Hello Student Planners,

First, let me wish you all good luck with mid-term assignments and exams. I know it’s a busy time of year, but I have to ask that you check out this short online survey regarding the reform of the CIP Student Representative position. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to complete and will help inform decisions about a potential two year term for the CIP student representative. (Follow the link to complete the survey by clicking here.)

I want to use this issue of Plan2Plan to build on an article that was featured in the last issue; The Planner of Tomorrow, by PhD Student, James White from SCARP at UBC. James notes that, “a broader definition of planning is emerging. The role of the planner is expanding. It should be the number one priority of the institute and the profession to facilitate these transformations. In our changing cities the traditional municipal planner should no longer be the pinnacle of the profession; it should be one role amongst many. Embracing this transition would serve as a critical step to improving our cities for the future.”

James did an excellent job of addressing the changes and challenges that face our profession. His poignant piece begs for instruction on how to transition the profession into a new era, one defined by new competencies and broader horizons. At UBC the search for planning’s new identity is well underway. Currently, the School of Community and Regional Planning is developing a strategic plan for the school. This process has generated a great deal of dialogue at SCARP and has raised many of the same issues James discusses in his article. Given the propensity for academic institutions to quickly forget the work completed in the past and to rehash the same issues over and over, I felt this issue of Plan2Plan could be used to remind students and about the work conducted in 2006 by a group of motivated students at UBC.

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These students, like many of us today, asked; who should be the planners for the cities of tomorrow? What should be their knowledge, skills and attitudes? How should their capabilities be developed? These three questions were the focus of an innovative year-long student-run dialogue on the future of planning, named Planners for Tomorrow (P4T). P4T was designed to articulate student perspectives on the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential to the future success of planning practitioners in Canada. The dialogue was fostered and facilitated through a website providing varied communication tools and various face-to-face meetings culminating in the P4T Forum at the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning in June of 2006. Through the dialogue, a set of recommendations was generated for delivery into the World Planners Congress (WPC) and World Urban Forum (WUF) that were held in Vancouver during the same period in time.

The five major recommendations of the P4T students were briefly introduced in a previous issue of Plan Canada (Summer, 2006). I am reproducing them again in this issue of Plan2Plan to provide some institutional memory and to recognize the contribution and hard work of our peers before us. A full PDF version of the P4T documents will be available in the student zone of the CIP website soon.

Recommendations

1. Embrace Sustainability as the Cornerstone of Planning:

From ecological collapse, to social marginalization and economic inequities, the world is undergoing fundamental changes and disruptions. The planner for tomorrow must integrate and balance the environmental, economic and social concerns, from the local to the global, and in the short and long term into her or his practice, while enhancing overall quality of life and biodiversity.

2. Recognize Diversity and Promote Cultural Competence and Inclusivity in Planning Processes:

Diversity and difference are central elements of a planner’s daily work. As leaders, facilitators and co-decision makers in community and city-building, planners must strive to increase their adaptability and cross cultural capacity, while breaking down barriers to participation in public processes and civic engagement. In addition, planners’ understanding must move beyond cultural awareness and sensitivity, towards a more nuanced cultural competence, in which the specific knowledge of individuals and organizations in a diverse community are integrated into specific policies and practices which improve the effectiveness of cross-cultural work.

3. Strengthen Collaboration Between Educational Institutions and Practitioners:

The planner for tomorrow must balance innovative theory and practical wisdom to effect positive social change. As such, planning educators and practitioners need to develop collaborative projects and processes that foster mutual learning between educational institutions, practicing planners, and community partners.

4. Re-Evaluate the Role of Planning Organizations:

Planning organizations play a key role in administration and accreditation for planning professionals. Organizations such as the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) qualify planners through membership in their respective organizations, and carry the credibility of a professional accreditation. Planning organizations should serve as champions for the planning community, fostering respect and awareness towards the actions of planners, within the broader community. By fulfilling the current and future needs of its membership and community, planning organizations can better serve the planning profession, activate professional planners and engage society as a whole.

5. Cultivate the Skills and Attitudes Needed for the Planner of Tomorrow:

Planners for tomorrow must have the ability to continually evolve and adapt to changing conditions. They will face new challenges, and work with changing tools and modes of communication. Planners both academic and professional, should become proactive in acquiring and disseminating the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to be planners of tomorrow.

With these recommendations in mind, continue your hard work, continue to become the planners for tomorrow and continue to read this edition of Plan2Plan!

Adam Cooper
2008-2009 Student Representative

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