The Who:

I’m Thomas Gilbertson, host of the Planner’s Parallax. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Beginning in my youth and continuing into my early adult years, I was inspired by articles in community and citywide newspapers to learn more about the practice of city planning. It was always fascinating to read about the goings on in my community and to learn about the nature of city development. Over subsequent years, I pursued my interest by studying community planning and then ultimately taking up work as a long-range planner. Having worked in both urban and rural environments across multiple states, my focus is primarily centered on ways to bring out the best in city life and rural economy for our human landscapes.

The What:

The Planner’s Parallax is an exploration of community planning that attempts to analyze planning issues and challenges through an administrative and economic lens rather than through a social or urban design perspective. However, a discussion of social issues and the design outcomes that shape or often misshape our urban environments will take place within some of our more interactive or easy-read articles. Much of the exploration of urban and rural affairs undertaken on this blog will center around the ideas of efficiency and effectiveness. Attempts at rational approaches to planning challenges will be emphasized during our exploration.

The Why:

Several reasons have given rise to this blog’s focus on rational methods and prioritizing efficiency and effectiveness outcomes in urban and rural planning. Key reasons include:

1. The general lack of success experienced in the community planning field towards most of its goals;
2. The assumption that legal experts and even courts have struggled to understand how to properly apply zoning and its relationship to comprehensive planning;
3. That the decline of urban and rural America cannot be captured by statistics alone;
4. The claim that a departure from the basic conventions of sound economics and government administration has produced an environment more hostile to planning; and
5. As a response to the many interests and foci that incrementally hijack the planning profession.

The Rules:

Please observe the following rules as a contributor, through comments or otherwise, to this blog. The six rules are:

1. No random or misplaced profanity;
2. Be respectful to all contributors and the host;
3. Professional conduct in your contributions is expected;
4. Adhere to the ethics and standards promoted by the American Planning Association;
5. Do not be intentionally racist, sexist, homophobic, disparaging of a religious set of beliefs, or engage in some other form of bigotry; and
6. Have fun.

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