What does an “Urban Planner” actually do?

An attempt to explain to my parents what I’m going to do with my new degree.

When I went back to grad school for planning, I only had a sort of vague idea of what planners really did (they make cities…better for people?). Two years, and a ton of student loans, later I think I finally have a better idea of where planners can end up in the real world.

One of the first things we learned was that the planning profession does not always make the places we live better, and is in fact, responsible for a lot of the issues and racial inequities we see today. But in general, modern planners seem to be optimistic that they can fix these things and hopefully help make the world a better place in some way (before they get too jaded).

I initially thought studying planning was going to help me narrow my focus. But in fact, it opened more possible paths that I didn’t even know existed before, which was actually stressful once I started trying to figure out what jobs to apply for.

Planner Roles

(Apologies ahead of time for grossly oversimplifying each of these)

• Current Planners who work in a city might be the most “traditional.” They might spend their days reviewing applications and answering questions from the public about something they want to build very soon. Or, if they specialize in historic preservation, they might decide if we should save something built in the past.
• Long-Range Planners who work in a city think about long-term issues (as the name implies) related to transportation, sustainability, economic development, and housing.
• Regional Planners think about issues across several cities in the region, maybe at an MPO. They might focus on sustainability, transportation, housing, or something else, but it’s a big picture scale.
• Transportation Planners might work at a place like Metro and figure out where busses and bike lanes should go.
• Environmental Planners might work for a consultancy and think about how a project will impact the environment.
• Land Use Planners might help developers figure out what they’re allowed to build or work on defining how to zone land.

Other Roles

But many planners don’t even have the word “Planner” as part of their job title, a lot of their job titles are so vague, and many don’t even work for the city directly.

• Urban Designers think a lot about the public space, things like the sidewalks, streets, trees, benches, parklets, etc.
• Project Managers at an affordable housing developer might be tweaking spreadsheets to figure out how to make a project feasible. (“pencil out” as they say)
• Data Analysts might sift through public or proprietary data about an area using Python or other tools to help decision-makers.
• GIS Analysts might make maps and analyze spatial data for cities, consultants, and regions.
• Program Officer at a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) might work with small businesses and affordable housing developers to help them get loans.
• Program Manager might help Community Based Organizations to implement their programs and work with the community.
• Research Associates might stay in academia, look for trends in data and write up research reports for the public. Or they might work for consultants and help figure out what should be built and how to get it built.
• Community Organizers might work directly with tenants to help them understand their rights and empower them.

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of others. But the point is, the possibility space is huge, and it seems like there is a different flavor of planning for lots of different personality types, skills, and interests.

So, I still don’t know how to explain “Urban Planning” to my parents after all.

I’m just going to tell them, “I try and make cities better for people.”