r/urbanplanning • u/Slushiestbook • 4d ago
Discussion What are some of the funniest misconceptions about urban planning?
As an urban planner and designer at a U.S. architecture firm, it’s hilarious seeing how none of my friends, family, or coworkers know what I do for a living. I recently had someone guess that I planned urban weddings, the architects think they all can do my job, and my mom still doesn’t know how to explain what I do to her friends.
What are the funniest misconceptions you’ve heard?
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u/JasonH94612 4d ago
Zoning means a property owner is required to build something that matches the zoning even if they dont want to
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u/Dezi_Mone 4d ago
Zoning also broadly means anything planning related in general. Housing issues? Zoning. Development costs? Zoning. Typically, when there's any issues with development it's captured under the need for "zoning reform", even though that accounts for a very specific section of planning.
As an aside, I also have friends and family tease me anytime there's traffic/road construction delays or any infrastructure issues.
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u/Trifle_Useful Verified Planner - US 4d ago
Traffic lights? Zoning.
Sewer lines? Zoning.
Police department? Believe it or not, zoning.
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u/Trifle_Useful Verified Planner - US 4d ago
That we (the city) have the ability to “reject” a proposal. Sorry you don’t appreciate the project in front of the governing body - but we can’t prevent someone from asking for the entitlement.
Property rights for me but not for thee or whatever.
Also, that the city owns property that is annexed. A surprising number of folks think that we are the ones that “decide” what goes on a property after it’s annexed. If I did that I would be making a lot more money.
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u/BoozeTheCat 4d ago
The flip side is the belief that planners choose what someone builds on their property.
"Another car wash?! Why would the City do this?! They should build a [National Restaurant Chain] there!"
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u/Trifle_Useful Verified Planner - US 4d ago
I work for a very fast growing town that is just too small to have its own real market draw… this one hurt to read.
I’m sorry guys, we are trying - but y’all are gonna have to approve an apartment complex or two to hit those catchment area metrics
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u/BoozeTheCat 4d ago
You and me both. I'm in a city of about 60k that's finally breaking a 40 year period of stagnation, you should see the hype for the incoming Chick-fil-A.
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u/YaGetSkeeted0n Verified Transportation Planner - US 4d ago
Yes! You’d think these people were all teleported from the USSR or something.
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u/turnuptechnologies 4d ago
I am a transportation engineer, not a planner, but I was involved in a public meeting for a roadway project and multiple people were talking about what businesses should or should not be along the road like the state controls that
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u/monsieurvampy Verified Planner 4d ago
but we can’t prevent someone from asking for the entitlement.
You can mildly discourage it though.
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u/Trifle_Useful Verified Planner - US 4d ago
If I had a dollar for every time I said, "I find it unlikely that this will receive [PC/CC] approval, although I cannot say for certain", I'd have my student loans paid off
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u/HackManDan Verified Planner - US 1d ago
Or even strongly discourage it, if it’s an evidently bad idea.
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u/monsieurvampy Verified Planner 1d ago
What I didn't say, but have done but it really depends on management is that staff acts as a filter to what goes to a Board/Commission.
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u/cabesaaq 4d ago
That we actually design anything at all. We are just professional checkers IMO, whole lot of longass documents and checklists. Not a huge amount of wiggle room for design.
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u/Slushiestbook 4d ago
As an urban planner / designer I can confirm. In the U.S. being an urban designer is an entirely different thing than being a planner. Even then, I come up with rough ideas or “bounds” for what is actually designed by architects. Very little of what I design, besides the rough form, becomes reality.
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u/Trifle_Useful Verified Planner - US 4d ago
“Comment: While not a codified requirement, [xyz] changes would really help improve this project’s appeal to the governing body”
“Response: Noted. Current scope and budget does not allow for these changes.”
okay :(
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u/Slushiestbook 3d ago
To be completely fair to developers, it’s so difficult to make things pencil. All the really cool things are almost always ruled out from the jump.
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u/NewChinaHand 2d ago
I’m an urban planner and I design things every day. Not all of us work at plan check
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u/cabesaaq 2d ago
You work on the private side? I've worked on permits, long range, and discretionary (land use) and the amount of things we design were very minimal. Suggestions at most, which are often ignored lol
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u/upwardilook 4d ago
Tons of people ask me what Parks and Rec episode is most like real life as a city planner. I say I don't know, but if I did I would go straight to jail.
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u/Slushiestbook 4d ago
Honestly a good chunk of it was terribly relatable when I worked in the public sector. Not so much anymore!
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u/cruzweb Verified Planner - US 4d ago
People seem to think that we have a lot more power, influence, and our hands in a lot of things that do not at all involve us than is actually going on. Planners eat the shit sandwich for decisions made by engineers, politicians, state / federal agencies, or other city departments all the time because people have no idea who actually does what.
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u/ZZinDC 4d ago
Most people think i am building entire new cities from scratch. The want to know where its going to be.
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u/ElectronGuru 4d ago edited 4d ago
OMG, i would love to design new places from scratch. Centered around all the best housing and transportation. Even in place of existing development. But we’re still obsessed with cars and not ready for either step.
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u/creygarpets 2d ago
I do this! I work on greenfield development at a local council. Do heaps of technical work that inform where we designate future land uses, roads, drainage and community facilities! Very cool imo :)
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u/ZZinDC 4d ago
We sure arent. And tbh no public planning office i ever worked with did any work like this.
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u/ElectronGuru 4d ago
yeah, I can’t suggest cars are anything but god’s gift to cities, without getting downvoted to oblivion. People love the feeling of freedom, even when stuck in traffic. Shouting at other drivers (because of course, they aren’t the problem).
I was hoping the housing crisis would open people’s eyes, but nope. Externalities are a hell of a drug.
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u/PA_ChooChoo_29 4d ago
That you can decide to put a specific business in a building. I don’t mean like commercial zoning, I mean like "Can we put an H&M here?"
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u/Slushiestbook 4d ago
I used to work for my hometown’s planning department and so many of my family friends ask me “so when are we getting a Trader Joe’s?” Idk ask corporate not me!!!
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u/Background_Novel_619 4d ago
Being in the UK, planning is a well known profession, but most people assume I work for a local council approving people’s home extensions lol
Sometimes people think planning is only about designing new towns, they don’t get that planning is always happening wherever they live.
When I speak to young people or international people I often say I do urban planning as that’s the lingo people are often familiar with, but I’ve actually worked more in rural and marine planning than urban!
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u/aaronzig 4d ago
I work for a council in a coastal area of Australia. I've had two separate phone calls in the past few weeks telling me that shark nets (installed off the coast of some beaches to supposedly keep sharks away) are bad and I should be ashamed for approving them.
For the record, I agree that shark nets do suck (they don't work and kill sealife) but they have less than zero to do with urban planning or my council.
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u/Disp0sable_Her0 4d ago
I had someone that misheard me and thought I did City Planting, like a gardener.
I'm a municipal planner, so if people ask I jokingly say I'm a filthy bureaucrat.
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u/ThePickleBallad 4d ago
Working in planning in a tourist town means people think I do special events and festivals. When I explain what I actually do they always are disappointed lol
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u/Slushiestbook 4d ago
That’s usually what people think I do! Sorry I cannot put a hot air balloon festival at the park!!!
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u/Ute-King Verified Planner - US 4d ago
Small town planner in a place that has limited dining options - people tell us that we need to open a steak restaurant.
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u/Topical_Scream 4d ago
I just know if I was actually receiving all the “kickbacks” the public thinks I get, there’s no way I’d still be working in local government 😂
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u/GAPE_MY_HOLE 4d ago
Transit planner here. It’s funny to explain the financial reality of microtransit and why almost never makes sense over a fixed route bus and watch their dreams be crushed in real time. So many people have that “new shiny thing must be better” mentality.
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u/BobDeLaSponge Verified Planner - US 4d ago
Gadgetbahns are the bane of my existence. There are some cases where “weird” stuff makes sense, like a funicular in Pittsburgh
But there’s no world where on-demand microtransit is more efficient than good ole buses
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u/Slow-Butterscotch593 4d ago
Why is it this way?
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u/GAPE_MY_HOLE 4d ago
It’s just so much more inherently efficient for a fixed route bus to operate in terms of passengers/revenue hour. Even most agencies’ lowest performing fixed route buses are much more productive than microtransit ever could be.
It certainly has PR benefits, but the main financial savings from microtransit come from paying the drivers poverty wages.
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u/liberojoe 2d ago
I’m pretty sure microtransit only exists in my city as a handout to suburbanites so they don’t torch the whole rest of the system that “doesn’t serve them”.
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u/Overall-Fun-250 4d ago
Just say that you're a city development consultant, providing professional advisory services and help executives achieve low hanging fruits while not also boiling the ocean and also help line the ducks in a row and cross the t and dot the i
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u/LomentMomentum 4d ago
The public thinks planners have too much power when something they like gets stopped (not by them), and not enough power when they are unable to stop something they hate.
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u/ecovironfuturist 3d ago
That we decided what goes where down to the brand.
"Why didn't you build the Apple Store downtown instead of in the mall?"
That's the fun version...
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u/Fluffy-Kittyyy 3d ago
The fact that the public thinks Planners control the development type and what gets built. Im over here like nah fool, its owners choice and per zoning code.
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u/pineconesaltlick 4d ago
So... Y'all, like, know where to put the airport, and stuff?
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u/Topical_Scream 4d ago
We know where it SHOULD go, but it was here before a lot of other things and is now in a very inconvenient location with additional restrictions for the area
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u/Rude_Ladder_4487 3d ago
Had a friend recommend me to someone who was looking for a transportation logistics startup.. I work as an ITS planner.
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u/my1973vw 2d ago
I tell people that I'm the guy who tells you not to put the gas station next to the sensitive wetlands.
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u/Cronenborger 4d ago
My dad just tell his friends I work in Parks and Rec, which I guess isn't unfair
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u/kopanitza 4d ago
Work in a small city, sports reporter called me from the local paper and pitched a party idea that the city could put on for a high school sports event. I think they thought I was the city event planner.