ABSTRACT
Can smaller cities benefit from using strategic planning approaches like those used in larger cities? The city of Duarte, California, population 21,000, would answer with an emphatic "yes!" With council encouragement, the city manager presented a work plan for a strategic planning project titled "Duarte Resurgence/' with the year 2007 chosen as the planning horizon. In approving the project, the council identified five major issue areas for attention; municipal services and public safety; education, culture, and recreation; economic development; environment and aesthetics; and health and medical services. Duarte is strongly committed to effective citizen participation. To this end, the city mailed a flier to every household, describing the strategic planning process and inviting applications to serve on one of the five task forces. More than 70 citizens responded and were appointed by the council to serve on the task forces.
