The Puerto Rico Planning Board ( es, Junta de Planificación) 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 or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

in charge of

centralized planning A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...

under the American flag. Its creation was in keeping with Tugwell's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

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 b ...

, 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 administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and requiring the consent of the

Puerto Rico Senate The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control t ...

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 ...

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, town ...

s certified by the

American Institute of Certified Planners The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the American Planning Association's professional institute. AICP certifies professionals in the United States in the field of town planning and assists planners in the areas of ethics, profess ...

. * 19421955: Rafael Picó Santana * 19551960:

Cándido Oliveras Cándido is a Spanish male given name, equivalent of Portuguese Cândido. Those with the name include: * Cándido Bareiro (1833–1880), President of Paraguay * Cándido Fabré, Cuban musician * Cándido López (1840–1902), Argentine painter an ...

* 19601968:

Ramón García Santiago Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name * Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

* 19691969: Julio Vizcarrondo * 19691972: Enrique Soler Cloquell * 19731976:

Rafael Alonso Alonso Rafael Alonso-Alonso (September 9, 1939 San Juan, Puerto Rico – June 10, 2022 Ponce, Puerto Rico) was a former Associate Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Rafael Alonso Alonso was a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Puerto Rico an ...

* 19771983:

Miguel A. Rivera Ríos --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael (given name), Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands ...

* 19831984: Nelson E. Soto Velázquez * 19851992:

Patria G. Custodio Patria may refer to: Entertainment * Patria (novel), a 2016 novel by Spanish writer Fernando Aramburu * Patria (TV series), a 2020 limited television series, based on the novel * ''Patria'' (serial), a 1917 American serial film Music * "Pátri ...

* 19931998:

Norma Burgos Norma E. Burgos Andújar (born October 30, 1954) is a Puerto Rican politician. She has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2000. She also served as Lieutenant Governor and the 16th Secretary of State under Governor Pedro Rosselló ...

* 19982000: José R. Caballero Mercado * 20012001:

Frederick Muhlach Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

* 20012002:

Hermenegildo Ortiz Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; es, San Hermenegildo; la, Hermenegildus, from Gothic ''*Airmana-gild'', "immense tribute"), was the son of king Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France ...

* 20022009: Angel David Rodriguez * 20092010:

Héctor Morales Vargas Hector () is an English, French, Scottish, and Spanish given name. The name is derived from the name of Hektor, a legendary Trojan champion who was killed by the Greek Achilles. The name ''Hektor'' is probably derived from the Greek ''ékhein'', m ...

* 20102012: Rubén Flores Marzán * 20132016: Luis García Pelatti * 20172021:

María del Carmen Gordillo Pérez Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

* 2021- at present:

Manuel A.G. Hidalgo Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico Urban planning in the United States Public debt of Puerto Rico