The Puerto Rico Planning Board () created in the May 12, 1942 during
Rexford G. Tugwell's governorship as the Puerto Rico Planning, Urbanization, and Zoning Board, is the only
government agency
A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...
in charge of
centralized planning
A planned economy is a type of economic system where Investment (macroeconomics), investment, Production (economics), production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A pla ...
under the American flag. Its creation was in keeping with Tugwell's
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
philosophy that Puerto Rico should operate under a highly centralized, all-encompassing territorial government.
For decades, the Planning Board was in charge of all
economic planning
Economic planning is a resource allocation mechanism based on a computational procedure for solving a constrained maximization problem with an iterative process for obtaining its solution. Planning is a mechanism for the allocation of resources ...
,
land use zoning and case-by-case permitting in Puerto Rico. In the 1970s the permitting process was delegated to another government agency, the Rules and Permits Administration (ARPE) and since the late 1990s, major cities have been taking over that role in their own jurisdictions.
Organization
The Planning Board currently has a Chair and four Associate Members, all appointed by the
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
and requiring the consent of the
Puerto Rico Senate.
Presidents
The following is a list of the men and women that have served as Presidents of the Planning Board since 1942. Most are either
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
s or
urban planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...
s certified by the
American Institute of Certified Planners.
* 19421955:
Rafael Picó Santana
* 19551960:
Cándido Oliveras
* 19601968:
Ramón García Santiago Ramón or Ramon may refer to:
People Given name
*Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer
* Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer
* Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer
*Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...
* 19691969:
Julio Vizcarrondo
* 19691972:
Enrique Soler Cloquell
* 19731976:
Rafael Alonso Alonso
* 19771983:
Miguel A. Rivera Ríos
* 19831984:
Nelson E. Soto Velázquez
* 19851992:
Patria G. Custodio
* 19931998:
Norma Burgos
* 19982000:
José R. Caballero Mercado
* 20012001:
Frederick Muhlach
* 20012002:
Hermenegildo Ortiz
* 20022009:
Angel David Rodriguez
* 20092010:
Héctor Morales Vargas
* 20102012:
Rubén Flores Marzán
* 20132016:
Luis García Pelatti
* 20172021:
María del Carmen Gordillo Pérez
* 2021- at present:
Manuel A.G. Hidalgo
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico
Urban planning in the United States
Public debt of Puerto Rico