in the united states city and regional planning land use management and implementation of urban planning principals are predominantly undertaken by state and municipal governments the us federal government structure assigns most responsibilities to state governments other than those which are reserved for the federal government including constitutional issues interstate issues and foreign affairs foreign trade defence military etc this allows for both local and direct rule where decision makes are more directly connected to the residents they serve allowing them to be better aware of local conditions and more responsive to local needs and concerns this also allows for a variety of initiatives policies and levers to be developed