ABSTRACT
Writing reports, plans, and staff memos is not much fun. It’s dutiful, serious writing—not an opportunity for wit and levity. Planners deal with serious topics—data that may keep a reservoir clean, a design that may save a pedestrian’s life—supporting decisions that will affect lives, bank accounts, and landscapes. It is easy to get lost in abstractions, even if the topic is a reservoir or crosswalk, when writing is about decision choices, data variables, and policy positions. Every planning practice is different. Expertise can be sorted into four levels—the theory learned in school, the practice based on the standards and role of a person's agency and position, the particulars of his/her community, and the technical knowledge of a geographic planning or topic area. Over time, this expertise comes from his/her planning degree and experience. It is an active blending of book learning with street smarts.
