By Benjamin Warsinske
Planning has allowed me to travel the world- some shots of Luxemburg above from a September 2012 business trip. The walled city-country is a fascinating concept to me.
Planning is a unique and broad skillset that many people often do, but few people master. Planners have the ability to see the big picture, imagine what could be 20, 30, 50 years into the future. From that vision, they create a critical path to make the imaginative come to life. Planners utilize all senses, developing a sense of place that connects with a specific culture, where one did not originally exist. Planners are also able to understand existing social, cultural, and economic elements about a county, city, town, or neighborhood throughout the world.
Here are 9 things I love about planning. Planners have broad skillsets as they are able to:
09. Utilize the Five Senses to create a sense of community. See, Hear, Touch, Smell, and Taste are all important elements that make up a vibrant, built environment.
08. Imagine What Could Be when creating a vision for a project site.
07. See the Big Picture; then break the vision down into smaller elements for completion.
06. Quickly Adapt to ever changing requirements through an iterative approach allowing for greater input from project stakeholders. Planning is about managing change for a brighter future. Planners are able to continuously adapt to realize a project’s vision.
05. Tell Stories creatively through concept plans, vision statements, and master plans that positively engage the community. Storytelling is so powerful and graphic communication of ideas and concepts can help others to bring them to life.
04. Analyze and Sift Through Big Data in order to provide simplistic solutions through master plans, requirement studies, and other supporting documentation. Clients want the bottom line solution; in order to provide that, planners must be able to comprehend the technical aspects and simplify it.
03. Capture A Common Voice of a community through workshops, surveys, and interviews in order to find a long-term solution. When a common voice is developed, a project can move forward to realize its vision, gaining momentum from stakeholders as well as public interest. Planners help to facilitate and manage this process.
02. Problem Solve constantly to ensure the overall vision is met. As planners, we see the big picture and work with a variety of disciplines to implement a strategy. Planners must anticipate and proactively work to reduce problems that may arise throughout the planning process.
01. Manage and Execute projects effectively and efficiently. The future may seem distant, however it is absolutely necessary that, as planners, we stick to a timeline and budget to effectively bring a project to life and completion.
Bonus
And the thing I love most about planners is…
They are actively engaged in projects around the world, providing an unmatched personal cultural perspective they proactively bring to their clients. The planning process is universal across cultures and it is amazing how communities can come together through visioning what could be for the future.