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7/27/2019 Urban Planning Article

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Urban Planning as a Career

Posted byLakshmi Rajagopalanon June 4, 2011 at 11:30am View Blog

Have you ever heard your parents or older friends in college talk about secret

meeting places wher e

they along with their friends would meet at to begin perhaps a game of

cricket or hide and seek? Did they talk about non-crowded and safe streets

where they could practice their cycling or learn it without having to worry

about a fast car hitting them? We knew who our neighbours were and could

walk to the neighborhood store without being supervised. Our parents did

not worry about where we were and only called us at dusk to come home for

dinner.

Fast-forward to today, where the notion of city children playing unsupervised

in an untamed public space, or even wandering up to the local shops, is often

too frightening for parents to contemplate. Not that there is the available
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public land to run around in, given skyrocketing property values.

Go anywhere in Bangalore and the first thing you notice is the sudden growth

of high-rise apartments everywhere, combined with non-stop and haphazard

development, uncoordinated and unauthorized construction activities, traffic

congestion, lack of infrastructure and basic facilities, growing pressure on land

and its increasing value, lack of pedestrian facilities, air and noise pollution

etc. Bangalore is struggling to keep with up with the unprecedented growthdue to lack of coordinated planning. Lack of proper urban planning is one of

the major causes of urban poverty, development of slums and social

inequality.
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Picture the effect these poor urban planning decisions will have on the

younger generation, students like you. Already there has been an alarming

increase in childhood obesity rates and several illnesses like asthma,

respiratory problems etc.

Now, imagine the same Bangalore in a few years from now with all the Metro

and flyover construction work completed, with well connected transportation

systems like buses, trains, with more lakes that have been cleaned and can be

used for recreational activities, with proper sewer and stormwater drainage

systems, more parks and open spaces complete with affordable and attractive

places to live. It sounds wonderful doesnt it?


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Image Source:http://zuura.wordpress.com/category/news/

Now, who will make sure all this work is completed in time with minimal

disruption to day-to-day lives? Who will coordinate the various activities

between the individual departments to ensure smooth progress? Who is

responsible for making sure that development and construction activities are

as per regulations and use sustainable techniques? This is where a Town

Planner or the most commonly and widely used name for this profession; a

City Planner or an Urban Planner comes in the picture.

To understand how a City/Urban Planners role, it is necessary to understand

the following:

1. What does Urban Planning mean?2. What Planners do? Where do they work?3. What are the different career paths one can look at as a City or an Urban Planner?4. What are the skills possessed by successful planners?What does Urban Planning mean?Planning, also called urban planning or city and regional planning, is a

profession that plays an important role in

shaping a city by

improving the welfare of people and their communities by creating more

convenient, fair, healthy, sustainable, walkable and attractive places for present

and future generations.
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Planning allows community leaders, local businesses, and citizens to play civic

leaders, businesses, and citizens to play a significant role in creating

communities and neighborhoods that improves the quality of life of the

people.

Good planning helps create communities that offer better choices for where

and how people live. Planning helps communities to envision their future. It

helps them find the right balance of new development and essential services,

environmental protection, and innovative change. Without prior or

appropriate planning, the city may grow or change in an uncontrollable way

due to population and social, economic and environmental changes.

What Planners do? Where do they work?

Should a new stadium be built in the City? Should the railway line be

extended? Should the road be widened? Can the new mall project be

approved? How can a city reduce unsupervised growth, also called

as sprawlwhile providing attractive and affordable housing? What should the

city demand of a developer who's pushing a new project?

To address questions like these and many more like this, planners work with

community leaders, citizens and decision makers (like the mayor, elected

officials etc) to create a vision for the community that reflects the

communitys desire for how their neighborhood and eventually their city

should function and look. Through proper analysis of data and identification

of goals for the community and/or a project, the vision then takes the form of

a PLAN.

As an example, when I worked as an urban planner in the United States ofAmerica, one of my projects was to develop a area plan for the City of Pinole.

The purpose of the plan was to create regulating measures to

streamlinedevelopment activities within the City, regulate traffic along San

Pablo Avenue, one of the busiest roads while making it pedestrian friendly


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(See graphics below). During the creation of this plan, my team identified the

approach and outlined the strategies by which the community can reach its

goals and vision. We were also responsible for implementing and enforcing

many of these strategies, often coordinating the work of many groups of

people.


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This plan also identified redevelopment projects for slum or blighted area;

choose proper land use for a particular parcel; and managed transportation,

housing, environmental protection, and historic preservation.
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Before the planner recommends or denies a plan, we will end up wearing

many hats: civil engineer, architect, economist, budget analyst, sociologist, and

politician. A diplomat's touch is necessary if we expect our plan to survive all

the stakeholders with competing interests.

Along the same lines, Urban planning in Bangalore should be such that it

qualitatively benefits the various dimensions of development like ecology,

society, economy, culture and spatial dimensions of development with

coordinated and aligned policies. Urban Planners should have the ability to

adapt, since the pace and nature of urbanisation is also influenced by the

reality of globalisation. In short, urban planning and urban development are

critical to the process of urbanization.

What are the different career paths one can look at as a City or an Urban

Planner?

Planners work in every state and around the world. They work in rural areas,

suburban areas, and large cities. They function in the public sector within

federal, state, and local governments. They also work in nonprofits and within

the private sector in real estate development companies and planning or

multi-disciplinary consulting firms.

Most entry-level jobs require either at least an undergraduate degree in

planning. Two main degrees are awarded in the field. The first is an

undergraduate degree in planning. Many with undergraduate degrees will go

on to receive a master's degree in planning. However, planners with

undergraduate degrees do work in planning practice, often in entry-level

positions.

A master's-level graduate degree is considered the standard for those who

are planning practitioners. Some planning graduate students have an

undergraduate degree in planning, but others may have studied geography,

urban studies, architecture, or sociology, structural or civil engineering,

economics, finance, or geographic information systems.


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Image Source:www.itpi.org

Specializations or different career streams within planning represent specific

bodies of planning knowledge that jointly further the welfare of people and

communities. Here are several of the most common specializations within the

planning profession:

Community Development Land Use & Code Enforcement Transportation Planning Environmental/Natural Resources Planning Economic Development Urban Design Planning Management/Finance Housing

Parks & Recreation Historic Preservation Community EmpowermentWhat are the skills possessed by successful planners?
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In addition to a formal educational background, planners need to possess a

unique combination of skills

that will vary depending on the role and area of specialization.

"Knowledge of urban spatial structure or physical design and the way inwhich cities work.

Ability to analyze demographic information to discern trends inpopulation, employment, and health.

Knowledge of plan-making and project evaluation. Mastery of techniques for involving a wide range of people in making

decisions.

Understanding of local, state, and federal government programs andprocesses.

Understanding of the social and environmental impact of planningdecisions on communities.

Ability to work with the public and be eloquent in expressing planningissues to a wide variety of audiences.

Ability to function as a mediator or facilitator when community interestsconflict.

Understanding of the legal foundation for land use regulation.
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Understanding of the interaction among the economy, transportation,health and human services, and land-use regulation.

Ability to solve problems using a balance of technical competence,creativity, and hardheaded practicality.

Ability to envision alternatives to the physical and social environments inwhich we live.

Mastery of geographic information systems and office software."(www.apa.org)

What next?

If urban planning and playing a role in designing and shaping your city

excites you, check out the special website to introduce kids to urban planning.

Get an adult with you and access the webpage

athttp://www.planning.org/kidsandcommunity/. This webpage offers

information on planning and also hasgamesandstoriesthat will youre your

learning experience much more interesting.

Happy Planning!!!
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