Motivations, expectations and experiences of Australian rural and regional planners (original) (raw)
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Planning is a discipline constantly in transition, reflecting the economic and political ideologies of the time. These trends cause the relationship between the state and the individual to change, altering the intentions and expectations attributed to the profession. As such, planners are continually forced to assess their role, motivations and own values in their working environment. Considering the impact of the current neoliberal ideology upon global and Australian governance, this article aims to consider the current role and expectations of the individual local government planner in the South Australian planning system. Ultimately, this paper is based mainly on a close analysis of neoliberalism in relation to recent South Australian planning reforms.
Australian Planner Reinventing planning education
In this paper, I will be providing several reflections on planning education, with in Australia and internationally. I will be using as a starting point the recent development of a postgraduate-only professional education model at the University of Melbourne, known colloquially as the 'Melbourne Model'. I will provide my own personal views on whether spatial planning should be an undergraduate or postgraduate course, or a mixture of the two. I will then discuss the current international discourse on 'reinventing planning' and how this new global discourse might affect planning education in Australia, I will conclude by providing my opinion on how best to manage the tensions between 'staffing the profession' and 'changing the profession' of planning in Australia.
The State of the Art of Planning and Planning Education in Australia and New Zealand
Disp, 2018
Future needs and challenges, the respective contributions of practice and research, and the state of education are constant preoccupations of the planning profession. These issues are regularly canvassed in academic and professional forums. This paper provides an Australasian (Australia and New Zealand) perspective in reporting the findings from an online survey of over 250 planners and planning academics from our part of the world. The survey was inspired by the work of Klaus Kunzmann and Martina Koll-Schretzenmayr who have conducted two major "state of the art" surveys in Europe and Asia since 2014. There are three main foci. The first is how academic and professional planners define the major challenges for the planning profession and the productiveness of their engagement. The second is knowledge exchange across the academic research/practitioner divide in enhancing the profile and contributions of the profession generally through constructive dialogue. The third is an assessment of the present state of and future needs for planning education. This professional self-assessment yields overall positive results amid guardedness and caution. There is common ground with the European and Asian surveys albeit falling short of the same sense of grimness and crisis moving forward.
2007
Recent debates within the planning literature have highlighted that the professional role of the Australian urban planner is suffering a crisis of identity and vision . In the face of 21st century sustainability imperatives such as climate change, affordable housing and water management, Australian planners emerge not as professionals at the forefront of change, but as struggling to find relevance and direction within the complexity of the contemporary governance framework. This situation has been exacerbated by institutional restructuring and reforms, diverse regulatory frameworks and increasing levels of bureaucratic minutiae (Hillier 2007). This paper critically reviews the literature related to the role of the Australian urban planner and in particular offers a socio-historical overview of five key shifts that have been identified within the Australian context. The paper concludes by highlighting four areas that warrant further investigation and scholarly attention: 1) the role of urban planners within the private sector; 2) the hybrid nature of urban planners within a governance framework; 3) re-valuing the professional role of the urban planner, particularly within the public sector; and 4) the implications of these shifts for urban planning education and practice.
Planners of the future: Expectations, motivations, and experiences: A snapshot from 2019-2020
2021
This report provides the findings from three surveys of planning students and recent graduates in the UK and Ireland, to explore their motivations, their ideas about planning, and their expectations for a career in planning. In total, 279 planning students or graduate licentiate members of the RTPI participated in one of the three surveys, providing a significant body of knowledge to further our understanding of how planning is viewed both by students new to planning and those early in their planning careers. With planning reform high on the political agenda 1 , it is particularly important that we understand and nurture the views and aspirations of planners of the future whose responsibility it will be to implement and challenge the system to ensure the benefits of good planning are realised. The findings are a significant contribution to furthering our understanding of young planners and are of relevance, therefore, not just to educators (both in schools and universities) but to the RTPI, employers and politicians alike. 9. Both current students and recent graduates, reported enjoying a wide range of elements of their planning courses. Striking, however, was the number of participants who wanted far greater course content focused on practice. This exposes the important (and long standing) conversation about what planning education is for: is it professional training to deliver 'practice-ready' students, or a more abstract education in critical thinking about spaces and places? 10. Most of the students new to planning were understandably undecided as to their intended career destinations, with the majority of students expressing openness to both public and private sector career routes. Nevertheless, of the total choices expressed, a private sector route was the marginal preference. 11. The potential for a tension between the perceived public interest values of planning and private sector employment routes was alluded to but with little in-depth comment. More understanding is needed as to how ideas around the value of planning (particularly, although not exclusively, public interest values) influence intended employment choices.
Australian Urban Planners: Hybrid Roles and Professional Dilemmas?
Urban Policy and Research, 2009
This paper argues that a hybrid role for urban planners has emerged within the largely neoliberalised spaces of contemporary Australian governance. This new role is one that transcends previously rigid or clearly defined sectoral positions to blend public, private and community responsibilities in novel and complex ways. The first section of the paper briefly sketches the historical shifts that have led to this hitherto unseen hybrid role. The second section explores the notion of hybridity as a paradoxical professional 'third space' where dominant ideological discourses shaping planning practices such as neoliberalism can be both resisted and/or reinforced . Whilst the third section of the paper shifts to ground the hybridity metaphor in real people and places through selected narratives from case-study research into the shift to performance-based planning in Queensland under the Integrated Planning Act 1997. Finally, the future of this hybrid professional role is considered within the context of an uncertain global financial climate.
Planning studio in the 21st century: Educating leaders for a complex world
2016
Context and purpose: Urban and environmental planning has a substantial impact on social, economic and environmental welfare and getting it right is a complex challenge facing governments, the private sector and communities around Australia (Australian Government 2011). Over time, the complexity of planning has grown and planners today are asked to address a wide range of pressing problems in a context of constantly changing community preferences and demands. Some of the issues confronting planners include managing and responding to significant population growth, an ageing population and demographic change, urban congestion, transportation of goods and services, ensuring adequate energy and water supplies, adapting to climate change, managing hazards, responding to disasters, preserving natural and cultural heritage and the growing expectation that residents should be consulted on changes to their neighbourhood (Australian Government 2011: XXI). Planning studio pedagogy (a student-c...
The Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Association of Planning Schools 2013 Conference
Planners play a critical role in shaping the communities in which we all live, making them more liveable, sustainable and vibrant places. Increasingly the planning profession is involved in multi-disciplinary responses to changing urban form and effective frameworks for private sector investment. Innovations in urban infrastructure planning, urban management and capital city strategic planning are emerging national priorities. The ACT region provides an immediate ‘urban and regional observatory’ for students to examine contemporary planning issues. Included in these proceedings are a number of key papers that provide insights into the changing landscape of tertiary education and local government and planning across various states.
Who Cares?: Australian Planners and Ethics
2000
Many planners, it seems, complete their courses and enter a profession confused about its aims and values. Many see planning as a profession in crisis. Australian critiques of planning, while not as vehement or common as those in North America and Britain, certainly identify room for improvement. In 1994, Alexander Cuthbert,