander Garvin
Buy new: $39.66 / Used from: $25.09 The best book in print laying out everything that the planning profession encompasses.
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 | The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch
Buy new: $14.39 / Used from: $13.00 Another essential classic. Every planner needs to know what the basic building blocks of a community are.
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 | When City and Country Collide: Managing Growth In The Metropolitan Fringe by Tom Daniels
Buy new: $38.80 / Used from: $19.93 Lynch explained what makes places special and livable. Daniels explains what's gone wrong over the last 50 years, and provides solutions for fixing the problem.
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 | Changing Places: Rebuilding Community in the Age of Sprawl by Richard Moe
Buy used from: $2.25 Again, building on the previous two publications, but with a slant towards historic preservation.
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 | Well Grounded: Using Local Land Use Authoriy to Achieve Smart Growth by John R. Nolon
Buy used from: $191.67 What are planners legally able to do about changing our communities for the better? Here are the answers.
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| Visions For a New American Dream: Process, Principles, and an Ordinance to Plan and Design Small Communities by Anton C. Nelessen
Buy new: $50.18 / Used from: $13.99 Human beings are visual animals. We experience most of our environment through our eyes. Why not use visual tools to involve the public in planning for the future?
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 | Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner
Buy used from: $5.10 Public involvement in the planning process, public input, consensus building, you'll never get anywhere without it.
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 | How to Run Seminars and Workshops: Presentation Skills for Consultants, Trainers, and Teachers by Robert L. Jolles
Buy used from: $0.01 Again, it is so important you will need more than one book on the subject. This one focuses on workshops and training sessions.
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 | Environmental Planning Handbook: For Sustainable Communities and Regions by Tom Daniels and Katherine Daniels
Buy new: $64.84 / Used from: $47.99 This is the newest, most complete reference on natural resource protection and management.
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 | Unlocking the Census with GIS by Alan Peters
Buy new: $34.16 / Used from: $16.48 The census- where would we planners be without it? GIS- where would we planners be without it?
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 | Microsoft Excel 2002 Formulas (With CD-ROM) by John Walkenbach
Buy new: $26.39 / Used from: $4.94 You need to know how to use Excel. The more you can do with it, the more you can do with your community. You need to know how to use Excel.
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 | Watershed Management: Practice, Policies, and Coordination by Robert J. Reimold
Buy new: $89.95 / Used from: $35.00 Water is the oil of the next century. Watersheds will be the planning unit of the next century.
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 | Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice by Edward J. Blakely
Buy used from: $18.98 Econimic development- You will get nowhere without promoting the economic environment of the community you are working for.
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 | Community Economic Development Handbook: Strategies and Tools to Revitalize Your Neighborhood by Mihailo Temali
Buy new: $32.72 / Used from: $39.50 Same as above, but focusing less on the analysis, and more on how a local economic development program should be run.
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 | Community By Design: New Urbanism for Suburbs and Small Communities by Kenneth Hall
Buy new: $30.46 / Used from: $34.55 Something for the New Urbanists.
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 | Geographic Information Systems and Science by Paul A. Longley
Buy used from: $2.72 Geographic Information system software should be the "word proccessor" of the planning proffession.
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 | Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, Second Edition by Patrick J. Lynch
Buy new: $8.79 / Used from: $0.01 After using your "word processor", use the internet as the "publisher"
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 | Plan and Section Drawing (Landscape Architecture) by Thomas C. Wang
Buy new: $50.60 / Used from: $32.00 Planners should be using more of the same tools as landscape architects. Human beings are a very visually oriented species. Learn to use graphics effectivly.
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 | Saving America's Countryside: A Guide to Rural Conservation (National Trust for Historic Preservation) by Samuel N. Stokes
Buy new: $28.63 / Used from: $1.18 The greatest amount of growth and change is happening in our rural areas. Learn what the options are.
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 | Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice by Norman Tyler
Buy used from: $5.11 As rural areas grow, and cities decline, our historic places are disappearing.
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 | Growing Greener: Putting Conservation Into Local Plans And Ordinances by Randall G. Arendt
Buy new: $49.91 / Used from: $22.49 One of the more popular tools for rural communities to maintain at least the appearance of a rural community. Use it with careful consideration, and in moderation.
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