Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1991

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Curl, Donald W.

Abstract

One of the first accomplishments of the Planning Board was to contract with prominent city planner John Nolen to re-design West Palm Beach. As Nolen conducted his surveys and prepared a general plan, various political machinations in the city frustrated the planning process. Nolen's plans were never implemented because of the Florida land boom of the 1920s and because of the city's lack of commitment to planning. West Palm Beach in the 1920s was a mix of planning advocates and developers. With reckless capitalistic zeal, subdividers shaped the physical structure of West Palm Beach with only the most primitive of plans. The Planning Board was only an advisory panel and lacked the ability to enforce planning decisions. There was little public support for the city to have strong police powers over private property. The city adopted zoning regulations in 1926 when zoning consultant, Robert Whitten, drafted a zoning law based on legal precedents. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

Extent

151 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1991.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT14776

Format

pdf

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