This is a difficult question to answer. I have a 15 year old son, and his wants revolve around food, sleep, and gaming. I was very much the same way when I was his age. I might have thrown a date in there, too. Eventually he will get his driver's license and the wants will include something with a motor with which to accomplish said dates.
My wants, as I noted, were very much the same when I was that age. I was quite egocentric - the world seemed to revolve around me, and when it didn't I felt lost, hurt, or discouraged. Everything SHOULD revolve around me. After all, I am the most significant actor on the stage of my life.
As I grew older and hopefully more mature, my priorities changed. Suddenly, people other than myself became more important to me. I wanted to make them happy. Sometimes that meant denying myself of things that would have made me happy. Beginning with my wife, and expanding to my children as they came along, I found myself often putting immediate gratification off in the name of lasting harmony, peace, and seeing that other's wants were met first. Because ultimately, what makes me happy, what I TRULY wanted, was not whatever immediate gratification could bring, but the lasting, enduring happiness that comes through a successful, peaceful life.
A community can often act in the same way. We have disparate needs, wants, goals, and desires. This has not only to do with the way we provide services for the different groups in our society - movie theaters, skate parks, restaurants, schools, etc. - but in the very nature of the community itself. The way a community provides for all of these needs helps to develop the essential character of the community. It makes a place desirable to stay not just for the short term, but for generations.
Careful planning means to take a step back. To look at our community as a whole and try to meet the needs and wants of everyone. This is not always easy. First one must know what the various and sundry groups in the community really want. This means planners must listen. This is especially true for those groups whose needs are not being met, whose voices have not been heard, and who otherwise are disengaged from the process of community building. It is easy for planners to listen to those voices who speak the loudest and most frequently. Listening to only those voices can distort a planner's view.
A planner should then take the input that's given, put it against best planning practices learned by training, education, and experience, and formulate a plan that will best match the needs of as many as possible, balancing the differences and always seeking the highest and best community development.
Planners should also constantly and relentlessly evaluate what is being done and how well it works. This is important not only in one's own community, but in the region, nation, and world in general. Not everything being done in other places will be a good fit. However, things being tried in other places may help improve what is going on locally. And planners, being local, can adapt the innovation to the wants of the community. Further, as these wants change over time, a careful planner stays abreast of these changes and adapts accordingly. For example, 20 years ago no one would have thought that a skate park was desirable. Now, they're not only places for kids (and adults!) to gather and enjoy each other, they are showcases of the community's interest in young people and in providing such places for everyone. And this is a good thing.
Here in Beaumont, we have a dynamic, progressive community that is growing and prospering. There are nearly 120,000 people who live here, all of whom have real wants that deserve to be addressed. I am looking forward to getting to know as many of them as I can to make sure the plans we put in place serve the people well for generations to come.
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