After the recent spate of outside experts telling us that Planning Is Eeeeevil, it's refreshing to hear from a different group of outside experts saying it's not so bad after all.

Houston needs a regional growth plan to compete globally with cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Dubai.

That was the warning -- and challenge -- issued by land-use experts Thursday at a panel convened by the Center for Houston's Future.

By 2015, 1 million additional people are expected to settle in the eight-county region. Three million more are expected by 2035. To cope, the region needs rail links to airports, more housing downtown, and a plan for its aging, ad-hoc sewage systems, the panelists said. Some better marketing would help, too.

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Houstonians have evolved other effective methods to guide land use, such as special improvement districts or tax-increment financing, said Scott Polikov, a principal with the Gateway Planning Group in Fort Worth. Polikov said different types of financing, such as title transfer fees, could be used to raise capital for rail projects.

"When you don't want government involved, it's called 'regulation,' " Polikov observed, drawing knowing chuckles from the audience at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. "When you do want government involved, but don't want to admit it, you call it 'public-private partnerships' or 'special districts.' "

Polikov said the Houston region can achieve the positive effects of zoning through better urban design and voluntary "livability" standards adopted by builders. He cited The Woodlands as a good example of both. Voluntary development standards are currently being developed by a task force headed by Roger Galatas, the former CEO of the Woodlands Operating Co.

To discourage sprawl and encourage a higher quality of life, the Houston-Galveston Area Council could reassess how it distributes federal transportation dollars, Polikov said.

One idea is for HGAC to put some of the money into a "competitive pot," Polikov said. Various transportation projects would then have to compete for the money. Funds would be awarded if the projects supported closer connections between home and workplaces, green building practices, affordability, habitat protection and neighborhood schools.