Opinion – Claudio Bernardes: Competencies of future urban planners

Currently, more than 50% of the global population lives in cities, a number that is expected to increase to more than 70% by 2050. The global expansion of urban land can have significant impacts on the environment, health and people’s quality of life.

Urbanism has a direct relationship with what happens inside cities, their form and their function. Thinking about cities therefore involves, among others, skills associated with spatial and social development projects and their relationship with the management of urban structures and communities involved.

The nature of planning as a profession comprises the promotion of general well-being in the public interest, aims at economic and social objectives, and must consider not only the interests of the present generation, but also the well-being of future generations.

Urban planning is not synonymous with doing politics, but it is deeply linked to the correct structuring of a rational and socially balanced view of cities, as a way of contributing to political decision-making. It also involves extreme sensitivity in the relationship between the development of the urban fabric and the most appropriate public policies.

Urban planning must, increasingly, be strongly connected to the design of the city, that is, to include the design of spaces in the urban context, with its respective link to planning concepts.

Urban planners must recognize the link between city development and the creation of jobs, livelihood opportunities and improved quality of life. This implies the equal use and enjoyment of cities by all, and the production of safe, healthy, accessible, resilient and sustainable environments. Communication skills should be valued as or more than the technical skills of future planners.

To investigate what an urban planner of the future might face and how to prepare for these changes, Dutch researchers conducted a series of interviews with leaders in various sectors. Among the interviewees, government officials, politicians, civil construction entrepreneurs, planning companies, academia and NGOs.

The survey results indicate that the topics considered to be top and most urgent can be classified into five categories. First, biodiversity loss and climate emergencies are expected to dominate challenges for urban professionals. This has profound impacts on the role of nature-based projects in adapting land use to climate impacts and adjusting the sanitation system.

Second, societal polarization is seen as a growing problem, resulting in mistrust and fear among citizens who, in turn, show greater opposition to contrasting plans and opinions. This is exacerbated by the way social media has influenced decision making.

A third group of topics is found around circularity, including reuse and recycling of materials; use of prefabricated materials and wood; the energy transition and the reduction in carbon emissions; and the intelligent use of resources.

Another fundamental observation was made in relation to economic mechanisms. If the transformation of urban environments is desired, and even considered necessary for human survival, economic development cannot fail to be considered to support this transformation.

The fifth category of emergencies is related to urbanization, pressure on urban land use and the growing demand for housing, which are translated into urban centers of greater density.

In short, there is a well-understood need to bring nature as a driving force in development, and a vision of nature as an inseparable part of the urban environment. Just as the vision of economic development and the concepts of social inclusion are inseparable from planning.

This means that there is a need for a renewed attitude by urban planners of the future, who are expected to have a general approach to diagnoses, but focused on solutions, with the ability to innovate and develop inspiring models that can gain the support of civil society and the class. politics, by bringing this vision of the future to the present day.