Summary

Becoming an URBAN PLANNER

Are you considering a career in urban planning? Becoming an Urban Planner is the best place to start. Through in-depth interviews with more than eighty urban planners across the United States and Canada, this book gives you a valuable insider's look at your future profession as it is lived and practiced.

Becoming an Urban Planner introduces you to the urban planning profession--its history, what you must know to prepare for a career in planning, and the different types of planning jobs. Beyond the basics, though, it shows you the realities of what it's really like to be a planner today. You'll learn about:

Each topic is explored through in-depth interviews with both generalists and others who have devoted their careers to a particular aspect of planning. These professionals share their insights and describe how they have arrived at where they are and how beginners like you can learn from their experiences.

With the information from this book to guide and inspire you, you will be able to chart your own path to success as an urban planner.

Choice Review

Many career-counseling books are not as useful as they should be. They can be overly broad, vague, and quite boring to read. This book by Frank (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and urban planners Bayer and Valerius is different. Besides covering the usual topics (educational requirements/paths, internships, typical positions, salaries, required skill sets, and resources for more information), it covers subjects such as work cultures in public, private, and nongovernmental sectors; career specializations; and ways the profession is changing--useful information for those who want to stay up-to-date as they review graduate school curricula. More than 80 US and Canadian urban planners were interviewed as this book was developed, and their voices, knowledge, and experience are testimonials to what it takes to break into the field and succeed. The book outlines the negative aspects of being an urban planner but sugarcoats them somewhat--not optimal for those readers trying to decide on career paths. Nevertheless, this visually engaging book will be an important addition for career counseling libraries in high schools, colleges, and universities and for collections supporting graduate urban planning programs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students; general readers. J. A. Buczynski Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology