The Urban and Regional Planning option promotes the application of planning in systematic and creative ways to influence and respond to a wide variety of changes occurring in the neighborhood, in a city, in an entire region, or around the world. Planners assist communities to formulate plans and policies to meet their social, economic, environmental, and cultural needs in the face of societal forces. Planners do so by identifying problems and opportunities, evaluating alternative solutions or plans, and communicating their findings in ways that allow citizens and public officials to make knowledgeable choices about the future.
Planners shape the future of communities and regions.
Urban and regional planners help develop and implement programs for orderly growth and revitalization of communities at local, state, and federal levels. The professional planner is a catalyst for societal change though public, private, or nonprofit agencies. Planning is such a diverse field that you can find urban and regional planners involved in almost any government or private activity which involves a future orientation, or community change due to development. Note, too, that many kinds of planning practice overlap or are strongly interconnected. The Urban and Regional Planning Option T he urban and regional planning option is a major component of the BS in urban and regional planning.