A detailed guide to preparing and updating a city or county General Plan in accordance with California law ¿ with many ideas and tips relevant to comprehensive and regional planning across the US. Offers approaches to creating General Plans that are legally sound, technically rigorous, progressive, and reflective of the communities they serve. A practical, valuable reference for public sector planners, consultants, interested citizens, and students. David Early is the founder of Design, Community & Environment, a Berkeley-based planning and design firm that merged with The Planning Center in 2011 to become PlaceWorks. In his 25-year planning career, David has prepared, overseen or advised on over 40 General Plans, while also teaching UC Davis Extension¿s annual class on General Plan preparation. David is also an expert on sustainability, smart growth, environmental justice, public involvement, growth management, regional planning, environmental review, and multi-modal transportation, all of which are key elements of the modern General Plan. David holds Master¿s degrees in both City Planning and Architecture from UC Berkeley and is an emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable. His work has won numerous awards from the American Planning Association at the local, state, and national levels.