Planning is a profession with the primary purpose of improving the communities in which we live. Planners look not only at existing conditions and problems, but also develop a vision, with goals and strategies, of what a community could be in the future. Planning deals not only with physical development, but also social and economic improvement of our society. It looks at the issues of urban cities and rural communities, housing, environmental protection, historic character, economic development, improvements to our transportation system and social policies.

Good planning gives direction to civic leaders, businesses and citizens to make meaningful decisions for the long term and how best their communities can grow into that future, while allowing for essential services to be provided in the near term. Planning is done not only by trained professionals working in the public sector for planning departments or in the private sector for developers; planning is also done by lay persons who volunteer on local committees or commissions, including a planning commission, zoning board of appeals or historic district commission.

What Planners Do

The field of planning is broad. There are many types of involvements in which planners can participate. Many community planners work in the public sector, as staff planners for the planning department or other agencies. The planning director for a community has a central role in many aspects of decision-making, serving as a resource to the municipal council, other agencies and departments, the development community, neighborhood organizations, special interest groups, and individual citizens. Some planners work in the private sector, often with other professionals, including developers, architects, landscape architects and civil engineers. Large corporations will use planners to help in planning for growth of their facilities.

What Specializations Are Common?

Urban and Regional Planning is a broad field. Planners may specialize in areas as diverse as environmental assessments, transportation modeling, and homelessness. Planners should be aware of the breadth of the profession, and most move to new areas as employment possibilities as needs arise. Some of the most common areas of specialization include land use planning, housing and community development, urban design, economic development, environmental and natural resources planning, parks and recreation planning, historic preservation, downtown revitalization, urban policy and public administration, and transportation planning.

Are There Jobs in Planning?

Planners continue to be in high demand throughout North America. There are promising career opportunities in every planning specialization, although sometimes there is more need for one specialization than another. Most planning programs help you get a “jump start” on finding a job at graduation by involving you in real-world planning projects and by encouraging you to do a planning internship as part of your education. These activities show you how different kinds of planners actually do their jobs, as well as giving you the opportunity to interact with practicing planners who might offer you a job when you graduate. In fact, many planning internships turn into full-time jobs after graduation.

Planning is a great career for women and people of color. Just under 40 percent of those hired as planners are women and there are few salary discrepancies between men and women entering public services. Many planning programs strongly encourage minority students of every type to obtain planning degrees because planning is a profession which values varying perspectives and different experiences. We have every expectation, as more minority planners graduate, that the number of professional planners from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds will substantially increase.

Interested in taking a Planning course?

Consider taking an introductory course...

Undergrads:
GPLN 115, The American City (proposed as a Gen Ed course), or
GPLN 215, Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning, or
GPLN 216, Readings in Urban Planning

Grad students:
GEOG 553, Urban and Regional Planning

Any questions? Ask Norm Tyler,
Director of the Urban and Regional Planning Programs.

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