I agree whole heartedly!  Its a dificult shift to get to local groups of
planners though that what has been does not need to be what will be.
Still, locals know what can be accepted by their community.  I suspect
that successful planning comes from giving public spirited locals new
better ideas and let them convince the community that its in their
interest to change...one small step at a time.  Sort of like eating an
elephant.

-jc