Most of you know that I work in the planning profession. Specifically, I’m involved in parks and natural resource planning. The funny thing is that I wasn’t aware of the value or the profession of planning until I was in my 20’s. I believe my Peace Corps experience made me realize the value of civic engagement and that citizens need be involved in the development of their neighborhoods, which is one aspect of planning.
Now I look back and realize that I should have thought about what shapes the development or lack of development in the communities that I live. I’m not sure what age I should have been more aware, but my 20’s seems a little late. Of course I don’t expect a 6-year old child to say, “Daddy (or mommy), when I grow up I want to be a planner”. Actually, that would be pretty nerdy if your 6 year old said that. But the point is that our lives are tremendously influenced by the profession of planners and it isn’t too early to learn how our communities are developed. After all, the youth are the future!
I want to introduce you to some great resources that the American Planning Association (national organization for planners) offers to teach youth about planning. The website is found here: http://www.planning.org/education/youth . As you’ll notice with the topics of the lesson plans, it seems that planners are involved in everything.
If you have questions, comments, or whatever, then feel free to let me know.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Brett
