To those outside the built environment sector, a career in town planning is probably something of a mystery. At least, that’s according to the many blank looks I’ve received over the years when making small talk with acquaintances.
But it does highlight an inherent problem with this relatively niche career path. If people haven’t heard of it, how can they choose to work in the field?
I’d always been interested in human geography at school and immersed myself in built environment-themed computer games like Sim City and a real classic called Utopia (on the Commadore Amiga!) yet still hadn’t made the connection with town planning. I was intending to read geography at university and only switched late in the day because our Head of Sixth Form mentioned planning as a good fit for me. Looking back, it really was a “sliding doors” moment and I feel lucky that he made that initial connection for me.
15 June 1996: a pivotal moment
It won’t be much of a spoiler to share that I ended up coming to Manchester to study town planning in 1995. It was my dream ticket. Then, at the end of my first year of studies, on 15 June 1996, a devastating bomb exploded in Manchester city centre.
It was a pivotal moment in Manchester’s own story of resilience and urban renaissance. Looking back, it was a key moment in my life, too. It cemented my love for this great city and ever since I’ve been invested in its rebuilding. I’ve grown in my passion for unlocking sites to make places that really work and provide a richer quality of life.
My university project the subsequent year focused on “Piccadilly Renaissance 2002” and explored how key buildings – including Jackson’s Warehouse – could be repurposed. In a “pinch me” moment 14 years later, I did indeed live in it, once it had been converted to apartments.
Post-bomb, my fascination with Manchester’s transformation was insatiable. I even built my own website to document the city’s progress – which now feels pretty forward thinking of me!
How can we get more people into the profession?
We’ve spoken already about the pragmatic planning reform that’s needed to ease pressure on the system and improve outcomes.
But if we’re going to better resource the planning system, we’re going to need more than the 300 new planners promised by the government, which equates to fewer than one professional per local authority.
But it’s far more than a funding issue. The government could pledge 3,000 planners but they’d not find the people to fill the positions. Fundamentally, we need more young people to choose planning as a career in the first place.
Without my teacher’s gentle prod, I wouldn't have made the leap and the same must go for many others. So how could we get more people into planning?
Let’s update the school curriculum
The RTPI’s 2023 State of the Profession report counted that there were 4,600 UK students enrolled on planning programmes. If might sound a lot but with mid-course dropout rates, those pursuing other careers after graduation, and others still who don’t stick with it, the numbers are much lower.
We need to implement a 20-year educational programme to inspire young people to join ranks. Town planning needs to be talked about with children from as young as 11. It’s not that much of a stretch: human geography covers many of the key conversations but at no point is town planning mentioned as the vehicle for change in the built environment. Let’s change that.
Let’s get creative with broadening horizons…
We know that successful places make space for everyone. And with the role of play in children’s health and development being increasingly recognised, we should be embracing play in the urban environment and engaging young people in the value of creating great places.
Play has the power to positively shape places and spaces in our communities and create a cultural shift towards a more child friendly view in our neighbourhoods. Pauline Johnston, Civic and Social
Award-winning project On The Way Play SK encouraged play and dwell areas in Edgeley, Stockport, empowering local children to take ownership of and shape their neighbourhood. It gave a glimpse into how children can be brought into the conversation about placemaking and, indeed, can very often have the best ideas about how to improve a place. I hope it has inspired some budding future planners!
…and let’s get hands on
Town planning is a graduate profession, but the degree route into the profession will not suit everyone. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to give people hands on experience and a chance to test the water before investing in a university degree. We applaud the work that Regeneration Brainery is doing to provide real-life experience for young people from diverse, under-represented backgrounds. The government should be doing more to support traditional apprenticeships and those being supported by Regeneration Brainery and roll them out more widely.
Manchester’s Olympic bids in the 1990s built momentum and a clear vision for regeneration. That groundwork paved the way for a successful 2002 Commonwealth Games and the creation of Sportcity, including the City of Manchester Stadium – a lasting legacy of how planning and ambition can transform whole communities.
Planning isn’t the problem, it’s the solution
Planning too often gets the blame – it’s seen as a hurdle to be dealt with before “getting on” with placemaking. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. When used well, planning is one of the most powerful tools we have to shape better places and improve lives. The real issue isn’t planning itself – it’s how we choose to use it.
Manchester itself is proof of what can happen when you harness planning with purpose. From the regeneration that followed the 1996 bomb to the transformation brought by the Commonwealth Games and the creation of Sportcity, this city has consistently shown what’s possible when planning is used as a strategic, proactive force. Billions of pounds of investment, difficult sites unlocked, new neighbourhoods, iconic buildings, jobs, homes – none of it happened by accident. All of it passed through the planning system.
When we stop treating planning as the problem and instead use it as a regenerative rather than defensive tool, we see exciting things happen. Everywhere I look in this brilliant regional city centre I see the evidence of this.
It’s time we gave this profession the credit it deserves – and inspire the next generation to see town planning for what it really is: an incredibly rewarding career that shapes places, unlocks potential and changes lives.
