Community planning is an essential part of economic development and establishment of a character unique to the community. Lack of planning leaves all development or lack thereof, up to market forces. In many cases market forces will dominate a communities identity, but they are not always perfectly aligned with the desires and values of community members. A town, city or region, left to develop without the aid of a comprehensive planning strategy may deteriorate or become a "faceless" strip of generic America. In addition to the loss of character a community may suffer, negative effects may be felt in the economy, the environment, the infrastructure, and most importantly the quality of life experienced by the residing members of the community.

O f course, every aspect of a community can not be planned for and controlled, but some effort must be applied. For example, a small fishing community can not plan to develop an economy based on mining. It can however influence the future health of its present economy, and encourage the growth and development of new industries. It can maintain or change the appearance of the town. It can preserve or improve the quality of life within the

In conclusion, towns which have comprehensive planning in place may be doing great things for the economy, and still not improving the quality of life and character of a community. Without an all-encompassing plan, which deals with many more aspects than economy alone, a towns planning efforts may not meet its potential positive impact. It may even result in the decline of aspects not considered or dealt with, in the planning process.

A modern trend in urban America is the abandonment of downtown centers. These areas need not be lost. They are extremely important maintaining character, and can actually become a nuisance, if left to decay beyond a certain level. They are often left out of a community's plan, because they seem to be outdated, and no longer economically viable. Economic development is allowed or encouraged to take place on the fringe of the community, while the historic center is left to fend for itself. This results in unnecessary sprawl, and causes the centers to decay.

Most communities are well aware of the importance of planning, when it comes to the economy of an area, but many small towns and cities seem to ignore other aspects of the planning process, which could greatly affect the town. Most people feel that the economy is the single most important aspect to a community's health and vitality. They overlook some simple things, which could easily be changed, and would improve the looks, functionality, and enjoyability of a town.

To make matters worse, all the

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Approximate Word count = 1015
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)