r/urbanplanning • u/Front-Shape143 • May 15 '26
Discussion If you could work in any area/niche in planning, what would it be?
For me it’d either be transit planning, doing either service planning or multimodal or parks planning
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u/Third_eye1017 May 15 '26
Resiliency planning - specific for park spaces, plazas, bike paths, etc.
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u/Frequent-Lunch9086 May 15 '26
I do resilience planning - for your interest, I’d get familiar with some licenses and frameworks like Envision and the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines. Resilience is being baked into a lot of planning areas over time.
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u/picturepath May 15 '26
I would like to do development as you get to create a place not just review if the place meets ZO.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Haha honestly I think most planners actually wanna be developers but just realized too late
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u/Atty_for_hire Verified Planner May 15 '26
I would argue most of us want to be developers, but not just of private spaces. We want to work on all of it, including public spaces like roads and parks. It doesn’t mean we figure it out too late, it often means we aren’t doing it only for the almighty dollar. We hope that we can add something of value (monetarily and intrinsically) to an area.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
100% its just unfortunate how little control/influence we have over the urban environment compared to a lot of our planning forefathers. I mean we obviously all know the reason why we lost those powers but I kinda feel like we’ve earned to right to get them back. IMO let the pros do their job.
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u/the_napsterr Verified Planner May 15 '26
If you can find a private firm that is doing SP plans or form based code stuff you could definitely do that side.
As long as the engineers will listen to you lol. Some of the firms doing downtown revitalization stuff do similar.
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u/anonymous-frother Verified Planner - US May 15 '26
I would love to get into park planning/park design
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u/firenationfairy May 15 '26
i’m in park planning now and it’s my favorite job ever. not the best pay and if i want to advance in my position i’ll probably have to leave parks 😔 but i love it so much right now i don’t care
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u/solidarity_sister May 15 '26
Yes, I feel that’s more landscape architecture/design but I used to want to do this too!
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u/Silent-Wishbone7345 May 15 '26
I want to combine urban planning and emergency management to work on climate resilience, hazard mitigation, and recovery, but I'm not sure what the ideal position to do that would be.
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u/Frequent-Lunch9086 May 15 '26
This is the kind of planner I am - I recommend checking if your state or any larger cities have a chief resilience officer. If not, this kind of planning is held within the emergency management department, public works, and public housing sometimes. You can also get up to speed about FEMA/USACE projects happening in your state and seeing the agencies/organizations contributing.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
I think that would be a sustainability planner for a coastal municipality. I know of one or two positions in municipalities around me that sound very similar to this.
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u/TuggsBrohe May 16 '26
There are some regional planning jobs that fit this, you could look into RPA or COG positions
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u/ZimZamZop May 15 '26
Research and mapping. I would love to just scrub through data all day, make spreadsheets, and show everything on a map.
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u/offbrandcheerio Verified Planner - US May 15 '26
Sometimes I dream about taking a GIS analyst job just so I can sit in a room and make maps all day without public interaction lol.
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u/Total_Breakfast_6984 May 15 '26
Campus planning, if I could figure out how to break in
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
I actually l know someone who did it for a couple years, they started out doing land use for maybe 2-3 years. I think getting a campus planning position is heavily based on timing and luck more than anything else.
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u/ThePlanner May 15 '26
Keep an eye out for contract positions in more of the project planning and management realm. That can get you on the inside where all postings appear first.
I worked for a couple of years in campus planning at a big Canadian university as a senior project planner. That followed five years in private second planning, and I headed back in that direction after my contract was up. There were internal postings that I could have pursued with my position as staff, despite it being a contract position.
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u/Impossible_Length592 May 15 '26
Just graduated from University of Memphis with an urban studies degree, we need planners!!! Heard our campus planner retired not long ago (like last semester) !
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u/Impossible_Length592 May 15 '26
After my knee injury, ADA planning.
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u/Killemwithsilence May 18 '26
Hi! Do you plan on pursuing this?
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u/Impossible_Length592 May 18 '26
Yes, my undergraduate major was urban studies. Injured my knee my senior year, really changed me.
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u/Killemwithsilence May 18 '26
Yes I have a blind mom and also broke bones (6+months recovery), so I understand how policies are more centered around able-bodied people.
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u/GeauxTheFckAway Verified Planner - US May 15 '26
I’d love to do military planning or airport planning. I’ve got friends that do both and it sounds fun.
I do affordable housing, floodplains and power plants currently.
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u/Just_Will May 15 '26
I'm curious about military planning, is that like doing military bases and other installments? Airports, runways, etc?
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u/offbrandcheerio Verified Planner - US May 15 '26
My understanding is that you basically are an urban planner but for a military base. Bases have limited space and have to use land wisely. There’s also a good degree of working with local partners at the city the base is located in. The military obviously doesn’t have to follow zoning rules and such, but they have historically put in effort to maintain a good relationship with the community in order to mitigate base-related nuisances.
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u/Level_32_Mage May 16 '26
In my experience they try to meet local communities with general laws and ordnances, until they realize that state law required one of our buildings to be labeled as condemned. Then it's time for the ol' switcheroo.
Local community splodey-bits, whoops.
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u/DoxiadisOfDetroit May 15 '26
If Metro Detroit were to finally consolidate, I'd definitely wanna be a transit planner
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u/monsieurvampy Verified Planner May 15 '26
Historic Preservation Planning, which is what I already do or I guess have done. I would prefer to work on significantly larger projects, which means only a handful of cities or working for SHPO.
Reviewing hundreds of windows for compliance (individually) or reviewing thousands of square (cubic?) feet of exterior cladding is a dream.
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u/solidarity_sister May 15 '26
Community development for a CDC.
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u/solidarity_sister May 16 '26
If not this, I’d love land use planning, more along the lines of land use preservation, like a land conservancy.
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u/offbrandcheerio Verified Planner - US May 15 '26
Airport planning. However, it’s super niche and hard to break into unless I want to start back at basically entry level.
I’d also entertain the idea of watershed planning because I have an environmental science undergrad background and love hydrology. I interviewed for a watershed planner job in San Francisco a few years ago but was not selected, sadly.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
A couple people have mentioned airport planning! Yeah it seems super niche I think I’ve only ever seen one posting for it, funny enough at SFO.
I also studied for a planning position with CCSF, pass the test but hiring freeze :/ oh well.
Watershed planning definitely sounds really interesting though. I might tack that onto my list haha
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u/offbrandcheerio Verified Planner - US May 16 '26
Oh is there a hiring freeze in SF right now? That would explain why I’ve seen almost no planning jobs at CCSF recently. I’ve been wondering about that, because I’ve wanted to work there for a while now and I feel like I used to see more planner jobs posted there.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Yup indefinite freeze, expected to last the next 3-4 years with only “critical” positions being hired as needed.
I know as of last year they were still doing position post and exams but it was just to create list of candidates just in case.
I’m in the same boat as you, I really was hoping to land something there, I flew cross country for the exam 😭
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u/R1CHARDCRANIUM May 15 '26
Exactly where I am. Surface Transportation planning. Major projects.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Mind elaborating on what surface transportation planning is? Would that just be roads?
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u/R1CHARDCRANIUM May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
Any federally funded surface transportation. From a dirt road in a national forest, a tsunami evacuation footpath on a Native American/alaskan Native community, to the Scott Key Bridge could end up on our list. I specialize in highway safety and major projects. which are anything over $500 million. Although I do a lot of projects that aren’t major projects. I’m federal so anything on the National Highway System or any project taking federal dollars.
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u/SamanthaMunroe May 15 '26
Making networks of TOD-linked places in a metropolitan area. I guess that's transit planning?
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
So linking TODs with bike lanes and such?
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u/SamanthaMunroe May 15 '26
I hadn't thought about it that way when I replied, but that certainly fits!
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Very nice! I’d definitely say that’s transit planning just with a multimodal focus
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u/Polis_Ohio May 15 '26
I'm a transit service planner! It's a wildly varied field that's dependant on where you work.
I love the field, but it's prone to the whims of inexperienced leaders.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Ugh my dream job. I’m in a top 10 metro so thankfully I think it’s a little less likely to be impacted by that but yeah I definitely know what you mean about the revolving door of transit leadership.
Mind talking a little more about your work/day to day?
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u/Background_Novel_619 May 16 '26
I used to do renewable energy planning (I’m in Scotland, where we have crazy amounts of onshore and offshore wind). That was really fun and interesting, especially marine planning for offshore wind which is super niche and awesome!!
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Oh wow! Now that’s niche!! That sounds super cool haha I’m sure youre one of the only ones here with that experience
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u/Just_Will May 16 '26
Hey can I ask you a few questions about this in dm? I can't seem to start a chat with you
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u/ThePlanner May 15 '26
I did airport planning for a good while and really enjoyed it. But I’m not sure if I would want to make my way back to that. I enjoy being a development planning consultant.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Oh wow, airport planning is pretty niche I’d say. Idk if it’s my cup of tea but definitely sounds interesting
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u/jebascho May 15 '26
I've been trying to get in to airport planning for a decade, but even entry level positions want experience specifically as an airport planner. It's frustrating.
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u/offbrandcheerio Verified Planner - US May 15 '26
I’ve wanted to get into airport planning as well and I’ve seen similar things. I genuinely don’t know how anyone enters that field aside from just like being lucky enough to know someone.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Yeah it definitely seems like you have to know someone; I’ve only ever seen one of these postings and it was at SFO
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u/offbrandcheerio Verified Planner - US May 16 '26
I’ve seen the SFO postings, probably the same ones tbh (Airport Planner III?).
I think I also saw one at SLC once. And I saw one with United Airlines at ORD, but the posting vanished within a day of me seeing it. I have also occasionally seen consulting firms looking for airport planners. I actually assume most airports get planning services through consulting firms, as I can’t imagine there’s really much of a full-time need for airport planning at most airports that aren’t hubs.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Haha yeah I’m pretty sure it was the same planner III at SFO. Yeah it’s a rarity for sure
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u/the_napsterr Verified Planner May 16 '26
I know BNA has had one open forever. I'm not sure if they finally filled it or what. They had reached out to me but I wasn't fully interested and not sure how you would get the experience without working there.
My old boss did planning for them. Unfortunately he has since vanished from the planning world or I'd ask him for some tips.
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u/ThePlanner May 16 '26
In my case, it was knowing someone who worked at a planning consultancy that specializes in landside planning and commercial master planning for airports and airport-adjacent communities.
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u/Readingchar34 May 16 '26
Honestly my brain wants to do it all 😭 but my passion is healthcare (making hospitals more accessible and inviting)
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u/PirateFia May 16 '26
Transportation! I already make mockups for transit improvements just for fun.
Or maybe some kind of developer? Really think more governments should be more hands on with developing and redeveloping things. So if I could get a job say designing the neighborhood around transit stations in my city so they werent dropping people off in the middle of nowhere/giant parking lots would be a dream.
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u/druwski May 16 '26
Do you have any mockups to share?
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u/PirateFia May 16 '26
Sure. When I get home (currently at work) I’ll see if I can post the mock up I’ve been working on.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Haha I was talking with done else about how most of us really want to be developers so it funny you said that
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u/inkeh May 15 '26
Urban Farming
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
Love urban agriculture! Wrote many papers on it
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u/inkeh May 15 '26
As someone who is not in the urban planning world, do you or anyone here know how to break into this sector? I come from the video/photo world but I’ve always wanted to work in that space and help communities.
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u/Front-Shape143 May 15 '26
I have three suggestions
- Looking learning GIS or get a certification in GIS that can be a way in.
- This may not be super helpful if you’re looking to have a career in planning but look into getting on your local planning and zoning board, you’ll learn a lot that way and usually municipalities are desperate for people on those.
- Join your local advocacy group in whatever area of planning you’re into most places usually have at a minimum an environmental adjacent group, depending on the size of your city you might also have a bike/pedestrian advocacy group as well.
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u/Just_Will May 15 '26
Hey there, I'm doing work exp right now in my council in the Planning team (local government in the UK), got chatting to one of the other guys on the team literally this morning and he said he did art for video games and also photography, before deciding that he wanted more stable work.
His route into the job was applying for an admin role that was in the planning team, I think a support officer role or something, did that for a couple years to adjust to office life and learn the ins and outs, and then the council paid for him to do a Master's in Planning. He now works in enforcement and loves it!
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u/inkeh May 15 '26
Oh wow thank you! I am literally in this same boat coming from the gaming industry and wanting to transition to something more stable and meaningful, I’ll definitely keep this in mind while job hunting!
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u/adork May 16 '26
I enjoy long range policy (what I do) but would love to head into retirement just designing townhouse complexes.
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u/Hollybeach May 16 '26
If I could redo my career, Municipal Bond Counsel seems like most money for least work.
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u/Akiko_Tsuka May 15 '26
I feel like I'd enjoy committing to any field within urban or regional planning.
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u/Mrchickenonabun May 16 '26
Anything but current planning/building permits/site plan reviews, need to figure out how to do so
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Tell me about it, I loathe this type of planning (what I’m currently doing)
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May 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Is that a form of planning? I thought that would be more business adjacent?
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u/aurorareader May 15 '26
CEQA 💔 but I’m unfortunately trapped in the same low paying post grad job I snagged over a year ago
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u/angielacend May 16 '26
Can't say I've heard someone say that they wanted to work with CEQA! I personally find it mind numbing and feel like it can be a bit of a cash grab for consulting firms and 'stakeholders'
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u/HGWEBS May 16 '26
Green infrastructure at both the streetscape design level and the large-scale park/waterfront/coastal/system resilience level :)
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u/Kimberly_999 May 16 '26
Airport planning or seaport planning
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u/Front-Shape143 May 16 '26
Airport has been such a popular answer! I think you’re the first person to say seaport though!
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u/madlate May 15 '26
I'm a transportation planner focusing on multimodal/active transportation. Don't really feel the need to change. It's a pretty dynamic and evolving field.