Planning

Planning also deals with the physical layout of the land to ensure safety and future growth. Planners establish road rights-of-way and setbacks. A "right-of-way" is the land reserved for streets and utilities, while a "setback" is the mandatory distance a building must be kept back from the street or property line. These rules ensure that streets can be widened in the future and that neighborhoods don't feel overcrowded. Planners also prioritize protection against costly drainage, flooding, or environmental problems by restricting construction in flood zones or requiring developers to build retention ponds so that new concrete doesn't cause rainwater to flood neighboring properties.Finally, planning attempts to handle the difficult task of reduction in political and equity problems in siting facilities. Every city needs necessary but unpopular facilities like landfills, prisons, or wastewater treatment plants, but no one wants them in their "backyard." Comprehensive planning attempts to use objective criteria to place these facilities fairly, ensuring they are located where they do the least harm rather than simply dumping them in the poorest or least politically powerful neighborhoods.