Some planning can be good. Chicago had the Burnham Plan; New York had Olmsted. (People like to cite L'Enfant's DC but I don't actually think that turned out as

Some planning can be good. Chicago had the Burnham Plan; New York had Olmsted. (People like to cite L'Enfant's DC but I don't actually think that turned out as well.) And Oglethorpe's Savannah Plan was a wonderful thing. And Poundbury in the UK looks like it might turn out well. But the designer has to have taste, give a shit, and care about something besides money.