This section is charged with devising design excellence that is affordable, as well as concurrently educating the community about the importance of good design. Graphics and Mapping . The graphics section has a long tradition of providing outstanding maps and graphics for both the development agencies and for the City as a whole. The group has been an innovator in using computer technology to create maps, charts, aerial photography, and related graphic art that is critical to the planning function. Common problems often have to do with the fact that, at some level, everybody is or can be a planner.
Planning is more art than science.
There are few absolute answers, and everyone is entitled to an opinion. Planners have an especially challenging time when they work in a community where the demand for new development is weak, and the needs of the citizens are high. Over the years St. Louis has typically had to fight for investment projects, rather than deal with multiple developers looking to build. In this environment it is difficult, and not always wise, to let the plan, or the design standards, get in the way of the project. The city official is faced with the difficulty of striving for adherence to a professional plan and to high development standards, without letting the investor get away.