Harland Bartholomew is a well-known name in the planning profession. Until researching his history for this edition of CT.org did I realize the controversy surrounding the impact of his work. The articles quoted below give a range of reactions to his career, but more than the pluses and minuses, I offer his story as an object lesson for those currently practicing city planning.
Bartholomew thought he was doing good. A man of his times, practicing from 1918 to 1963, he knew of the reasons for Euclid, the 1918 influenza pandemic, the Great Depression, the ascension of the automobile and the pollution of factories in urban areas: