You would have often seen those well-organised cities designed by urban designers while travelling somewhere and exploring. Urban design is a multi-dimensional field and offers numerous employment opportunities for individuals passionate about designing cities, towns, and associated public spaces. Whether from a macro perspective or a micro one, the urban design provides something for every artist seeking to contribute to urban development.
What is Urban Design?
Urban design is all about schematic and systematic mapping of cities and their spaces. It involves the creation of features based on city master plans. It is the collaborative and multi-disciplinary technique of shaping the physical setting for all times. Urban design involves the planning of buildings, spaces, landscapes, and establishing structure and conduct, which will pronounce felicitous development by the diverse community more than time. It is inclusive of every single thing from public space to infrastructure, as well as transportation, landscapes, and community accommodations. It is centered on layout and person revel in and operates on the functions and structures level.
What do Urban Designers do?
Urban designers are also recognised as landscape architects or town planners. Their skill is to convey collective thoughts from developers, local communities, architects, traffic engineers, landscape architects, transport planners, and many others to iron out issues and conflicts to create better locations for everyone. Urban design practitioners manifest the cities and metropolitan regions, articulating urban plans in four dimensions, together with space and time. Urban designers can be hired through developers, local planning authorities, or community groups.
An urban designer’s job entails developing, adapting, and revising plans. They would be liable for the development, revitalisation, or rebuilding of an area. They might cope with a huge range of issues – inclusive of political, financial, social, and environmental – from the nearby to federal stage. Their scope of work can also include working with community individuals, neighbourhood political figures, and land developers. In several cases, they would participate in visiting sites meant for development, attend public hearings, and take part in meetings.
How to pursue Urban Designing?
To pursue a career in urban design, individuals must usually have a Bachelor’s degree in urban design or city planning. This degree is usually sufficient to begin operating at an entry-level position; however, many urban designers pursue Master’s degree as well. Aspiring urban designers would need to take several math courses and coding courses in addition to their ongoing degrees.
Urban designer Career overview
Urban designers are often involved with quite a few clients at the same time as counting on packages like AutoCAD, SketchUp, and GIS to broaden blueprints for town parks and public buildings. This profession calls for a bargain of creativity and artistic vision, as well as the capability to make certain plans practicable. They meet with landscapers, civil engineers, and numerous other specialists to create possible designs. After the undertaking is complete, it is essential that the city designer must meet with the patron to ensure it fulfils all specifications.
Which Industries hire Urban Designers?
- Landscape architecture, architecture, planning firms
- Consulting
- Government
- Higher education
- Nonprofits
Urban designer Salary & Job outlook
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, Urban designers fall under the category of urban and regional planners. As of May 2020, urban and regional designers earned a mean annual salary of $75,950. Several areas need urban designers to hold a hard test and become licensed to begin their careers. A vast number of urban designers are employed by an organisation instead of working on a freelance basis, though several go on to open their urban construct consultancies. They usually work in large architecture firms.
Types of Jobs for Urban Designers
- Development Manager, real estate
- Project Manager, economic development
- Planner, city government, consulting
- Associate Planner, urban consulting
- Research Associate
- Project Planner and Analyst
- Consultant, Urban Planning & Development firm
- Architect/Urban Designer, multidisciplinary design firm
- Service firms, social agencies
- Non-profit housing groups
- International consulting companies
What is the Future of Urban design?
Urban design is evolving and is now being represented in larger terms like ‘placemaking‘ and ‘urbanism’. The terms recognise the need to consider both physical implementations and their consequences, and the resulting impact on people. Population growth increases the need for suitable living spaces created by urban and rural planning. As a consequence, the urban design sector continues to expand while offering good opportunities and prospects. As we look to the future of urban design in today’s context, the challenge is how to create chances and opportunities for people to do things in their communities. The urban design will likely combat more of a facilitative and enabling role – finding new ways of problem-solving – fostering knowledge and making things happen; instead of the prescriptive application of urban design principles through legislation, regulation, and specialist input.
References:
- Shikhar Singh (2014) Recognition, Possible Role & Scope of Urban Design [online] Available at: www.researchgate.net/publication/264042014_ Recognition_ Possible_ Role_ Scope_ of_ Urban_ Design [Accessed date: 22/02/2022].
- Lana Whitehead (2018) How Much Money Do Innovative Designers in Architecture, Urban Design, and Environmental Fields ACTUALLY Make? [online] Available at: https://advance.kent.edu/blog/how-much-money-do-innovative-designers-in-architecture-urban-design-and-environmental-fields-actually-make [Accessed date: 24/02/2022].
