Confronted by economic, social, and political change in the 1980s, many cities decided to use communitywide strategic planning as a tool to address their problems. Rock Hill, South Carolina, successfully completed Empowering the Vision (ETV), a two-year community-wide strategic planning process, in 1989 and began implementing the 10-year plan in 1990. Did the implementation of ETV achieve its promise? Is it another example of a well-intentioned but later abandoned use of strategic planning? I argue that Rock Hill achieved five significant results by 2000: (a) managing uncertainty, (b) resolving conflict, (c) continuing citizen participation, (d) achieving tangible and intangible results, and (e) establishing a governance network for the duration of the planning period. RockHill achieved these results because of (a) the competent practice of community-wide strategic planning, (b) visionary leadership, and (c) the commitment of public leadership to the process and the plan.

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In this article, we examine the legacy of four progressive reforms intended to secure "good" government-the model city charter, the council-manager plan, city management professionalism, and bureaucratic service delivery. Our analysis integrates research by historians, political scientists, sociologists, and public administration scholars, and provides a unique multidisciplinary perspective on the legacy of success and adaptation of the municipal reform movement. We use Hofstadter's concept of a reform "impulse" in American political culture to frame our analysis. We conclude with four observations on the future of municipal reform, ultimately arguing that the impulse to "reform" continues to be a dominant driver across both local government management and institutions.

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