My Career Goal

My career goal is to be a city planner or urban designer. The modern urban designers help in the improvement of existing towns and cities. A typical urban designer prepares and develops soft and hard landscape designs, prepares and develops a master plan and urban design drawings, reports, and strategies. Also, a typical urban designer collaborates with other consultants including the architectural and delivery teams when necessary. An urban designer helps in the preparation of urban design strategies as well as design and access statements. Urban designers should be the lead specialist in providing urban designs, and conservation advice in the planning service (Carmona, 2010). Also, they provide external and internal support concerning all matters that relate to the council’s and city’s statutory planning functions. These may include proving advice concerning proposals with significant impacts on the public realm, environmental improvement schemes, complex and sensitive design matters, and historic environment. The historic environment may include conservation areas, listed buildings, scheduled ancient monuments, historic parks, archeology, and conservation areas.

For example, in cities where the population increases due to growth, and problems such as traffic and pedestrian congestion ensues, city planners meet with the city officials and discuss the necessary changes. Also, they can discuss the proposed budget by taking the concerns of the current residents into considerations (Carmona, 2010). Urban designers also assist in appointing consultants to undertake conservation area character appraisal and management plans, involving research, securing adoption by the relevant council, and composition consultation.

One of the requirements for a successful urban planning is a bachelor’s degree in urban design and city planning. Having a master’s degree is an added advantage in this field. Math courses and computer courses as well as architecture, real estate law, ecology, and landscape architecture are the most beneficial courses that a successful urban designer should possess (Carmona, 2010). IT literacy in standard industry software that includes AutoCAD, MS Word, MS Excel, and Microsoft Outlook are requirements for this career. Also, individuals with Adobe Creative Suite have a competitive advantage. Most importantly, an individual should have good communication and written literacy.

One of the challenges that face urban design and urban planning is the issue of individual control and small parcels of land. Within city limits, both the private and government parties own small parcels of land, and this may lead to difficulties controlling the development of urban areas. Secondly, the existence of arbitrary political boundaries within cities and towns makes it difficult for urban planners to deal with urban areas as integrated natural units. Lack of an integrated control includes lack of proper demarcation that may be explicitly found in the peripheral urban areas. Finally, irregularity of environmental sites has is one of the challenges that affect urban planning. Every city occupies a unique environmental landscape, including rivers, hills, waterfronts, and valleys (Carmona, 2010). An effective urban planning has to take into consideration all these unique features, yet the concrete plan of cities may differ from one city to another. Collaboration between the government and the public sector is one of the solutions that can help avert the challenges that affect urban planners. Since most of the challenges happen as a result of poor communication and organization between the two main players, that is the government and the private sector, collaboration between these two players is the only way to solve these problems.

Reference

Carmona, M. (2010). Public places, urban spaces: the dimensions of urban design. London: Routledge.
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Posted on May 31, 2016Author TutorCategories Question, Questions