Abstract
Gregory Heller’s Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia provides a thorough, engaging, and compelling story about the career of Philadelphia’s most prominent urban planner. The book is a professional biography of Bacon, beginning with his upbringing and architectural training at Cornell University, through his early days working in Flint, Michigan, and then detailing the remainder of his career in Philadelphia, including his changing influence after his retirement from the Philadelphia City Planning Commission in 1970. The work is set against the larger forces of urban politics, midcentury urban change, redevelopment and urban renewal, and eventually changing norms within the planning profession. Heller relies on detailed historical research about Bacon’s activities, the context in which he worked, and the projects and plans with which he was involved. The author spent extensive time with Bacon near the end of Bacon’s life, which gave Heller firsthand insight into the motivations and reflections of this iconic urban planner.
The majority of the book focuses on Bacon’s career in Philadelphia, where he initially worked for the Philadelphia Housing Association and volunteered for the City Policy Committee, a group working toward political reform that ultimately led to the creation of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC). Bacon’s work as staff of the PCPC began in 1946 with a focus on designing the Better Philadelphia Exhibition, a public exhibit to market a new vision for Philadelphia held at the city’s downtown Gimbels department store. This project, according to Heller, exemplified Bacon’s early understanding that successful planning must involve marketing and promotions to garner public support. In 1949, Bacon became the Executive Director of the PCPC where he oversaw planning efforts until his retirement in 1970. For readers interested in specific projects, Heller provides rich detail of planning and development efforts spanning Bacon’s career, including early redevelopment efforts in West Poplar, Mill Creek, and Eastwick, the building of new communities in Philadelphia’s Far Northeast, downtown projects such as Penn Center, Society Hill and Market East, the Delaware and Crosstown Expressways (the latter was never built), and the city’s 1960 comprehensive plan.
Heller’s intent is to explain and describe Bacon’s role in shaping Philadelphia and, as such, the book makes a valuable contribution to the broad field of planning history and to more recent and specialized work that reexamines the urban renewal era. He argues that Bacon is a unique figure in the history of midcentury planning, as he is one of the few planners who garnered national attention (as opposed to other public figures, such as New York City’s Robert Moses, who were not actually urban planners). For contemporary planners, this is one of the main values of the book—understanding how a planner who operated in a complex political environment rose to public prominence, while still only holding limited direct power to influence the outcome of projects. In fact, Heller makes a compelling argument that the might of Bacon’s legacy is distorted, in that he is often held responsible (in both a positive and negative sense) for projects “where he may have actually occupied a fairly minor role” (Heller 2013, 148).
A number of themes permeate Heller’s biography of Bacon, all of which offer important lessons to contemporary planners. Heller emphasizes Bacon’s focus on physical planning and design as a primary goal of urban planning. While leading urban design philosophies today may differ a bit from Bacon’s vision, his emphasis on the built environment and quality urban design provide inspiration for current planners who seek to improve urban life by balancing economic, social, environmental, and physical interests, among others. Heller details Bacon’s design philosophy, which was indicative of the era in which he was trained and worked and emphasized “Radburn-esque” ideals such as separate pathways for people and cars and garden apartments. Bacon also offered a more nuanced approach to urban renewal planning, advocating for a fine-grained approach to demolition and working to preserve marketable historic homes such as those in the city’s Society Hill neighborhood. Heller argues that in many cases, Bacon is unfairly critiqued for projects whose design has fallen far short of expectations in the long run. For instance, the final design of the downtown Penn Center project is more indicative of political forces and the influence of the project’s developers than of Bacon’s original vision. Heller posits that the Society Hill project, which combined historic preservation, new infill, and a series of interlinking pedestrian paths, was “arguably Bacon’s most successful project, in terms of realizing a complete ‘design idea’” (Heller 2013, 134).
Bacon also embraced what Heller refers to as a “policy entrepreneurship” approach to urban development. In other words, he was politically savvy and spent a great deal of time marketing and promoting his vision for the city and specific projects. Bacon realized that in his role as a city planner, he had limited power and control over the final outcome of projects, with ultimate decisions residing in the hands of private-sector developers, elected officials, or other agencies such as the city’s Redevelopment Authority. Thus, in order to achieve his vision, he understood that he had to gain buy-in from the public, sway decision makers, and effectively sell his ideas. To do so, Bacon invested time and energy in elaborate plans and models, participated in public forums, and tried to work closely with others involved in a project. The results of Bacon’s “entrepreneurial style” (Heller 2013, 88) were a mixed bag, according to Heller, illustrating both his success in marketing his ideas and his ultimate lack of power. Heller does often point out that Bacon demonstrated a keen adeptness at negotiation and compromise, key attributes of a planner interested in moving projects forward. The book and the story of Bacon’s career remind contemporary planners of the importance of a having a big vision, even if it is risky or pushes the boundaries, and the central role that selling a plan to the public and powerbrokers plays in implementation.
Heller also discusses some lesser-known aspects of Bacon’s career, many of which foreshadow modern planning concerns. For instance, he was often a strong advocate for community engagement in planning, which was not the norm during the era of urban renewal. He also expressed, sometimes privately and more so after retirement, growing concern over the nation’s automobile dependence and advocated for more walkable, car-free urban spaces. Until the end of his life, Bacon was an ardent urbanist who advocated for more inclusive, functional, and livable urban spaces.
Overall, Heller’s book provides an extensive and detailed history that provides an in-depth portrait of how Philadelphia’s iconic city planner, Ed Bacon, developed his approach to planning and development. The book debunks widely held beliefs about Bacon’s power and reconceptualizes his role as an advocate, savvy participant, and urban visionary. The book’s content is extremely well documented and provides the reader with a new perspective on many of the city’s rather famous midcentury plans and development projects. Aside from the rich historical narrative, which is valuable in and of itself, the book succeeds at making clear connections to contemporary planning practice. It reminds us of the importance of having a grand vision, understanding the political nature of planning and development, being able to communicate ideas, particularly for the physical form of the city, and selling the plan to the public and those in power. Heller’s book has very few weaknesses. The author could have situated the narrative more firmly within a broader framework of national urban renewal and post–urban renewal trends, but for most readers the context provided is sufficient and the book only adds richness and nuance to our broad knowledge of urban renewal–era planning and of Ed Bacon.
Heller’s Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia is a terrific contribution to the literature on planning history, the politics of urban planning and development, and the value of physical planning. The book adds to our broad understanding of the forces that have shaped our cities, particularly in the mid-twentieth century. It also speaks to the role that planners play in complex urban systems, wherein planners must navigate a web of actors that span the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and find strategies for influencing projects, policies, and decision making. The book is easily readable and accessible to a wide audience. While not a textbook on planning history, the book would make a good addition as supplemental reading or for student book review projects, particularly in courses on planning history, physical planning, or the politics of planning.