What is Planning? - A culmination piece after completing all coursework
Governors Island; credit: Cuong Phu Trinh
(This writing sample is edited from a class assignment.)
As a graduate student, that is a question asked in conversation with virtually anyone (friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers and interviewees) who inquires on my field of study. In certain (if not most) strata of society, judgments are cast based on an individual’s job title, studies, type of residence, place of residence, and vehicle(s) owned/ driven. “Urban planning? What’s that all about?” is more often than not, a common response given by the uninformed. I mentioned in my application essay that the built environment outside of Los Angeles as well as its almost never ending suburbs, through my college experiences and travels, sparked my interested in urban planning.
Several years ago, I interviewed Kimberlin Tran, formerly a project planner of T&B Planning out of their Tustin office. Her specialization was (and still is) in land use planning. During the interview she discussed a project called “Skyline Heights,” located in an unincorporated area near the southwestern edge of the City of Corona. In short, the build out would include 702 new dwelling units, with an expected population of 2,000 residents. Since her line of work lied in the development of land, as per prior project management and planning experience with Riverside County, T&B Planning and now at Albert A. Webb Associates, my conception of planning was primarily along the lines of land use and development. Coupled with my sense of the built environment linked by transit, both aspects (land use and transit development) is what I formerly conceived as urban planning.
Through my graduate coursework and service learning through various internships, I learned that more than both private sector development and transit agency planning/ operations drives urban planning. A planner’s role strikes a balance as an advocate, analyst, consultant, interpreter, facilitator, mediator, presenter and visioner within and among differing public/ private agencies and the people. As the common saying goes, the planner tells the architect (and engineer) where to place a facility, and if all objectives are met, that the built structure should not appear out of place in the surrounding neighborhood.
Having interned at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) I learned through the planning team’s consultants that the residents have a great deal of concerns about the I-710 widening project through affected neighborhoods from East Los Angeles to the Port of Long Beach. The planners/ project managers served as the liaisons between other government entities Metro, CalTrans, (area) Council of Governments, as well as the parties (residents and businesses) affected. In addition, other consultants, such as URS for the engineering/ design and MIG for the outreach component were brought on to facilitate design/ build as well as communicating such future plans and gathering feedback from the general public.
One of the most notable readings in the program is Suburban Nation, by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, with Jeff Speck. Such was assigned in Felix Barreto’s Urban and Community Development (URP 534) class prior to 2009. The five components of urban sprawl illustrated in the book are: housing subdivisions, shopping centers, office/ business parks, civic institutions and roadways (Duany, Plater-Zyberk and Speck, 2001). A while back I had met someone who did not agree with the authors' view of"cul-de-sac kids," as “the child who lives as a prisoner of a thoroughly safe and unchallenging environment… Dependent always on some adult to drive them around, children and adolescents are unable to practice at becoming adults,” (Duany et al.) He was uneasy of the authors' view that kids should be fairly independent and that some are responsible enough to transport themselves within a reasonable distance. I told him that I was raised as a cul-de-sac kid myself and mentioned that suburbs were not sustainable due to the automobile and infrastructure dependency. I used an example of Oso Parkway, a single, high speed arterial (without sidewalks or bicycle lanes) that many South Orange County residents in order to reach a freeway, or even the suburban shopping center, located several miles away. He even contested the purpose of public transit, after I stated that public transit is especially useful in a city, where people can go eat and drink and still be able to safely reach home. I also mentioned about the state of aging populations; many of which become less able to safely drive over time, as to how suburban life can segregate a population segment. The outcome of such a discussion reflects to why the current generation of urban planners must serve as advocates of a more socially conscious and sustainable lifestyle promoting inclusion of all ages and social equity.
Professor Juliana Delgado mentioned that sustainability is a nexus of environmental consciousness, economic viability and social equity. The suburban lifestyle may be economic viable, but falls short on environmental consciousness and social equity. Certain populations are adversely marginalized by the suburban lifestyle, in more ways than the perceived externalities of the urban lifestyle that affects the entire population.
Having taken Steven Preston’s Negotiation, Mediation and Visioning course, I have encountered several situations in which such skills, if utilized, may have yielded entirely different outcomes. One example is a South Robertson Neighborhoods Council meeting in Los Angeles. Key elements that Preston identified as essential for an effective meeting were notably absent. The meeting was rife with people speaking out of turn, speakers rambling on for minutes as well as arguments/ disputes among board members, as ground rules failed to be established and followed from the start. I also had the opportunity to see Preston in action, as he managed the third meeting of the Valley Vision business stakeholders, with Jennifer Davis and Robin Scherr in the background. I asked him a question about the management of that particular meeting; specifically why he managed the meeting to such a degree, and whether his management was based on a prior meeting that did not have a positive outcome. Preston disclosed that the prior meeting was not adequately organized (with no involvement from him) and fell apart, which, he speculated may have disillusioned some of the Valley Boulevard stakeholders in attendance. Thus a visioning sense is essential to steer things back on track.
In my current status as a graduate student in Urban and Regional Planning, I feel connected to the field as an advocate of sustainability. I find that my interactions with many that are environmentally conscious do not take social equity into account. One person may recycle newspapers, cans and bottles, but drive a non-fuel efficient vehicle to perform simple duties where walking or cycling would suffice.
My future role of a planner is to communicate to the population at large of options that promote sustainable development. As a journalist, I informed people of the truth as best known to me, as objectively as possible. As a future planner, I seek to strike a balance as an advocate, analyst, consultant, interpreter, facilitator, mediator, presenter and visionary. These components are what planning entails.
As a graduate student, that is a question asked in conversation with virtually anyone (friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers and interviewees) who inquires on my field of study. In certain (if not most) strata of society, judgments are cast based on an individual’s job title, studies, type of residence, place of residence, and vehicle(s) owned/ driven. “Urban planning? What’s that all about?” is more often than not, a common response given by the uninformed. I mentioned in my application essay that the built environment outside of Los Angeles as well as its almost never ending suburbs, through my college experiences and travels, sparked my interested in urban planning.
Several years ago, I interviewed Kimberlin Tran, formerly a project planner of T&B Planning out of their Tustin office. Her specialization was (and still is) in land use planning. During the interview she discussed a project called “Skyline Heights,” located in an unincorporated area near the southwestern edge of the City of Corona. In short, the build out would include 702 new dwelling units, with an expected population of 2,000 residents. Since her line of work lied in the development of land, as per prior project management and planning experience with Riverside County, T&B Planning and now at Albert A. Webb Associates, my conception of planning was primarily along the lines of land use and development. Coupled with my sense of the built environment linked by transit, both aspects (land use and transit development) is what I formerly conceived as urban planning.
Through my graduate coursework and service learning through various internships, I learned that more than both private sector development and transit agency planning/ operations drives urban planning. A planner’s role strikes a balance as an advocate, analyst, consultant, interpreter, facilitator, mediator, presenter and visioner within and among differing public/ private agencies and the people. As the common saying goes, the planner tells the architect (and engineer) where to place a facility, and if all objectives are met, that the built structure should not appear out of place in the surrounding neighborhood.
Having interned at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) I learned through the planning team’s consultants that the residents have a great deal of concerns about the I-710 widening project through affected neighborhoods from East Los Angeles to the Port of Long Beach. The planners/ project managers served as the liaisons between other government entities Metro, CalTrans, (area) Council of Governments, as well as the parties (residents and businesses) affected. In addition, other consultants, such as URS for the engineering/ design and MIG for the outreach component were brought on to facilitate design/ build as well as communicating such future plans and gathering feedback from the general public.
One of the most notable readings in the program is Suburban Nation, by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, with Jeff Speck. Such was assigned in Felix Barreto’s Urban and Community Development (URP 534) class prior to 2009. The five components of urban sprawl illustrated in the book are: housing subdivisions, shopping centers, office/ business parks, civic institutions and roadways (Duany, Plater-Zyberk and Speck, 2001). A while back I had met someone who did not agree with the authors' view of"cul-de-sac kids," as “the child who lives as a prisoner of a thoroughly safe and unchallenging environment… Dependent always on some adult to drive them around, children and adolescents are unable to practice at becoming adults,” (Duany et al.) He was uneasy of the authors' view that kids should be fairly independent and that some are responsible enough to transport themselves within a reasonable distance. I told him that I was raised as a cul-de-sac kid myself and mentioned that suburbs were not sustainable due to the automobile and infrastructure dependency. I used an example of Oso Parkway, a single, high speed arterial (without sidewalks or bicycle lanes) that many South Orange County residents in order to reach a freeway, or even the suburban shopping center, located several miles away. He even contested the purpose of public transit, after I stated that public transit is especially useful in a city, where people can go eat and drink and still be able to safely reach home. I also mentioned about the state of aging populations; many of which become less able to safely drive over time, as to how suburban life can segregate a population segment. The outcome of such a discussion reflects to why the current generation of urban planners must serve as advocates of a more socially conscious and sustainable lifestyle promoting inclusion of all ages and social equity.
Professor Juliana Delgado mentioned that sustainability is a nexus of environmental consciousness, economic viability and social equity. The suburban lifestyle may be economic viable, but falls short on environmental consciousness and social equity. Certain populations are adversely marginalized by the suburban lifestyle, in more ways than the perceived externalities of the urban lifestyle that affects the entire population.
Having taken Steven Preston’s Negotiation, Mediation and Visioning course, I have encountered several situations in which such skills, if utilized, may have yielded entirely different outcomes. One example is a South Robertson Neighborhoods Council meeting in Los Angeles. Key elements that Preston identified as essential for an effective meeting were notably absent. The meeting was rife with people speaking out of turn, speakers rambling on for minutes as well as arguments/ disputes among board members, as ground rules failed to be established and followed from the start. I also had the opportunity to see Preston in action, as he managed the third meeting of the Valley Vision business stakeholders, with Jennifer Davis and Robin Scherr in the background. I asked him a question about the management of that particular meeting; specifically why he managed the meeting to such a degree, and whether his management was based on a prior meeting that did not have a positive outcome. Preston disclosed that the prior meeting was not adequately organized (with no involvement from him) and fell apart, which, he speculated may have disillusioned some of the Valley Boulevard stakeholders in attendance. Thus a visioning sense is essential to steer things back on track.
In my current status as a graduate student in Urban and Regional Planning, I feel connected to the field as an advocate of sustainability. I find that my interactions with many that are environmentally conscious do not take social equity into account. One person may recycle newspapers, cans and bottles, but drive a non-fuel efficient vehicle to perform simple duties where walking or cycling would suffice.
My future role of a planner is to communicate to the population at large of options that promote sustainable development. As a journalist, I informed people of the truth as best known to me, as objectively as possible. As a future planner, I seek to strike a balance as an advocate, analyst, consultant, interpreter, facilitator, mediator, presenter and visionary. These components are what planning entails.