Regenerating the Environment: Are Planners Prepared? A Study of American Municipal Planners’ Environmental Knowledge, Know-How, and Practices

Abstract

Planners are in positions to lead the implementation of place-based environmentally sustainable practices. This paper explores the impacts of planners’ education, knowledge, and know-how on local sustainability implementation in practice, using a survey of 253 municipal planners. While most have basic factual knowledge, many do not have practical experiences with, and would not know how to undertake, a variety of sustainable practices. Formal environmental training increases knowledge and know-how, which in turn supports practice. This provides a strong rationale for strengthening environmental training in the core requirements of planning education.