Cultivating the Next Generation of Talent in Urban Planning
Workforce programs typically aim to equip interns with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed. Often omitted, is the positive impact that internships have in the public sector profession itself. Not only do workforce programs prepare interns to achieve their educational and career goals but they can play a pivotal role in preparing the public sector for the current and future mindset of work. They can recruit and cultivate talent to better serve all communities, especially in low-income and underrepresented communities: an area that local governments have historically fallen short of and have even exacerbated through policies and practices.
Civic Confidence and the Long Beach Community Design Center (LBCDC) have recently partnered to re-examine the traditional career pipeline for urban planning. Why urban planning? Urban planners play an important role in shaping and building thriving communities. They have a role in protecting the environment, developing sustainable transportation options, preserving green spaces, providing incentives for energy-efficient building and construction, and planning for climate change and adaptability. The impacts of poor urban planning have grave results causing spatial divide, marginalization, under-resourced communities, and urban decay.
Developing intentional entry points to the pipeline of interns with a wide range of lived experiences and cultural competencies will enhance and improve the field of urban planning for those employed in the profession and for the communities impacted by their work. Current urban planners have a lot to share but also have a unique opportunity to learn from their interns. After our examination, a few themes came to mind when considering workforce programming in urban planning.
Early exposure: It’s imperative to expose youth to the profession early. Typically, students don’t become aware of the profession well into their college years. To help address this gap, LBCDC began its Young Community Planners Program, which engages high school youth civically while exposing them to the career of urban planning. In collaboration with the City of Long Beach’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Marine, the program conducts a series of workshops at teen centers located in selected parks which are facilitated by urban planning students from Cal Poly Pomona. The primary goal of the program is to introduce youth to the dynamic field of urban planning and design and to empower them to reimagine their neighborhoods and environment differently while inspiring them to pursue a degree in the field.
Community engagement: Grounding interns in the value of community engagement and design thinking that is both nuanced and inclusive. This past January, LBCDC facilitated a workshop at a local community center with high school-aged youths to engage in a design-based/hands-on learning experience to understand zoning/city planning. This approach led them to envision common themes and articulate potential projects for the Long Beach downtown area.
Cross-sector collaboration: cohort-based programming that exposes interns to various sectors beyond government, such as the nonprofit and private sectors. Through a cohort model, interns will engage with their peers and professionals from multiple sectors, thus preparing them with what it takes to successfully work across entities and with various urban planning and design partners.
Good Paying Job: Pathway to good paying jobs. To live in Los Angeles a single person needs $110,781 annually or earns an hourly wage of $53.26 to maintain a decent quality of life. For a family of two working adults with two children, a salary of $276,557 is needed.
Ride the Wave of Hope and Optimism: Lastly, interns have hope and optimism, it’s contagious. Don’t fight it, fully tap into their enthusiasm and thirst to serve and succeed. Let yourself be reminded why you entered the profession and your love for cities. It’s an opportunity to share and view the plans you spent countless hours developing in a new way. Be assured that you’re headed in the right direction in shaping more inclusive and equitable practices in urban planning by cultivating the next generation of young talent. Your experience and wisdom are needed and wanted.
This publication was written by Alma Castro, the Founder of Civic Confidence, LLC, and David Salazar, the Executive Director of the Long Beach Community Design Center. This publication series is dedicated to highlighting projects that Civic Confidence is involved in, to celebrate and elevate its colleagues, and to discuss in the community our interests and areas of expertise. Civic Confidence is a consultancy firm that provides government and organizations the added boost needed to get important work done. Clients who seek us out are researching, developing, and implementing projects that have a profound impact on the lives of many. We unleash mindful work and big results.
