Do you have to be a “plannerd” to think planning is cool? Is there a planner alive who can bridge the divide between the mysteries of planning and general public interest? One writer dares to hope.
“How many well known Urban Planners can you name off the top of your head?” asks Patrick McDonnell.
“I’m an Urban Planner, and I can’t even name five. Not because I don’t know any, because urban planning is about as sexy as fountain maintenance — no offense to fountain maintenance workers.”
Inspired by Amanda Burden’s recent TED talk, as well as Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Ship of the Imagination” on the television show Cosmos, McDonnell makes an impassioned plea to spice up planning.
It’s not too big a stretch to imagine that people might find planning interesting, says McDonnell: “Urban Planners design cities for a living. We define how land is used. We take massive systems of people and create ways for them to use the city including everything from transportation, to living, to entertainment, to public spaces, to climate change, to food systems and everything that makes cities run. This shit is cool!”
FULL STORY: Why We Need A ‘Neil deGrasse Tyson’ of Urban Planning
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
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Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
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In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont