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ic to government interventions have taken a jaundiced view

of central planning.  In his influential essay, "The Myth of

Community Development," Nicholas Lemann notes that community

development and urban renewal of poor neighborhoods have

proven ineffective because of the effects of suburban migra-

tion and that, although presidents since Truman have tried

to spur economic growth of inner-city neighborhoods, none

has succeeded.25

Planning through Metropolitanization

The original HUD portfolio also included the goal of

"metropolitanization"--that is, the encouragement of plan-

ning, and even the development of new governmental jurisdic-

tions, which would transcend old city boundaries.  That

impulse had two chief aspects.  One was redistributional.

If poor inner-city neighborhoods could be joined politically

with more affluent suburban neighborhoods, public goods,

whether in the form of public schools or recreational facil-

ities, would be more equally distributed.  As Weaver put it,

"Planning for area-wide development can help us achieve an

appropriate balance of viable functions in cities and sub-

urbs."26  But the goal of metropolitan planning had deeper

roots than that.  It also stemmed from a long-standing

belief that American cities, even while growing, were

sprawling in ways that would have deleterious long-term

consequences.  That view was captured by Carter McFarland, a

ranking HUD official who had served under six presidents by

the time he published his 1978 book The Federal Government

and Urban Problems.

As everyone knows, our urban areas have grown at a

staggering rate since World War I. . . . The

growth was inevitable.  The character of that

growth was not.  The shape, or lack of shape, of

suburbia, and its sheer size have produced some

unpleasant and ominous results.  One of these is

"strip development," consisting of streets with a

melange of automobile dealers, used car lots,

various quick food establishments, gasoline sta-

tions and other assorted commercial establish-

ments.  Most are embellished with glaring lights,

gaudy signs, and billboards, which many tolerate

but few admire.  Commerce is important to any

human settlement.  It provides jobs and essential

services.  But the form it too often takes unnec-