I need to arm myself with info on Urban & Regional Planning

[crazycanuck]

Howdy,

I need arm myself with as much information as possible from anyone that's involved in Urban/Regional Planning. I have a few contacts through the company i'm employed with now & will start there. However, it never hurts to ask here!

I start my studies in February in this area & need to get my head wrapped round things.

I appreciate your help

C

[OakLeaf]

Tell your boss that you're required to visit Valencia, Spain for at least two weeks at company expense.

[Lifesgreat]

A good site I have found is www.cyburbia.org There are a lot of planning professionals there. Also, www.planning.org -that's the American Planning Association. I see you are not in the US, but planning issues know no boundaries.

My college degree is in urban and regional planning and am currently a stay at home mom. However, I am a local elected official and find my education is VERY helpful. The most controversial items that come before me are land use related.

[tulip]

What kinds of questions to you have? Are you entering a Masters program in Australia or in Canada (or somewhere else)? What topics within planning are you interested in (land use, environment, urban design, disaster mitigation, housing, transportation...)?

I am a planner. I have a Master of Regional Planning and a Master of Landscape Architecture. I currently work in the affordable housing realm, but I've also done alot of master planning, transportation (airports), and urban design.

Are you interested to know what your classes will entail, or what professional opportunities there are out there?

[bmccasland]

Not sure how to help, but do you have specific questions?

I'm living in the biggest urban planning / recovery experiment - recovery of the City of New Orleans after Katrina. I currently work in environmental planning for the Corps of Engineers (the evil empire according to some locals).

[crazycanuck]

Thanks for the info

First off, I didn't expect a university offer to come until January. I didn't even expect to get a place!!! All of a sudden..poof!!!

Ian & discussed this last night and I need to make a long term plan. I want to have a career in the area afterwards. So, I'm mainly wondering what to do before I enter the course. For example, what books would you suggest reading?

What questions should I be asking when i visit a planning consultancy? Should I try & get a job within a planning firm (say as an admin person)??

Also, one of our company's subsidiaries is a planning firm but am wondering what the proper etiquette is in terms of introducing myself etc. I don't want to overstep any boundaries but also want to get the info I require.

I know the DPI (Western Australia Dept of Planning & Infrastructure) has some positions available. I'm just not sure how they'd be with a part time student applying...I'll just apply & see.

Any ideas?

C

[tulip]

Congratulations on getting into the program! The best source for books is from the syllabus for your program, or the planning library if they have one. I was trained in the US, and my experience in Europe taught me that although the big concepts are universal, there are many aspects of planning that are not transferable to another country. So books I might suggest might not be suitable for you in Australia.

What areas of planning are you interested in? Of course, you will be exposed to alot of new stuff in school, and that is how it should be. Go in with open eyes and mind and see what you like.

If at all possible, I would suggest not working at least for the first semester in order to put as much of yourself as possible into your studies and to figure out what subtopics you are interested in. No sense in working in a housing finance agency if you are really interested in wetlands management, for example. If you must work (and I had to), the program that you will be attending will have good sources for part-time jobs in the field. Once you are comfortable with your studies, then working part time and during the breaks is a great way to make professional contacts and learn about what it's like in the 'real world'.

Lifesgreat mentioned cyburbia--lots of good sources and links, although a bit overwhelming at first.

It's great to prepare for informational interviews to get information about a firm, topic area, or whatever. It might even lead to a job, but the point is to network and get information. I'd definitely suggest setting up some informational interviews and see where they lead you.

[Lifesgreat]

Lifesgreat mentioned cyburbia--lots of good sources and links, although a bit overwhelming at first.

I second that! Forgot to mention it in my original post. Just take a few little swims in it before jumping into the deep end. . .

Should you get a non-planning job in a planning company, to learn about the profession? I think that depends on the company. Is the company doing what you want to do, or is it just a "planning company"? DH's law firm hires pre-law students as receptionists (guys and girls) and then the lawyers try to talk them out of law school. It has only worked once. However, it has been really valuable experience for the students.



Most of my experience is more "what to do with a planning degree that isn't really in planning". It comes in handy all over the place.

[crazycanuck]

Tulip-Yep, I understand that some of the concepts might not be universal. I would however like to be able to use my degree in another country if we move again.

I don't know of a specific area of planning i'm interested in but..something do to with transport planning(cycle friendly cities) & sustainability catches my eye.

I'm only able to do one or courses at the moment as we don't want to go without a second income. I am still working out the timetable online.

I just spoke to a gent at our Co's Planning branch & was given some good info. He's a recent grad of the same uni degree & was told that it's really easy to get a job in a local gov't planning in Western Australia.

Thanks

C
Feel free to send me an email.

[tulip]

CC, I sent you an email. If you don't get it for some reason, let me know.

[pinkbikes]

Hi crazycanuck. I work for the Main Roads Department in Qld and we hire quite a few urban planners in our planning sections. We have hired many of them as part time students and they have had great on-the-job learning opportunities there, progressing on to graduate positions when they finish their studies.

The down side of working in transport (and cycleway networks are a part of their brief in our joint) is that it is only a narrow sector of urban planning, and probably not our most mainstream career path (it's engineer world) so it can be a little bit limiting if your desire is to progress far and fast as a "townplanner" in the traditional council sense.

Anyways, you might like to check out WA's Main Roads Dept and see if they have anything going for a planning student?

Good luck with the studies...

[crazycanuck]

Pinkbikes-i've been given so many links to look at the Dept of Planning & Inf, Local Gov''t jobs, Cyburbia(cool link!!! Thanks ladies!!) and others that i'll scour for info. I'm not even sure of the exact path I want to go down..

My company is cool about me going part time & don't want to leave quite yet. I'd like to see what happens if i send my CV to our company's planning arm. I am asking everyone I know if they know anyone that's in the planning game..

Thanks again

C