urban design career

Why urban design?

The broad scope of urban design means that people from all backgrounds and with diverse interests will find urban design an engaging and satisfying career. Urban designers tend to come to the profession because they:

  • Find the complexity and variety of towns and cities exciting
  • Enjoy art and design
  • Are interested in the world we have built around us
  • Appreciate the difference between a good and a bad place and want to improve our environment
  • Understand the importance of using the world’s resources carefully and want to work towards a greener future
  • Are interested in the political processes through which decisions are made.

What a Degree in Urban Design Can Teach You?

A degree in Urban Design is meant to prepare you to become a competent professional in the field of urban planning. To do so, an education in this field must provide you with a strong general grounding in the planning of communities, cities and regions. This means you’ll likely learn about planning topics and issues such as:

  • Planning for the revitalization of local neighbourhoods
  • Planning for extending transit further into a metropolitan area
  • Planning for special community events
  • The overall improvement of cities and regions
  • The interconnections among buildings, transportation systems, the natural environment and local communities

What do urban designers do?

  • Developing ‘visions’ for places: using creativity and imagination to invent or re-invent the environments we live and work in
  • Designing built spaces: from whole towns and neighborhoods to individual streets or squares.
  • Advising on the design of developments and regeneration projects
  • Researching and analyzing places and people: understanding the physical, political, economic, spatial, and psychological context of the places you work with and the people who use them
  • Influencing people by using your skills and knowledge to help others make better decisions and teach them how to make successful places
  • Developing guidance and policies relating to the built environment
  • Community consultation: helping the public to take part in planning and designing their neighbourhoods
  • Graphic representation: from sketching and technical drawing to using the latest technologies and packages in visualization and computer-aided design.
Career Opportunities for Urban Design Graduates 2
Source: Urban Design Group

Who Hires Urban Design Graduates?

Although urban design graduates can technically work anywhere that will hire them, they are typically employed with municipal governments, consulting firms, non-profit agencies and private land development firms.

 

Public Sector

Urban Designers are highly required in the public sector wherein there is an increasing requirement in the government agencies regarding the policy-making of the urban areas, developing and designing urban areas, and also approving of the designs after evaluating them whether they are in proper accordance with the policies.

 

Academics

The urban design also opens doors of opportunities in the area of academics which helps the qualified urban planners to teach in schools and colleges

 

Research

The research field in urban planning allows an individual to do in-depth study about the use of land and resources in order to design and develop an urbanized area that would not cause harm to the environment and could be used effectively. They are primarily involved in coming up with new and innovative ideas for the use of land in accordance with the policies.

 

Private Sectors

Private agencies which are involved in township building hire urban planners in order to make an area that is urbanized in a fashionable manner and in accordance with the demands of the consumer needs. They are also involved in planning parks, streets, buildings, and work as a project manager which attends to the policies of it.

 

Real Estate

Real estate agencies also hire urban planners, especially in the field of real estate design and real estate development. The real estate developers are concerned with making improvements to the existing buildings and then selling or leasing them out for profit. The modification aspect of it requires urban planning as this planning involves using the available resources to their best potential.

What Are Some Related Alternative Careers?

Civil engineers and landscape architects are professionals whose work is similar to that of urban designers in several aspects. Civil engineers develop the design plans for roads, bridges and other structures. Landscape architects develop design plans for outdoor spaces. Urban designers may work closely with both civil engineers and landscape architects, because they may need to approve work on new roads or bridges or new parks. Landscape architects and civil engineers need a bachelor’s degree, and – like urban designers – they need to be familiar with zoning and environmental regulations and other factors that may need to be considered when developing design plans.

 

You might also be intrested to read Best Ivy League colleges for Urban Planning.

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Career Opportunities for Urban Design Graduates 4

Adela Huang

About the Author

Adela Huang is a National University of Singapore graduate who is interested in exploring creative outlets and business in the realm of urban design.  She is a voracious learner who enjoys conducting research, evaluating, and comprehending all aspects of urban design, and she strives to support environmental sustainability. 

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