Unintended Consequences

I’ve spent a lot of time driving on the Arroyo Seco Parkway lately. As I’ve driven up and down this narrow and winding freeway, I’ve been struck by the feeling of optimism that resonates through that very first freeway. It’s interesting looking back comparing what the freeway builders must’ve thought the future would be like, and comparing it to the hellscape that we’ve created by our reliance on cars. It really got me thinking about the unintended consequences of the planning decisions that we make today. 

It’s hard to drive through this part of LA with these thoughts and not also think about the unintended consequences of our housing policy over the past 70 years. As a reaction to slowly increasing density in the suburbs around Los Angeles, we saw cities react by not allowing additional density at all. Of course, this created the housing crisis they were in today, which I am sure was an unintended consequence of those past actions. Now, instead of having slow, incremental development over these past decades, cities are faced with rapid change to ensure that all residents have the Housing they need.

Looking at the decisions we are making today, I wonder what the unintended consequences will be of those policies and plans. Are we making the same mistakes of the past by not considering what the consequences of our actions will be? 

It’s interesting being in the planning profession, our jobs are to plan for and focus on the future of cities, but so often we fail to understand the unintended consequences of the policies we champion. This is true of all sorts of advocates (and planners must be advocates at some level, even if it’s just recommending a project someone else proposed.) 

Looking at other industries, it’s obvious that the technology innovations of today have the potential to create a better future, but can also be corrupted and make the world a worse place. Electric vehicles will help the world reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but could further entrenched our reliance on the automobile. AI, such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, may make society much more productive but also has the potential to destroy entire industries. Not working in these industries allows me to see the potential pitfalls of these new technologies. However, I don’t feel like I have that same perspective when it comes to planning policies.

Planners are often passionate about building the best cities possible. Often, when new ideas and fads are presented that have the promise of creating better cities, planners will embrace them with open arms. This embrace can then blind planners to the pitfalls and unintended consequences of these new ideas. However, people not in the planning profession can have a more clear view of those potential pitfalls. As planners, we must listen to those concerns, separate the real concerns from the fear of change, and take them into account when making our plans. 

Driving down the Arroyo Seco Parkway serves as a good reminder that we must look outside ourselves to check for biases and temper our excitement with a dose of reality at times to ensure that the policies that we champion, that we hope will bring about a better world, don’t have unintended consequences that we don’t see.