Town planners make both long and short-term decisions to develop, improve, and modernize communities. They optimize land use and infrastructure effectiveness. Planners formulate management and development plans for cities, towns, villages, and rural areas. Their responsibilities include avoiding social, economic, and environmental problems through extensive research, public consultation, and proposal of long-term beneficial plans. Planners create various drawings and maps at different planning stages to propose land use schemes and layouts, including zoning maps, site plans, transportation plans, layout plans, and master plans. The master plan provides the overall framework for an area's future development and change over time.