An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town planner, regional planner, long-range planner, transportation planner, infrastructure planner, environmental planner, parks planner, physical planner, health planner, planning analyst, urban designer, community development director, economic development specialist, or other similar combinations. The Royal Town Planning Institute is the oldest professional body of town and urban planners founded in 1914 and the University of Liverpool established the first dedicated planning school in the world in 1909.
Planning permission
The responsibilities of an urban planner vary between jurisdictions, and sometimes within jurisdictions. The following is therefore a general description of the responsibilities of an urban planner, of which an urban planner may well typically practise two or more of. An urban planner may also specialize in one responsibility only.
Urban planners specializing in land use planning are predominantly concerned with the regulation of land use, development and subdivision, with the intent of achieving the desired urban planning outcome.
Regulation of land use and development is achieved via the drafting and adoption of planning instruments designed to influence the land use and built form goals of the jurisdiction. The planning instruments take the form of legislation and policy, and have a wide variety of terms across jurisdictions including acts and regulations, rules, codes, schemes, plans, policies, and manuals; and often a combination of some of these. The planning instruments often spatially zone land or reserve the land for certain purposes, presented in the form of a zoning map or plan. The urban planner is tasked with preparing planning instruments and zoning plans.