You do need a plan for the next few decades. Which is exactly what successfully managed cities do. There's usually something like a master plan that outlines t

You do need a plan for the next few decades. Which is exactly what successfully managed cities do. There's usually something like a master plan that outlines the greater strategy for the next 20 years, or so. Of course there's no expectation that it will be exactly implemented as planned, but is immensely helpful as a general outline and to define the overall strategy of where a city is going with things like housing, population, public and non-public transit, etc.