The goal of Urban and Regional Planning is to improve the well-being of people and their communities by creating convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive environments for present and future generations. Planning is city building. Planners plan within a highly collaborative process. Through this collaborative process, they help to define the community’s vision for itself. Working with local residents, community leaders, politicians and special groups, planners help establish the vision. Planners work with many types of communities – small villages, neighbourhoods, large cities, suburban towns, even regions, states, and federal agencies. This vision is created not only from what the inhabitants of the community members want, but based on an understanding of the problems and resources at hand. The planner provides this analysis and helps the community look at the options it has for development and change.

Through the analytical planning process, planners consider the physical, social and economic aspects of communities and examine the connections between them. Professionally trained planners also analyze the existing conditions and future trends in the area. They analyze issues such as transportation, land use, housing, recreation and open space, natural and cultural resources, community services, population, and economic development. In addition to generating their own data, planners draw upon the work of other professionals to create a comprehensive overview of the community. Once planners have conducted
their analysis, they develop strategic alternatives for solving problems in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. These alternatives will guide future development based on the established goals and the systematic analysis.

The Plan consists of these alternatives presented in a formal document. Plans can take several shapes, from comprehensive plans to layout development plans. Plans
are presented to the clients; community officials and leaders, who review, revise and adopt them for action. Plans are required at different levels of government. Once the plan is adopted, the planners’ job becomes the implementation of the plan, coordinating work among many groups and professionals. The tools of planning implementation include such things as land use controls and economic development strategies, etc.

What we do
The planning process typically involves the performance of a number of roles. Some planners function primarily as technical analysts or researchers, others as designers or program developers, others as agents of social change, and still others as managers or educators.
Planners formulate plans and policies to meet the social, economic, and physical needs of communities, and they develop the strategies to make these plans work.
Planners develop plans for land use patterns, housing needs, parks and recreational development, traffic and transportation systems, economic development, and other aspects of the future.
Planners must be technically competent and creative, with an ability to envision alternatives to the physical and social environments in which we live.
Planners work with the public to develop a vision of the future and to build on that vision.
Planners often function as mediators among conflicting community interests; they may also become facilitators, using their professional judgment to help identify the best resolutions to the issues creating conflicts.

What are the skills required?
A planner needs to understand the physical design and the way in which cities work, understand data on present and future trends in such things as population, employment and health; understand plans and the process by which they are developed; master the techniques for involving a wide range of people in making decisions; understand the local, state and federal governments and their programs and processes for making political decisions; understand social issues and the impact of decisions on cities and communities; be able to articulate planning issues to a wide variety of audiences; understand the legal foundation and techniques for land use regulation; and understand interaction between such things as: economy, transportation, health and human services, and land use regulation.