Urban planner

An urban planner is a virtual person, who would in practice be formed by a team with various expertise and responsibilities, ranging from a city’s council representative to consultants on specific subjects, like urban mobility or social dynamics.

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The ‘urban planner’ (in the context of the VITRUV concept tool) is a virtual entity, representing a team with various expertise and responsibilities, ranging from the professional urban planner to a city council elected representative and consultants on specific subjects, such as specialists on urban mobility or socio-economic appraisal.

This virtual entity represents urban society as a whole, with particular attention being on people, places and their interaction within the urban system.

The urban planner can be engaged in a public and/or private capacity and, as part of standard activities, commonly engages with numerous stakeholders in the performance of its goals and objectives (regarding a plan or project). Urban planners guide the formation and design of cities and urban areas. This process involves creativity, engagement, political diplomacy, ability to compromise and strong analytical skill application. The process uses technical tools such as demographic analysis and environmental impact assessment etc.

The urban planner has to use the tools to guide urban formation and design with an understanding of the policies of the city and create economically and environmentally sustainable/viable plans and projects.

The urban planner has significant input into the formation of urban land use zones and the regulations and guidelines associated with those zones. The process of devising these zones in carried out alongside significant public consultation.

The urban planner must have consideration of the financial implications of urban plans and proposals and this requires that the urban planner social, budgetary, and developmental concerns to respond to the community’s need for progress, while still presenting a fiscally sound proposal to governments and private investors.