Every city, town, and neighborhood has a story, and the comprehensive plan is where its next chapters are written. In his book, Community Planning: An Introduction to the Comprehensive Plan, Eric Damian Kelly provides an essential guide to this foundational document that charts the course for a community’s future.

For anyone who has studied urban planning, a familiar challenge often emerges when classroom theory meets the real world: the textbook ideal of a community plan can quickly crumble under the weight of political realities.

In a world often focused on the planning challenges of sprawling cities and urban centers, we took a step back to the countryside. Arendt, the mind behind the influential book Rural by Design, makes a powerful case that thoughtful planning is not just for metropolitan areas.