ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the beginnings of the practice, some of its promises, and its evolution. It attempts to provide a working understanding of the evolution of cultural planning, what it endeavors to achieve, and how it differs from place to place. Tracing the origins of any profession or practice is never in a straight line, nor are its beginnings simply attributable to any one person, organization, or event. Practitioners, advocates, scholars, observers, and others on multiple continents have contributed to the definition, directions, and ongoing evolution of cultural planning, although general agreement places its formal practice originating in the United States. The chapter examines some of these differences, as well as variations in how the understanding and application of the term culture influences the trajectory of cultural planning. Cultural planning in the United States grew primarily as a strategy of arts and cultural agencies and nonprofit arts organizations to improve their financial fortunes and capacities for carrying out their work.
