Bridging the gap between theory and practice; an emerging planner's perspective

Last week I completed my final exam for 2021 – one year down, one to go!  I am currently completing a Master of Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University while also being a few months into my first planning role. It’s exciting jumping into the working world. It’s a chance to see what you’re made of, begin to pay off that student loan, and to put the things you learn in your course into practical use – or so I thought. 

Don’t get me wrong, starting your career is an exciting time, and I am thoroughly enjoying navigating my way through the land of ‘planning practice’. However, I do wonder how other emerging planners experience this introduction? To what extent does the practice of planning fit with what we are taught at university? And how does exposure to practice ‘in the real world’ shape our views on planning? 

After many a discussion with my classmates, colleagues, and clients, this young planner has, to her own surprise, just one important observation: bridging the gap between planning theory and planning practice is an enormous task!

This semester we once again explored the large body of literature on how neoliberalism, political contexts, economic conditions, ethics, and values shape the landscape in which we operate. I appreciate and enjoy exploring these different angles of the world around us, but I find the principles and values that planning education strives to cultivate are almost at odds with the students’ views and values which have in turn been shaped by our individual interests, ambitions, culture and background. 

Planning education pushes the idea that young planners are agents of change and have the power and responsibility to shape the future. All of which I truly believe in, of course! However, I feel a huge amount of pressure which is actually super discouraging, when I know in reality that it is the collective responsibility of all to ‘make the world a better place’.

For some, the gap between the influence and authority they thought they would have and what they actually do have is unsettling and deeply concerning. But for others, practicing planning means the opportunity to find a creative solution to overcome the challenges and complexities of the planning profession. 

As I try to balance the theory with the reality of planning, it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that our planning education needs a fresh approach to truly prepare students for the real world. But until that shift happens, what is most important, I think, is how emerging planners, myself included, respond to the challenges that arise in their career. I would be curious to understand how other emerging planners respond to these situations. Do they give up, adjust, or fight back? Luckily, I choose to fall on the optimistic side; go back to what drives you, and strive to do things better with the help of like-minded people. Passion to make a difference is often the unseen driver of bold planning decisions - don’t lose that, and planners young and old, we will be just fine. 

He rangi tā matawhāiti, he rangi tā matawhānui

A person with narrow vision has a restricted horizon; a person with wide vision has plentiful opportunities.