Change is inevitable in all communities: they both grow and decline. Planning is a means by which we have sought to manage this change. It has not always succeeded in providing the types of settlements and environments which many residents and others want, either because it is operating with the wrong policies or because it is failing to ensure that the right policies are effectively implemented. These failings have opened planning to criticism by a dominant neoliberal orthodoxy which shapes an increasingly difficult environment in which planning has to operate. Planning for Small Town Change builds on an underexploited selection of international research and the authors’ English case studies to consider the efficacy of planning for change. Drawing on insightful small town experiences, three themes emerge: understanding and conceptualising change; appreciating the potential within place; and the mechanisms for planning and delivery. The research draws on many examples of how key actors have made a significant difference to specific places and provides important insights into how the planning process can be better matched to the long-term and complex challenges faced. Whilst small town experiences are often neglected, they are found to be particularly insightful in understanding the potential roles of local communities and the importance of place quality when planning for change.

This easy-to-use guide shows citizens, students, and government officials how to approach planning in a small town. Rather than restating the principles of urban planning, the authors offer insightful, practical advice specifically aimed at towns with limited resources and fewer than 10,000 residents. The second edition covers the planning process from the assessment of community needs to the creation of zoning ordinances and capital improvement programs. It features expanded sections on plan implementation and economic development and includes a glossary of planning terms, an updated bibliography, and many more tables and graphs than the first edition.

The authors update and substantially expand topics covered in the first edition. They explain how to develop a comprehensive town plan, draft and apply land-use regulations that put the plan into action, and create sustainable small towns. They also investigate new areas such as economic development, small town design, and strategic planning.

We tend to associate small town economic development with the decline of the rural United States--empty houses, shuttered shops and rusting factories. A common diagnosis of sluggish small town recovery is their lack of lifestyle amenities that attract new residents and businesses. Yet many small towns have shown progress and potential in recent years. This collection of recent articles by experts presents stories of small-town America's struggle and describes innovations and practices behind successful revivals.

"This book describes the population health concerns of small-town America and how these concerns are affected by the unique characteristics of these places focusing on the built environment"--

Small and mid-sized suburban towns house two-thirds of the world’s population and current modes of planning for these municipalities are facing challenges of both philosophy and form. Common approaches that have prevailed in past decades no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. Rather than dismissing small and mid-sized towns as unattractive suburban sprawl, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns offers ideas and methods on how small isolated and edge towns can be designed and retooled into sustainable, affordable and adaptable communities. Coverage includes: the evolution of small towns mobility and connectivity neighborhood and sustainable dwelling design town centers and urban renewal economic sustainability and wealth generation, and more. With numerous case studies from North America and Europe and over 150 color photographs, maps, and illustrations, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns is a valuable, practical resource for professional planners and urban designers, as well as students in these disciplines.

Small and mid-sized suburban towns house two-thirds of the world’s population and current modes of planning for these municipalities are facing challenges of both philosophy and form. Common approaches that have prevailed in past decades no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. Rather than dismissing small and mid-sized towns as unattractive suburban sprawl, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns offers ideas and methods on how small isolated and edge towns can be designed and retooled into sustainable, affordable and adaptable communities. Coverage includes: the evolution of small towns mobility and connectivity neighborhood and sustainable dwelling design town centers and urban renewal economic sustainability and wealth generation, and more. With numerous case studies from North America and Europe and over 150 color photographs, maps, and illustrations, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns is a valuable, practical resource for professional planners and urban designers, as well as students in these disciplines.

The contributors to this volume demonstrate the richness and diversity of the social landscapes and communities in Canadian urban centres, emphasizing changes which occurred in the period from the mid 1960s to the early 1990s. The nineteen non-technical and integrative essays include reviews of the literature, empirical studies, and discussions of policy issues. CONTENTS Introduction * The Social Context and Diversity of Urban Canada -- David F. Ley and Larry S. Bourne Part One - Patterns: People and Place in Urban Canada * Evolving Urban Landscapes -- D.W. Holdsworth * Measuring the Social Ecology of Cities -- W.K.D. Davies and R.A. Murdie * Demography, Living Arrangement, and Residential Geography -- J.R. Miron * Urban Social Behaviour in Time and Space -- D.G. Janelle Part Two - Contexts: Social Structure and Urban Space * Migration, Mobility, and Population Redistribution -- E.G. Moore and M.W. Rosenberg * The Emerging Ethnocultural Mosaic -- S.H. Olson and A.L. Kobayashi * Work, Labour Markets, and Households in Transition -- D. Rose and P. Villeneuve * Housing Markets, Community Development, and Neighbourhood Change -- Larry S. Bourne and T. Bunting Part Three - Places: Selected Locales * Integrating Production and Consumption: Industry, Class, Ethnicity, and the Jews of Toronto -- D. Hiebert * Past Elites and Present Gentry: Neighbourhoods of Privilege in the Inner City -- David F. Ley * From Periphery to Centre: The Changing Geography of the Suburbs -- L.J. Evenden and G.E. Walker * The Social Geography of Small Towns -- J.C. Everitt and A.M. Gill Part Four - Needs: Social Well-being and Public Policy * Social Planning and the Welfare State -- J.T. Lemon * The Meaning of Home, Home Ownership, and Public Policy -- R. Harris and G.J. Pratt * Homelessness -- M.J. Dear and J. Wolch * Geography of Urban Health -- S.M. Taylor * Changing Access to Public and Private Services: Non-family Childcare -- S. Mackenzie and M. Truelove * Cities as a Social Responsibility: Planning and Urban Form -- P.J. Smith and P.W. Moore