This is a very tough question, so I would probably be better off staying away from the subject. But, city planning..
City planning, or Zoning is when the local politicians decide how they want an area to look. They decide if they want residential or commercial buildings. How high the houses should be and sometimes even what colors your place should be painted in.
Some parts of this affect me and what I’m doing. One of the houses here in Florida is on a corner lot with pretty good exposure to traffic. That means we have a good chance of making it commercial. Commercial lot’s gives you way more options of land use and therefor increases the value.
Some parts don’t affect me as much. From what I know, Houston, Texas has no zoning. I have been there and it’s still looks like any other city. Even better than some. Or actually a lot better than many. The picture below is from my walk along a major road here in Pasco county. Pasco has poor zoning and city planning..
I think my conclusion is that the idea of city planning and zoning is good. The problem is the people. Politicians aren’t good at economy or finance. Who says they are good at real estate, city planning, peoples movement, colors or anything else besides being politicians?