| Planning the City of Destiny explores land speculation, growth, and consolidation in Tacoma, Washington to explain that urban planning began with the city's creation in 1869. Crucial to understanding Tacoma's history was its selection as the Northern Pacific Railroad's Puget Sound terminus in 1873, followed by the Tacoma Land Company development of the townsite. Tensions between these two firms, other local land speculators and businessmen, and emerging neighborhood organizations produced differing---and sometimes competing---planning solutions. Even so, by 1930, everything governing Tacoma's planning for years to come was in place, ranging from a developing street system, to zoning for land use, to creating parks, to developing a regional approach which extended planning beyond municipal boundaries. The endeavor was not created overnight, but evolved through many years of city building. Not all local residents benefited, however. Planning also meant the expulsion of the Chinese in 1885, and the alienation of Puyallup Tribal lands beginning in 1889, making some efforts less than ideal. Underlying the analysis is a consideration of how laws and legislation governing private property shaped the urban planning environment by providing structure to the decision-making processes required to plan. In Tacoma a legal flexibility gave private sector businessmen considerable latitude in dominating the planning milieu. There were always limits to what could occur without public participation, however. The final result was an uncoordinated planning product. Even so, Tacoma's experience shows how planning evolved when it was readily incorporated into and grew along with the developing city. |
