ABSTRACT
The image of the public school, as the center of America's image of a utopian, better future, has given almost reverent power to public school planners to control the form and future of the cities. The case study, from planning/development activities in Lincoln, Nebraska, supports the premise that the public school system in environments of moderate-to-intense population growth is the most influential planning entity, either public or private, promoting the proto-typical sprawl pattern of American cities. Lincoln is a middle-sized, capitol city in the agricultural heartland of the United States. Since about 1965 it has experienced moderate, to recently accelerating growth, of approximately 1.5% per year, to reach its current population of more than 200,000 residents. The director of planning for the City of Lincoln acknowledges early and frequent sessions with the school system to discuss the parameters during the school's bond planning and site selection process.
