Oh, it definitely gets problematic as EAs have a tendency to assume a static nature of things that are constantly in flux- like neighbourhoods, ethnic groups, or endangered species of plants.
I do have have to say though that while it's best to get it done fast; for protracted development plans, strategies need to be developed for neighbourhoods to mitigate the temporal disruption.
I would say that a good median has to exist between an beyond-Jane-Jacobs-ultra-bleeding-heart view and a Robert Moses bulldoze-em-all mindset.
I doubt that Jane Jacobs would have wanted something like this to happen, but it has, and these once-mediating elements now act as drags on real progress.
Same thing has happened with the social sciences- buoyed by cultural currents that emphasize the unquestionable nature of intersectionality and environmental/social justices, many of their associated professions are left unchecked and unquestioned, red tape starts to appear, service industries develop around the topic (think the whole tax accounting industry, or all the consultants a project doesn't need), and the whole thing rots from the head down as people gain vested interests in
keeping things inefficient.
Case in point- California's HSR:
When California shifted its bullet train plan into high gear in 2008, it had just 10 employees to manage and oversee design of the largest public construction project in state history.
www.latimes.com
montrealgazette.com
