Why start a career in urban planning?

Posted on: 19 March, 2025

Urban planning is one of the most rewarding and diverse professions in the built environment. Here are several reasons why it may be the ideal career for you.

Urban planning is a field that doesn’t get as much attention as construction or real estate, yet it’s arguably one of the most crucial disciplines in the built environment.

If you’re new to planning, are looking to transition from another career path, or want a career where you can make a tangible impact, here are several reasons why working in urban planning could be ideal.

1. Help plan, build and design exciting and vibrant spaces

One of the biggest benefits of working in the built environment is seeing the products of your labour in the flesh, whether it’s a house, a bridge or even a skyscraper. As UCEM Tutor Priti Lodhia commented in an interview on her career as a quantity surveyor:

“When I go to London with my family, I’ll go past one of the projects that I worked on, and I can feel that I was a part of something… I feel pride when I take my kids there and tell them I played an important part.”

Few professions can see their work on as large and tangible a scale as urban planners. If you’re involved in the master planning of communities, towns or cities, your plans and designs can be translated into sizeable developments full of hundreds (if not thousands) of people.

2. Solve complex, multi-faceted challenges

A career in urban planning is an ideal path for people who enjoy problem solving.

At its core, the role of an urban planner is to balance the needs of communities with those of the economy and the environment. This is no small feat – each of these areas is incredibly complex, and in many cases what may work well for one could directly contradict the needs of another.

This complexity makes planning an area that often produces controversy, yet it also illustrates its importance and makes it a compelling and rewarding profession.

What’s more, planning is a creative field. While much of it is grounded in laws, legislation and regulation, urban planners will be tasked with devising creative solutions that deliver on the needs of clients and communities.

If taking on complex challenges, managing negotiations and dealing with stakeholders is something that interests you, you could be the ideal fit for a role as an urban planner.

Learn more: What skills does an Urban Planner need?

3. Work on a variety of projects and developments

Urban planners, through various disciplines like town planning, transportation planning, city planning and many more, shape the layouts and landscape of our urban environments. Their reach spans everything from public pathways and facilities to motorways, residential districts and entire cities.

The growth and change of our urban environments, coupled with the need for sustainable development, means there’s never a shortage of variety for the urban planner. In your career, you could work on a diverse range of projects, from individual buildings and historical sites to large plots of land and even entire cities.

4. Make a tangible difference to people’s lives

There’s arguably never been a time when the expertise of the urban planner has been more needed amid rising emissions, population growth and a global housing crisis.

Urban planners have a direct impact on the lives of millions of people across the world. Their expertise can make places safer, more accessible and better prepared to satisfy the needs of a growing population.

Their impact isn’t restricted to the physical use of space either. Optimised planning can have significant benefits on physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Effective planning also helps to address social inequality. Planning professionals play a vital role in addressing the need for affordable housing, and with greater representation they can combat the gender-biased design that impacts the safety of women.

Learn more: Sexism and the city: are buildings and cities sexist?

5. Play a pivotal role in sustainability

Planning is one of the earliest stages of the building lifecycle, making it a crucial point for sustainability to be addressed. The expertise and influence of planners can encourage sustainable transportation options, incorporate green spaces into our cities and promote sustainable building practices.

A UCEM survey of 300 built environment professionals found that 88% agreed their industry desperately needs more talent with sustainability skills. Among the 20% of the sample who were from the planning industry, this rose to 90%, reflecting just how much emphasis professionals in this area place on the environment.

Specialisms within planning like transportation, regeneration and conservation can be particularly impactful ways for aspiring planners to address the needs of the environment.

6. Preserve heritage and biodiversity

Urban planning isn’t just concerned with the present and the future, nor is its focus only the man-made built environment – it also encompasses history, culture, and the natural environment.

Alongside making decisions that account for our ambitions of achieving net zero, planners are also tasked with preserving our ecosystems and incorporating this into plans and developments.

In the case of historical sites and culturally significant locations, planners may also be responsible for ensuring that a town’s heritage isn’t lost amid measures like urban regeneration or development.

7. Collaborate with various professions

Planning doesn’t operate in a silo – it’s a profession that overlaps and intersects with various other disciplines in the built environment, including architecture, building control, building surveying and real estate.

A career as a planner spans multiple stages of the building lifecycle, from planning and design all the way through to construction, operation and end-of-life. If you’re interested in how buildings and spaces work and driven to learn more, working as a planner is an endless opportunity to accumulate valuable knowledge.

8. Enter a career with prospects and long-term security

Like many areas of the built environment, planning is a profession high in demand but short of talent, with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RPTI) reporting on significant shortages of skilled planning professionals in the UK in recent years.

What this means is that the demand for planning professionals isn’t going away any time soon. In an age of economic uncertainty, planning is a career path that can offer long-term job security – not to mention plenty of opportunities for progression and development.

Interested in a career in urban planning?

To find out more about the day-to-day life and responsibilities of an urban planner, visit our job profile.

UCEM launched its MSc Urban Planning to address the shortage of skilled planners in the built environment and the growing need for sustainable development. On this programme, students will explore the entire planning process and learn how to navigate the complex web of policies and regulations behind the creation of our urban spaces.

To satisfy the demand from employers for skilled planners, a Level 6 Chartered Surveyor Urban Planning apprenticeship has also been introduced.