Why Choose Planning?
What is Planning?
-
Planning is a systematic, creative way to influence and respond to a wide variety of changes occurring in a neighborhood, in a city, in an entire region, or around the world.
-
Planners assist communities to formulate plans and policies to meet social, economic, environmental, and cultural needs in the face of societal forces.
-
Planners do so by identifying problems and opportunities, evaluating alternative solutions or plans, and communicating their findings in a way that allow citizens and public officials to make knowledgeable decisions about the future.
-
Planners offer options - so that communities and their citizens can achieve their vision of the future. Planners are the key to implementing wishes, hopes, and aspirations of citizens all across the spectrum. Isn't that what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he envisioned a true American democracy?
Planning can:
-
Preserve and enhance the quality-of-life
-
Protect the physical and natural environment
-
Promote equitable economic growth
-
Distribute services to disadvantaged communities
-
Respond effectively to development of all kinds
Should I Become A Planner?
-
Are you interested in positive social, economic, environmental, and physical change?
-
Do you want to work with people from various backgrounds to develop a better community?
-
Do you like to communicate with others about ideas, programs, and plans?
-
Are you challenged by complex problems - and excited about devising solutions to those problems?
-
Do you think about the future - about what could be - rather than about what is?
If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, you should consider a career in planning!
Why Choose Planning as a Career?
The planning profession is centrally concerned with improving the future well-being of individuals in society and the quality of life in the communities within which we live. As a planner, you will have a wide range of potential opportunities to advance the goals of society. We work at every scale, from programs affecting the entire nation to analyses and plans for individual development sites. A trademark of professional planners is that we bring a comprehensive viewpoint to public problems and issues. Even so, you will find your niche within the breadth of the planning profession; you might prepare a revitalization plan for a downtown, rewrite a local zoning code that guides the next decade of development, prepare a natural resource atlas in Geographic Information System (GIS) for a growing county, engage in sustainability benchmarking for an environmental group, or tackle the vexing economic development issues in a rural, multi-county region. Whatever is your calling, the planning profession gives you one of the best opportunities to be personally rewarded by making a difference in your community and the world.
