A Guide for the Idealist

Front matter

¡GUIDE

Launching and Navigating Your Planning Career

RICHARD WILLSON te. nE: N PIN

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Boxes Acknowledgments

Part I: Launching

2. Am I Good Enough?

Doubt and Performance — The Narcissism of Minimal Doubt — The Narcissism of Excess Doubt — Managing Doubt — And Now to You: Effort Without a Guarantee of Results

X1

3. Making Choices Choices Faced by Planners — Components of Decisions: Feeling, Rational Thought, and Soul — And Now to You: Courage and Authenticity

4. What Is My Work?

Types of Planning Work — Follow Your Bliss? — Sorting out Purpose by Values — Sorting out Systems of Change: Grassroots Advocacy Versus Working Inside Big Systems — Sorting out Methods of Doing the Work — Sorting out a Future as a Manager — And Now to You: It's Worth It

5. What Work Setting?

A Good Fit, Not a Perfect One — Avoid Toxic Work Environments-Seek Positive Ones — Home-Based, Small Organization, Large Organization Work Settings — Flat Versus Hierarchical Organizations — Office Versus Fieldwork — Creativity — When Planning Isn't Well-Established — And Now to You: Find a Fit

6. Career Plans Are Useless Planning, Context, and Chance — Changes in Planning Employment — Does Planning Theory Have Relevance to Career Planning? An Alternative Career Planning Approach — An Example of Scenario/Contingency/ Anticipation Analysis — Career Path Stories — And Now to You: The Elevator Talk

Part II: Succeeding

7. Principled Adaptability The Principled Adaptability Planning Style — Labelling Versus a Dynamic System — And Now to You: Passion and Reason

8. Being Right “Tm Right” Situations — Upstream and Downstream from the Entry-Level Planner — The Misunderstanding: Being “Right”

dile in Relation to Supervisors — Espoused Theory and Theory-in-Use — The Prophet: Being Right in Relation to Decision-Makers and Community — Loyalty, Voice and Exit — And Now to You: The Happy Warrior

Planners’ Ethics — About Ethics — The Planner's Internal Compass — The Planning Professions Compass — Ways of Being Wrong — After a Mistake — And Now to You: Your Deeds Define You

Contents ix

Dealing with Managers — Organizational Culture — Working in

Teams — When It Is Time to Leave — And Now to You: Cultivate Empathy

Types of Mentoring — How to Find Mentors — Mentee Do’s and Don'ts — Boundaries in Mentor/Mentee Relationships — And Now to You: A Mentoring Game Plan

Conclusion: Your Idealist Story Your Career Narrative — Translating Reflection to Practice — This Is It

Appendix A. Research on Generational Differences Appendix B. Methods of Reflection

Journal and Write — Talk and Listen — Diagnose Ability and Interests — Physical Activities That Produce Reflection —

Meditate — Make Art — Join a Group on a Similar Journey — What to Do With Reflection Index

205 208

Figures

2.1 What to do about doubt and performance 3.1 Decision tree analysis

6.1 My journey as a planner

7.1 Planning practice styles

21 46 98 111

Tables

2.1 2.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5

5.2 5.3

5.4

6.1

8.1

9.1

9.2 11.1

What to do about variations in doubt and performance Responding to doubt and criticism

Types of planning work

Types of planning-related work

Values, types of work, and jobs

Alternative ways to make change

Satisfaction, effectiveness, and the common good across sectors

Autonomy, effort, and performance across sectors Autonomy, effort, and performance across organizational size

Autonomy, work processes, frustrations, and satisfactions across organizational types

Anticipatory career planning—troles under different conditions

“Tm right” examples

Diagnosing a pang of conscience for an individual wrong Diagnosing a pang of conscience for a team wrong Classifying mentors

20 27 53 53 60 63

74 77

79 80 96 127 152

153 189 xi

Boxes

Pm not feeling it

The path of motivation

I don’t run to win

Valid criticism does not generate doubt Unfounded concerns

Being invited

A pivotal moment in overcoming doubt

A tough job decision

Jack of all trades, intended master of many

The social reformer’s path

Feeling unease at the art gallery

When the phone rings, answer it

Do I want to be a manager?

When ‘toxic’ isn’t

My long and winding road to transportation planning Managing the workload

Matrix management

Building planning from scratch: A view from Ecuador Graduating, job markets, and advancement

When to leave

Hoping for the best: My 15-year planning journey A plan interrupted

Embracing the sum of my experiences Fighting for a cause—How hard?

Too much adaptability

A case of competing principles

The rhythm of idealism and realism Why can’t clients give clear assignments?

Sell-out?

Conflict of interest

Tips for career success

Letting go to grow

Figuring out what the boss needs

What mentors tell you—a collection without curation Follow good teachers

The life coach mentor

Boxes xiii

Acknowledgments

This book is a collective project. It reflects insights I have gained from teaching and mentoring students over the last three decades. I am grateful to them for sharing their journey with me. Cal Poly Pomona has provided me the professional home for this work, supporting my natural inclination toward experiential learning. My experiences as planning practitioner and researcher have shaped these insights in ways that recognize the interplay of theory and practice in urban and regional planning.

Most of my research career has been devoted to transportation planning. Issues of theory and pedagogy also percolated over this time. The arc of the research is from solving transportation and land use problems, to thinking about how planners solve problems, and here, to enhancing planners’ personal effectiveness. My interest and involvement in mentoring grew throughout this transition. This book is an expression of this evolution.

I have benefited from generous professional and academic mentors, including Frankie Banerjee, Ed Cornies, Peter Gordon, Margarita McCoy, Jean Monteith, Paul Niebanck, Donald Shoup, and Martin Wachs.

I am thankful for the assistance provided by former students who commented on drafts while I searched for themes and approach. They include alumni of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning: Brian Bulaya, Madai Castillo, Maryanne Cronin, Thanya Espericueta, Doug Feremenga, Hisano Hamada, Emily Hoyt, Eve Moir, and Patrick Prescott. Olivia Offutt served ably as a research assistant on the project. Commenters from other xiv

Acknowledgments xv professional fields include Josh Boxer, Maya Efrati, Karen Febey, Pat Moore, and Keith Rohman.

I am indebted to my academic colleagues, who provided sage advice and/or generously commented on draft chapters, including Dina Abdulkarim, Howell Baum, Linda Dalton, Hollie Lund, Paul Niebanck, Samina Raja, Leone Sandercock, and Martin Wachs.

Thank you to professional colleagues in planning and publishing who advised me along the way, including Ed Cornies, Camille Fink, Samantha Gonzaga, Terri O’Connor, and Miguel Vazquez. I am grateful to Bobbie Albrecht, who provided an opportunity to gain feedback through blog postings on these topics on the American Planning Association website.

The book includes anecdotes that tell personal stories about planning and related fields. Thank you to text box writers Arianna Allahyar, Brian Bulaya, Andrea Burnside, Jaime Engbrecht, Doug Feremenga, Aiden Irish, Carlos Jiménez, Terri O'Connor, Mandy Park, Patrick Prescott, Keith Rohman, Miguel Vazquez, Karen Watkins, Al Zelinka, and three anonymous writers.

My wife, Robin Scherr, gave me invaluable insights and suggestions from her urban planning experience, along with strong support for the project. I would not be the person I am without her. My children, Maya Scherr-Willson and Jenna Millican, provided counsel and writing advice along the way. I acknowledge my late parents, William Anthes Willson and Jean Stokes McLean, from whom I gained commitments to curiosity, reason, and beauty.

The book’s insights have been influenced by years of study with Rabbi Mordechai Finley. It reflects his commitment to clear thinking. And among writers, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Leonard Cohen, and Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg have introduced me to lyrical, poetic interpretation of the human condition.

Lastly, I am grateful to Routledge for their interest and enthusiasm for the project, and especially to Editors Kathryn Schell and Nicole Solano, as well as Editorial Assistant Krystal LaDuc.

Chapter |

Understand and speak, practice human courage.

“Okay, fine.”

Thats what a longtime colleague said to me when I shared my vision for change. It was his friendly way of reminding me that a personal planning vision is only the beginning. The path to achieving the vision matters. It is one of discovery, personal and professional growth, and meaningful work. This book is a guide to put vision in action.

I see planning’s mission as bringing repair to the world. Our concerns run the gamut, from fair administration of zoning rules to tackling global issues such as climate change or inequality. We recognize the interconnectedness of natural and human systems, and we seek to increase livability, reduce suffering, and regenerate the natural environment. Future-oriented, our commitment is to the public good.

As with many idealistic fields, planning practice is a worthwhile challenge. The world is not waiting for us to change it. Entrenched interests, ideological differences, prejudices, and ignorance may rule the day. Moreover, because change doesn’t happen all at once, planning reform is a process, not a project

DOI: 10.4324/9781315111193-1 l This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.

with an end date. There's no future plateau where everything is settled. Planning has long time frames for implementation, ethical dilemmas, warring stakeholders, and red tape. Facing these obstacles unprepared can be deflating, or worse, disillusioning. It’s a tragedy for the profession when a planner gives up out of frustration or cynicism. In the pages that follow, I explain a planning style called principled adaptability that cultivates creativity and resiliency. It leads planners to seize opportunities, practice effectively, and find meaning in their work.

The planner’s journey has two aspects. The first aspect is the work itself. The following chapters offer methods for making good choices about experiences, jobs, and professional effectiveness. An intention to “do good” plays out in a dynamic environment with many influences and reactions. Planners do not control the enterprise, but we have influence. Change is a dynamic process. A short-run effort may produce a later win that can’t be anticipated, such as when a community organizing effort produces a new community leader. Furthermore, the world evolves as planning work unfolds. Planners need a long-term view of their impact.

The second aspect of the planner’s journey is growing as a person of character. I use this term to refer to a bundle of personal attributes that determine how we respond to situations and circumstances. Planners need reliability, grit, courage, empathy, integrity, honesty, clarity about values, and good work habits. For example, developing empathy makes planners better listeners who are able to understand community narratives. Planning’s demand for ethical reasoning also enlarges the individual. What is the good? Do the ends justify the means? How does context influence what is right? Developing listening and ethical reasoning abilities engages the whole person, not just the planner’s professional identity, and has benefits beyond professional work.

Today’s Planners

The primary audience for the book is those starting out in planning and allied idealistic professions, although there are insights for all planners. In my experience, each generation of planners brings different strengths and weaknesses to the profession. My thinking is guided by the qualities I see among those starting in the field, which gives me cause for optimism. As with every generation, new planners seek meaningful work in the public interest. But rather than instinctively seeking a ‘Planner 1’ position in a local jurisdiction, they think broadly and creatively about the settings for their work. These new planners understand the regulatory function of planning, but they are also entrepreneurial in seeking a broader range of ways to make change. Livability, equity, and sustainability drive their vision.

This new generation of planners is skilled in networking and collaborating in a diverse workplace across race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and class. They engage networks in new ways to solve problems, find jobs, and support one another. Many are as likely to write an app as they are a plan, using advanced research and analysis capabilities. Resilient out of necessity, they face the economic challenges of a recovering job market and student loan debt. Some are the first in their family to attend college; others return to planning school with family responsibilities.

Appendix A summarizes research on the characteristics of the generation that is entering the planning profession. Despite media accounts of differences among generational groupings, properly controlled studies show that they are more alike than they are different. This book, therefore, is written for all planners, regardless of age.

How Do Idealism and Realism Meet in Planning?

The overarching theme of the book is engaging idealism and realism in planning practice. This stems from the utopian roots of planning (idealism) and the fact that our work is embedded in political, economic, and natural systems (realism).

Idealism has two common meanings: (1) to live by a high standard of behavior and (2) to form and pursue noble principles.'! Both meanings apply to planners—standards of behavior are defined in the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Code of Ethics, as are aspirational principles such as justice, sustainability, a long-term perspective, and recognizing the interrelatedness of things. In short, we are a reform-oriented profession.’

Planning’s idealistic origins lie in reform movements related to healthy and safe housing, social justice, and blight removal, as well as utopian thinking. Those planners imagined a better future and wanted to make change. When I survey my students, most self-identify as idealists. Planning’s critique of the status quo, its sense of possibility, and its desire for change are the roots of planners’ passion. Idealism provides the orientation, purpose, and inspiration. It is what gets the planner out of bed in the morning. Of course, idealists could spend too much time living in their heads, imagining what could be rather than seeing what is, or being naive about their worth.

Having said that, some planners are more naturally attuned to a practical approach to solving immediate problems. We might call them realists. Realism is commonly taken to mean the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.’ Planning demands realism because we hope that our ideas are implemented. Planning work isn’t just imagining better cities, but rather seeking to improve real ones. That means realism about history, economics, the physical and social sciences, social relationships, power relationships, and feasibility of implementation. Realism can check an impractical or naive vision born of idealism.

Planning’s role in the democratic state reinforces the need for realism. For the most part, we are advisors to decision-makers, not the decision-maker. Planners rarely have the opportunity to do “clean sheet” planning with broad implementation power. Moreover, the objects of our work have a physical reality, as found in buildings, infrastructure, and environment conditions, and a human reality, as seen in social relations, communities, and conflict. Realism demands that we see things as they are.

The realist recognizes that planning occurs in a complex system of political, economic, and physical checks and balances. In engaging competing interests, possible improvement is often incremental, not systemic. Realism might suggest that perfect is the enemy of the good in a particular instance, meaning that holding out for the ideal solution could impede incremental actions that would move things in the right direction. Realism prefers the messiness of the democratic process to one where an idealist is in charge. Realists also ask: how does the idealist know his or her vision is correct? They are concerned about accountability, unanticipated impacts, and human self-interest.

Planning practice requires an engagement of idealism and realism. Effective planners deftly navigate this space—they can hold both concepts simultaneously and choose between them as circumstances warrant. For example, one of my mentors had a strong commitment to justice and fairness but was not naive about the dark side of human nature. She was able to hold idealism and realism simultaneously while resolving a specific issue. This is a form of pragmatism— using reason and logic to solve problems in specific instances, without being beholden to theory—but I think it is more than that.* A pragmatic approach produces incremental gains that lead to more systematic change. It lets planners realize that they did some good at the end of each day. My mentor didn’t give up any of her idealism in dealing with the world as it is. A Guide for the Idealist provides tools to engage idealism and realism, and explains the principled adaptability planning style as a way forward.

Planning Compared to Other Professions

Planning theorist John Friedmann defines planning thusly: “planning. . . links scientific and technical knowledge to actions in the public domain. . . . Planning is not wholly concerned with either knowing or acting but rather serves as the link” (Friedmann, 1987, p. 38). This is planning’s strength and a reason why idealism and realism are engaged in practice. As mentioned, the public domain is a complex stew of politics, different visions, and uncertainty about the efficacy of solutions.

Being the link between knowledge and action rather than either a source of expertise or a political facilitator means that we have a complicated task in establishing professional legitimacy as compared to narrowly defined professions. Indeed, planning’s idealism/realism dimension differs significantly from its related professions. The three examples that follow illustrate the differences:

e Urban geographers generate knowledge about spatial relationships in cities and regions. Their spatial analyses inform research papers and government studies, so the quality of knowledge generated is paramount (realism). The work may be used to propose change, but geographers don’t carry the proposal through the political process. That’s what planners do.

e Civil engineers make change by applying technical knowledge to solve physical problems in the urban environment—roads, transit systems, water and sewer, power, etc. Quantitative determinations and standards show the best approach. Cost-effectiveness drives their work—designing infrastructure and other solutions that meet straightforward criteria of innovation, design quality, and cost (realism). Planners, on the other hand, address complex, messy questions about whether an infrastructure facility supports social aims.

e Architects make change by designing buildings. Functionality (realism) and beauty (idealism) motivates them. Although they have values about aesthetics and sustainability, private clients drive day-to-day work (realism). In contrast, planners ensure that buildings support the broader community from design, economic, and social standpoints.

Many professions have relatively clear-cut relationships with clients, but planning is a complex enterprise involving idealism and realism. The ability to hold two seemingly contradictory concepts without negating one or the other is a sign of intellectual maturity. Although the realism perspective naturally flows from the physical and social sciences, the source of an individual’s idealism is not clear to me. Some planners are idealistic from the beginning, others do not feel particularly idealistic, and still others develop idealism later in their careers. The inspiring and effective planners I’ve known and studied reconcile idealism and realism, which makes them adaptive, resilient, and wise. Even though “idealist” is in the title of the book, I don’t claim that an idealist temperament is required of the nascent planner.

Throughout the book, boxes provide personal anecdotes that relate to each chapter. They provide relatable stories that amplify the points being discussed. These are the stories of my planning career and those of other planning practitioners, providing insights on career paths and experiences. Box 1.1 discusses how my idealism grew slowly over my career.

Box l.l I’m Not Feeling It

Do you feel idealistic? If not, is planning wrong for you? Not at all—take the long view on this issue. For me, idealism didn’t drive my decision to become a planner. | was a | 7-year-old high school student who had decided against pursuing a music career as an oboist and needed to pick a new college major on short notice. | selected planning out of self-interest. Cities intrigued me. | enjoyed thinking about how patterns of land development, systems of infrastructure, and industry develop and function. As a child, my sister and | rode bikes around our neighborhood and made maps. Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, an automotive town located across the border from Detroit, Michigan, the economy was on display in the rail yards, river ferries, iron-ore lake freighters, and the factories and suppliers. The city was like a production machine. My friend’s big brother was a planner for the city, so | knew that the planning profession existed, but | didn't know much about the work of planners. Although planning interested me, | just wanted an interesting job that provided a middleclass lifestyle without working on an assembly line. My friend who chose that path boasted of “25 years and out,’ a promise of retirement at age 43.

| had no change agenda. My initial career steps were opportunistic—l just wanted a planning job. Idealism emerged slowly as | moved from establishing myself as a professional, for my own gain, to understanding planning challenges and wanting to do something about them. Idealism required agency on my part—and it grew as my career developed. Other planners have told me that their idealism emerged only after they gained positions that offered a measure of freedom and autonomy, which occurred later in their careers. Over time, my sense of the gap between “what is” and “what could be” grew, as did my sense of “what should be.” My idealism was born in this realization and has grown over my career. If planning is your interest but not your vocation, give it some time. You might find yourself thinking differently in the future.

Motivation

It is one thing for idealist planners to have a vision for their planning career, but without motivation we may have deep thoughts in coffee shops but little impact on the world. Like idealism, motivation is mysterious. Why is it different from person to person? Is a person born with it, or is it something that develops? Although both factors play a role, the good news is that motivation can be cultivated, and it can grow with age and experience. When planners find internal motivation, of course, they won't have to force themselves to do anything. They'll naturally want to do it.

Motivation differs from self-discipline. My self-discipline is so-so; my motivation is strong. Take physical exercise, for example. If self-discipline is what gets a person to do something they would rather avoid, like working out on a weight machine, then motivation is fostered when an activity, like playing a sport they love, serves them in a fundamental way. People who find “their” sport enjoy practicing it throughout their lives. Those who force themselves to exercise purely for health reasons may have trouble keeping it up. The inspired planners I know overcame resistance to their path, found meaning in their planning practice, and are motivated to do good. If planners discover their fundamental purpose and core values, they won’t need much self-discipline.

The following are starting points for possible motivation issues. The reader may wish to reflect for a moment to see if any of these apply.

e Planners who are motivated (theoretically) but have poor self-discipline. They want to achieve meaningful work, but it is difficult to get organized. They can be distracted, may not attend to long-term goals, and lack follow-through. Said bluntly, they don’t walk their talk.

e Planners who haven’t found their core purpose in planning, and where that purpose is required for motivation to flourish.

e Planners whose current job doesn’t not line up with their motivation. If they are community organizers at heart, they may be unmotivated by working at the zoning counter. They can overcome this with self-discipline, but who would want to?

e Planners who know their purpose but are reluctant to express it. Acknowledging a purpose carries a responsibility to perform. They may also be concerned about deficiencies in skills or their ability to function in the complex administrative and political setting of planning. One response is to turn away from the obligation. This turning away can come in the form of resistance of one kind or another. They are scared.

e Planners who like to keep their options open and avoid commitments. This need for flexibility can produce an unsatisfying career over time. They dont stay in one job long enough to really give it a chance. This may be protection against the pain of failure.

There are practical ways of addressing all of the motivation issues listed above. I don’t have magic words on how to discover motivation, but reflecting on the bullet points is a start. Some may need to get organized, whereas others need to find the type of planning that excites them. It can be as small as finding the right type of organization or the right mentor. The beginning planner shouldn’t worry too much about motivation. The book and its processes suggest ways to explore it. Also, planners may consider relying on process and schedules when motivation is lacking. In other words, “fake it until you make it.’ This may sound phony, but it can help planners push past periods of low motivation that would otherwise derail them.

Another perspective on motivation is that it is there all along, but that forms of resistance are blocking it. Steven Pressfield (2002) describes types of resistance in his book The War of Art. The book is about creative endeavors, but I have seen each of the resistances in my planning work. Here are some of his examples:

Fear of the unknown, or fear of change.

Grandiose fantasies. Rather than focus on the work, planners focus on a glorious, hoped-for outcome, a distraction from the immediate steps that can be taken.

e = Rationalization—reasons for avoiding the work out of fear of failing at the planner’s calling.

e Procrastination. Putting things off devalues the precise moment in which the planner is living.

If Pressfield is right, people don’t have to force their way to find motivation or purpose. Instead, they can outsmart resistance—for example, seeing fear as perhaps pointing toward something that will make them stretch and grow. Once they identify resistance, the solution is to create habits of thought and action that allow an inner purpose to emerge. This will support effective action. Motivation isn’t a constant—a professional’s motivation changes throughout his or her career. A frustrating job may sap motivation, and then an inspiring one will reignite it. That spark can be as small as a particular planning issue or a single interaction with a planning constituent. Motivation is commonly regarded as necessary at the beginning of a planner’s career when there are pressures to prove competence and make a living. That is certainly true for some, but other people's motivation grows as they age. Otherwise, we wouldn't have presidential candidates in their seventies, who want to pursue their limited remaining number of opportunities with gusto. Box 1.2 describes my path to motivation.

Why Take My Word for It?

My perspective is based on experience as an urban planning practitioner, teacher, and scholar. Initially, I was a public agency planner in Canada and the U.S., but Pve spent the last 30 years in roles as professor and chair in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and interim dean in the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona. In addition, I have a small consulting practice that has provided transportation planning solutions to public agencies and developers for 25 years. My planning research and practice focuses on reforming transportation and land use for livability, sustainability, and social equity. I’ve written books on reforming parking requirements and managing parking for smart growth. I also work on climate change, planning theory, leadership, and pedagogy.

Experiences outside of professional work also shape my perspective. Being married for 30 years taught me about love, understanding, and commitment. Raising two children introduced me to new kinds of love and grounded me.

Pm a distance runner. Competing in marathons taught me about effort, the mind/body connection, and trying hard. While running, lve worked out vexing questions, clarified my thinking, and gained new ideas. Racing taught me the equanimity and fraternity of competition. It also taught me resiliency in adapting to changing conditions over the course of a race and in dealing with disappointment.

As a hobby, I paint urban landscape scenes in oil in the plein air painting style—working outdoors in the varying conditions of light, weather, and passersby. Painting in public is a form of performance art, and it develops observation skills that are useful in planning. Like running, it offers no guarantee of results but gives expression to aesthetic inclinations that aren’t realized in technical planning tasks.

I embrace change and eschew it. After growing up and starting my professional life in Canada, 1 moved to Los Angeles and haven’t moved since. Being

Box 1.2 The Path of Motivation

In my teenage years, | sought to get by without extending myself. | recall how slowly time experiences was interest at a time when many of my friends began workin bly line, for single. One

After a night “Is this your dad's car?” He turned slowly, and said, “No, it's mine.” Tha have been t ow student

Survival dominated s were high achievers. | struggled to keep up, finding motivation he greatest moment in his life.

my thoughts in competiti responsibility. That was the only time in my life | bought lottery tickets. Up to career and began to find my footing.

In my mid-twenties | moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Master's degree passed at boring jobs with punch cloc provided the motivation to find wor ing, and didn't trade physical labor for big wages. They had new cars and gir friend had a Chrysler Cordoba, metalli s. Dissatisfaction with those k that relied on my intellect, a paycheck. | went to college g on the automobile assemfriends; | hitchhiked and was c blue with a white vinyl top.

out, we piled into the car with some friends, and one of them said, may in undergraduate planning school. My felon. | feared the future, though, feeling unready for professional this point, my motivation was based on survival. | started my planning practice in planning. Suddenly, | was smarter, funnier, and more attractive. It was the same “me,” but the move changed everything. | chose to reinvent myself, and that changed everything. The ponytail, big 1980s glasses, and punk rock dance moves were just an external manifestation. | wanted to be at the top of my class. | wanted to win. Wanting to win is an important motivation, but obviously not the only one. As | learned more about urban and regional planning, a new, altruistic motivation emerged—to improve planning and public policy. The manifestation of this was to bring economic rationality to transportation to influence retooling an not occurre a new moti clout. The salary was so good that | felt public policy for efficiency and sustainability. After a few years of working at what | considered to be ad eader was ousted by the city council, and the agency adopted a more defensive posture. At that point my motivati researcher. As this story attests, my moti gain, to making contributions to planning policy and research, and most recently, planning decisions.