What does a Town Planner do?

Why do we need to study city planning?

Cities are no longer simply places for people to live. They are no less than an organism and each unique in its own. The complexity keeps on increasing day by day and each attempt to understand then unveils something new.

This complexity is further fueled by the technological changes which drives the growth of cities. Retrofitting by using the latest technology results in something which was never seen before thus requiring more and in depth study.

When we hear the name of any well-known city like London, Delhi, Mumbai, Paris, Washington DC, San Francisco etc, the first thought that cross our mind is nowhere related to the “place for living” but rather the city life, architectural marvels, some peculiar built form, power, brands come to our mind. This supports the fact that cities are much more than their dictionary definition.

These complex forms needs number of people to keep them in good form. All the vehicles needs  to be kept moving, security needs to be at best, basic facilities like water, electricity needs to be provided 24×7, jobs needs to be created, identity needs to be formed and at times a brand to be created; All this would have not been possible without “City Planning”.

Planners work in diverse fields and use their dissimilar knowledge to link all everything which keeps happening in the city. All inter linked and interdependent elements and networks needs to be understood. The effect of one on another needs to be thought of for a city to function efficiently.

City planning thus deals with basic yet most critical information about each system. These include transportation, social and physical infrastructure, housing, sociology, economic among many other. This one of a kind education of planners helps in overall planning for city or “City Planning”.