What do planners do? To find out, Charles Hoch interviewed 29 practicing planners and observed how they interacted with staff, citizens, and public officials. In What Planners Do, he tells their stories.

The most effective planners have more than just technical skills. They also possess political and organizational savvy. You'll learn how planners employ the arts of resistance, innovation, and persuasion while working in the trenches of local government; how they respond to the moral and political conflicts that pervade their profession; and how they balance individual autonomy and social responsibility.

Written in an accessible style, this book is must reading for all those intrigued by what planners do.