An Inside Look At Urban Planners Like Leon Churchill

By Author: Casey Carpenter
Total Articles: 9
Comment this article

It’s not uncommon for leaders like Leon Churchill to be learned and experienced in different fields, one of which is city planning. Otherwise known as urban planning, this particular field focuses on the quality of life in various communities like cities, suburbs, towns and villages. It involves the efforts of urban planners aimed to guide the present and future growth of a locale by carefully balancing residential, commercial, recreational and institutional factors.

Urban planning is not easy. When planning a city, urban planners must consider a number of factors like the local economy, environment and cultural & transportation needs. In addition, planners also ensure the appropriate use of a community’s available resources to further their initial goals. An analysis of specific aspects of a city is also involved: things like traffic congestion, pollution (air, water and land), ecological preservation and infrastructure are also taken into account.

Once data has been collected and analyzed, the planning proper commences. This stage relies on one major skill: anticipation, which aims to have the planner ...
... think ahead of problems and come up with solutions promptly. For instance, a forward-looking planner knows that is not a good idea to allow a waste dump to be built next to a public space, such as a park, and for obvious reasons—the dump can easily become a major threat to the health of the residents who use the park on a regular basis.

The question is: is there really a merit to proper urban planning? In general, urban planning is vital for city administrators to achieve sustainable development. It is looked as a method of bringing about major changes—planning helps maximize municipal budgets by making informed decisions based on hard data. In addition, planning provides a definite framework for growth; one that isn’t about centralized control but a way instead for anticipating needs, coordinating efforts and drawing a definite path to a common goal.

Lastly, urban planning contributes to economic success. The city of Medellin, Colombia, infamous for being a ‘drug capital’ in the 80s and the 90s, is proof. While the problems of the city’s poor haven’t been completely eradicated, the city has shown massive improvement and is now considered one of the most innovative cities in the world.

Urban planning is one field which ideally gives anyone an “all-around” pedigree; a quality that trailblazers like Leon Churchill possess. For more information, simply visit wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-city-planning/.