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Town Planning Degree?

Anybody studying town planning or interested in doing so:

Whats it like studying town planning?
whats the core focus of the course?
what modules etc?
How much design is involved?
Is there much architecture involved?
What are the boring parts of studying it?
Anybody know what the course is like at manchester uni?

any answers, views, opinions, facts on the above would b good,

cheers!

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Reply 1

chrisj150

I am surprised no one has replied to you.

As a student applying to do town planning at university, I can only recommend it so far. I was focused from years ago into this, as my grandfather has done lots of property development and I have really taken to Human geography and buildings.

Usually town planning courses are very modular, focusing on areas concerning infrastructure and transport, environment, social issues, land use, green belts, utilities, rural issues etc. There are also lots of opportunities do do optional planning modules or optional modules in say, geography or a language.

There will be some design work involving model making and large scale drawings as well as GIS (geographical information system) on the computer, although it isnt an entirely design based course.

Having been to Manchester for an interview on their Town Planning Masters course last week (and got an offer on Friday!) I can tell you I was pleased with the experience. A nice university - I think Sheffield will still be my first choice but Manchester did give it a run for its money. What swayed sheffield was its location and better feel as a city.

Manchester's course is praised by many and the university is on the up, recently gaining further awards. The course structure is similar to the other universities that offer town planning, as an accredited course by the RTPi brings the same guidelines. The planning department are about to move into a new building for September 2007.

I hope this helps,

private message me if you want more info :smile:

Chris

Reply 2

peterfrench14

Hi, I am a first year planning student at UCL. Just thought, that as planning is a relatively new thing for people i would explain a little bit about it.

Basically, the degrees really can be quite varied, with a lot of them with the usual geographic stuff. Some of them, such as UCL and Oxford Brookes, have quite a big design background. My course is probably about a third design (which can be quite tough and you have to be prepared to put in the time and effort). Other modules that I am doing are History of Architecture, Urban Design, Planning History and Thought, Introducing Planning Systems, Contemporary Cities and Production of the Built Environment.

Another thing is, have a look at the faculty in which the department is situated...its probably better to be located in a department of the built environment than the department of geography or social sciences, because you will be working with people from other areas of the built environment when you graduate.

Other than that, go for planning! Its a really interesting degree, and quite vocational as well. There is probably a guaranteed job at the end as well which is good, but you do have to do four years at university (either undergrad then postgrad, or four year undergrad) and then two years PAID work experience to become a fully qualified planner. Hope that helped, and good luck!
__________________________________________________________________
Peter French
BSc Urban Planning, Design and Management
Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
University College London

Reply 3

goldengirl127

Hi! I am applying to some planning courses as u can see in my signature (at least I hope you can lol).

That explanation of planning woz certainly useful. I am in debate between planning at Cardiff and a human geog course at Portsmouth.

Until I visited Portsmouth I woz fixed on the planning course at Cardiff but Portsmouth woz amazing lol, so now I'm stuck. If I went there I wud do a 3 year course, and if no employment found I would a one year fast track planning at Cardiff.

There woz nothing I really disliked about Cardiff. Didnt kno whether it woz a gd idea narrowing down career options at this stage tho. However it seems v similar to human geog anyway so i reckon i'd enjoy it. I liked the short time i spent on work experience.

Also in terms of career prospects which way would I b likely to earn more money tho - don't get me wrong Im not obsessed wiv money or anything but i want a good salary lol.

I get the impression my chances of employment are greater wiv planning. I dont kno if that is correct.

Also wud i need to do an Ma after the 4 year cardiff course (one year being a placement) to specialise.

Reply 4

Wilko_777

goldengirl127

I get the impression my chances of employment are greater wiv planning. I dont kno if that is correct.

Supposedly there are more jobs for Town Planners than there are qualified graduates, at least that's what someone is a Planner for a local council told my dad, but I wouldn't be that surprised if that were the case.

Reply 5

teeceepee

Goldengirl - have you had or going to have an interview in Cardiff?

Im supposed to be having one in March, but havent heard anything back from them since replying in Dec/Jan. Anyone else had this? Perhaps they remind you closer to the time, or not at all?

Anyway, thanks for any help.

Reply 6

Beekeeper

Wilko_777

Yes thats true. In 2003 87% of local authorities nationally and 94% in london, reported experiencing recruitment and retention problems.

Its partly due to the huge decline in students enrolling on planning courses and the need for good RTPI graduates...

Reply 7

charly_xx

Im set to do my masters in planning at Manchester Uni in september! Very excited! I did Joint Honours Geography and Planning at Birmingham uni which was brilliant, and its also good if you are not sure if you defo want to be a town planner because you always have geography to fall back on to. Anyway i would definately recommend it, it isnt the hardest course in the world either, plenty of time for socialising lol x

Reply 8

socks44

happen

(edited 14 years ago)

Reply 9

ArchiBoi

cities, towns, give us architects the thumbs up or thumbs down, decide if stuff can be built, and if so where. etc. etc.

I suggest you read "the concise townscape".

Reply 10

Beekeeper

Planning in the UK is now a lot more proactive than it used to be, mostly thanks to the 2004 Act. In the past there was the common perception that planners sit in an office deciding on applications and nothing else- this, now referred to as 'development control' is only a small part of the whole planning system. As others have said, the course is modular and somewhere along the line you'll probably find something you're particularly interested in, usually something like transport infrastructure, regeneration or environmental planning- which you may specialise in. Increasingly people don't merely hire 'planners', but environmental planners, transport planners, waste and minerals planners et al - and planning is wide in its scope, you could work at UN, EU or Government level, or you could work in a local authority. Even 'planners' in local authorities usually have a specialisation- call a planning office and ask about retail and I guarantee they'll put you through to their 'retail expert', planners will often spend long periods of time working in specific areas. Alternatively, you can go into the private sector, where you could specialise in manipulating policies and statutues and providing services to the planning sector. This could be anything from assessing demand for units in the town centre- to the potential for a wind farm or new development. If you do this you'll lose the moral highground and planning consultancies are pressurised work environments (it is not unusual for planning conultants to 'lose their weekends') but they are rewarded with high salaries well above what you'd get in the state sector, its not unusual for planning consultancies to offer graduates starting salaries in excess of £24k.

Your first port of call is www.rtpi.org.uk. On there you'll find advice and information about the profession and how you can get into planning- I think they have a list of all RTPI accredited courses. And as for a book recommendation- Cities in Civilisation by Peter Hall is good for setting it in its historical context, which is handy if you want to understand planning theory a bit better- theres loads of highly regarded books on planning in the modern context, you can't go wrong with Jane Jacobs- and you'll also need to know about ideas influenced by people like Ebenezer Howard (Garden Cities) and Le Corbusier (Radiant City) among others.

If you want to know what planning actually does, then I would recommend reading a book which i've just finished reading myself - 'Developing London's Docklands: Another Great Planning Disaster?' by Sue Brownhill - its a good case study of the kind of dilemmas faced by planners.

Reply 11

wazza07

edit! deleted

Reply 12

Wilko_777

Can anybody recommend books which are useful for Town Planning.

This one seems to be a common find on book websites, although does anyone know if it's any good, or would it just be better to see what the uni recommends?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0415358108/ref=s9_asin_image_1-1966_g1/202-8730922-5739802?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1Y9TAMTMTCD358R8ZJ0H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139045791&pf_rd_i=468294

Reply 13

charly_xx

Cullingworth and Nadin - not sure of the exact title, some like town and country planning in the UK

Reply 14

Beekeeper

Wilko_777

I've got that book, its OK for understanding the basic policy framework, but it would be deadly dull as a first book. Its the kind of book architects or designers get to pretend they understand planning. Although it will be useful for some early modules on planning law, it doesn't tell you anything that you couldn't find in another book in the library. I'd recommend reading other authors first to understand planning theory and ideas a bit better. Try 'Cities in Civilisation' by Peter Hall, 'The Life and Death of Great American Cities' by Jane Jacobs and 'Garden Cities of Tomorrow' by Ebenezer Howard.

If you want to read ahead of starting your course, invest in a couple of books on the historical context of planning, as you'll be studying that in your first year (Our core text for our first History module was Morris - 'The History of Urban Form, before the industrial revolutions').

If you look around a bit you can also get good deals on key documents, sometimes free. The 'Urban Design Compendium' by English Partnerships is a must- and its free, including delivery, as are most of their other documents, and they're all relevant to planning.
Order free from this site:
http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/publications.htm

Reply 15

Wilko_777

Cheers for that link. That site looks very useful, and I have ordered some of the free stuff from it.

Will take a look at the uni syllabus and see what sort of stuff will be worthwhile in terms of books, although I'm guessing the uni will send out a reading list eventually.

Had a bit of a read into Howard's Garden Cities, will research it further.

Reply 16

Beekeeper

Wilko_777

Had a bit of a read into Howard's Garden Cities, will research it further.

Hehe OK, but do NOT read Ebenezer Howard unless you intend to follow it straight up with Jane Jacobs' 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities'! The Garden City movement, rather like Le Corb's radiant city, is a powerful one, and Jane Jacobs completely destroys them both with a good dose of rational thinking, in what is probably one of the best and most inspiring planning books out there. In short, Ebenezer Howard was wrong, and Jacobs' attack is probably the most devastating and conclusive to date.

Reply 17

TotalImmortal

Hi guys,

I was interested in maybe doing a planning degree next year, can anyone tell me what the career prospects are like? Is work generally easy to find or it is very competitive?

Also, a bit of a vague question, but what is the average salary like for a qualified planner? I notice BeeKeeper mentioned 24k in the private sector which sounds promising.

Reply 18

Beekeeper

TotalImmortal

Hi guys,

I was interested in maybe doing a planning degree next year, can anyone tell me what the career prospects are like? Is work generally easy to find or it is very competitive?

Well it's not "easy" in the sense that its a graduate only profession that will take you 4 years+, but its not very competitive in comparison to most other professions out there. It doesn't seem to appeal to many students, its under-subscribed, maybe because its just seen as boring- which is reflected in the relatively low entry requirements at many Universities (you can get on a top planning course with BBB) and as such theres a minor 'brain drain' in the sector. Although it is worth noting that most planners come from other degrees, usually geography or architecture, landscape et al, upping the competition a bit- a planning degree will put you in a stronger position. I know a history graduate from Durham who is now, 4 years after finishing her course, working as a planning 'technician', whereas strong planning graduates usually go straight in as officers and are looking for promotion at about that stage.

At the same time, planning is getting more and more important, increasing the demand for good graduates, which means that if you get a strong planning degree then you're at the top of the pile when it comes to top consultancies.

Also, a bit of a vague question, but what is the average salary like for a qualified planner? I notice BeeKeeper mentioned 24k in the private sector which sounds promising.

I think realistically the average, unspectacular planning graduate is looking at something like £19k. Its the planners from the top unis going into the private sector that can probably expect something to the tune of £24k+. If you're in it for the money then either go private or aim to get into regional and national planning rather than local, which is typically what most planners find themselves doing. You'll find, especially at LPAs, that planners are not in it for the money, they genuinly want to do something positive.

From the RTPI:

"In the public sector, starting annual salaries for newly-qualified planners (Graduate Planners or Assistant Planners) can range from £14,000 to nearly £27,000, with an average salary of about £20,000. Members of the RTPI (chartered town planners) will often start higher in the salary scales than non-members. Senior Planners can expect to earn between £20,000 and £34,000, with an average of about £29,000, and Principal Planners and Team Leaders can earn between £29,000 and £41,000, with an average salary of about £34,000. Chief Planning Officers, Heads of Departments and Directors can earn between £55,000 and £80,000, with an average salary of about £64,000. The higher salaries in these ranges are paid by local authorities where there is a scarcity of planners, for example London boroughs or local authorities in the South East."

Reply 19

yeahyeahyeahs

I would like to point out that if anyone wants to do a town planning degree, they should check out the modules on the degree course.

town planning is about policy. if you want to do master planning and a more design orientated course, DO NOT do town planning.

from speaking to town planning graduates with experience, ive been told that you become a town planner, or a planning officer you will not be plotting where housing should be and the street layouts. you will just be dealing with planning applications and creating policies.

if you want to create spaces and create master plans, you should look into urban design.

have a look here about what other town planning graduates say about their jobs.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&idno=89&pageno=8