<P> Benton MacKaye (/ mæˈkaɪ / ma - KY; March 6, 1879--December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist . He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye . After studying forestry at Harvard University (B.A., 1900; M.A. School of Forestry, 1905), Benton later taught there for several years . He joined a number of Federal bureaus and agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the U.S. Department of Labor; he was also a member of the Technical Alliance where he participated in the Energy Survey of North America . </P> <P> MacKaye helped pioneer the idea of land preservation for recreation and conservation purposes, and was a strong advocate of balancing human needs and those of nature; he coined the term "Geotechnics" to describe this philosophy . In addition to writing the first argument against urban sprawl, MacKaye also authored two books, The New Exploration: A Philosophy of Regional Planning and Expedition Nine: A Return to a Region . Thirteen of his essays were published in the collection From Geography to Geotechnics . A co-founder of The Wilderness Society, he is best known as the originator of the Appalachian Trail (AT), an idea he presented in his 1921 article titled An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning . The Benton MacKaye Trail, some portions of which coincide with the Appalachian Trail, is named after him . </P> <P> Emile Benton MacKaye was born in Stamford, Connecticut on March 6, 1879 to actor and dramatist (James) Steele MacKaye and his wife Mary . He was the sixth of seven children (and last son) born to the couple . His siblings were Arthur Loring MacKaye (1863--1939), Harold (Hal) Steele (1866--1928), William Payson (1868--1889), James (Jamie) Medbery (1872--1935), Percy (1875--1956), and Hazel (1880--1944). Benton's name was derived from his paternal grandmother, Emily Benton Steele . The family often suffered from financial troubles due to the patriarch's numerous failed business ventures; although the Stamford home where Benton was born and where the family had lived since 1875 was a comfortable one, in late 1879 the family began a restless series of moves due to lack of funds . They lived in farms and houses in Brattleboro, Vermont; Norton, Massachusetts; Mount Vernon, New York; and Ridgefield, Connecticut, before moving to New York City in 1885 . </P> <P> In order to escape the bustle of city - life, the family took to visiting Shirley Center, Massachusetts, a quiet village 30 miles from Boston that Benton would continue to visit until his death . In 1888, his brother William purchased an estate in Shirley that the family would come to call "The Cottage". Eight - year - old Benton was immediately enamored with the beauty and freedom of the country, proclaiming he enjoyed it far more than urban existence . Shortly after William died of a sudden respiratory disease in 1889, the family moved to Washington, D.C. An indifferent student, MacKaye once described school as "a place that boys like to run away from". Drawn to the study of the natural world, he often pursued knowledge on his own; he spent much time in the Smithsonian, making sketches of the abundant collections and volunteering to help scientists in their labs . He befriended assistant curator James Benedict, and attended lectures given by such luminaries as Civil War hero John Wesley Powell and arctic explorer Robert Peary . </P>

Who laid the philosophical basis of regional planning