What is Planning? What Planners Do?

In the context of urban development, “planning” is a profession that works to improve long-term community welfare by identifying ways to create more convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations. The goal of planning is to maximize the health, safety, and economic well-being of all people living in our communities. 

Interdisciplinary

Planning is inherently interdisciplinary. It often involves preliminary engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, environmental science, geology, economics, finance, sociology, statistics, public health, public administration, negotiation, and other subjects relating to urban development.

Urban planners work with the community to take a broad view of the long-term value of a community, regarding health, mobility, economy, equity, inclusion, sense of place, sustainability, safety, resiliency, and general livability. In practice, planners often serve their communities as facilitators, consensus builders, and process brokers. They bring perspectives rooted in holistic planning, multi-disciplinary collaboration, sustainability, equity, urbanism, and data-based decision-making. 

Planners's Job

Planners are trained to think about long-range needs that affect future generations. They not only work to solve specific problems, but they also consider the consequences of actions on other related issues and on future residents.

There are several types of urban planners. Some planners do a little bit of everything, but others specialize in a specific field. The most common planning specialties are land use, transportation, environment, housing, economic development, urban design, public health, historic preservation, and public facilities/social infrastructure.