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Originally Posted by niwell
While I was kind of annoyed at the time, I'm now glad that my urban planning degree focused more on critical theory / history than it did on application of zoning policies and the like. It made it harder to get that initial job, but you can learn the technical details in the field (which vary by jurisdiction anyways). In the long run it's more important to understand the context in why certain decisions were made and the effects they had that have led us to our current state.
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As a recent planning grad, this is good to hear. I hate being asked about what I learned at school and having not a whole lot of tangible stuff to say.
To answer the question, I'll echo what's been said already: a positive urban experience comes from positive interactions with people. So how do you plan for that?
You encourage people to be out more. You do that by making it easier to walk places, with tighter street grids, narrow storefronts, and quality urban design. You allow for higher density housing, which brings more people overall to fill in the shops, streets, and parks in the neighbourhood. These parks are essential - a place for people to be outside, socialize, and maybe exercise, without it being tied to consumption.
Transit has to be an integral component of this. Even if the immediate neighbourhood is walkable, if you have to drive to work, the grocery store, or your friend's house, you're more likely to drive more in general, and therefore demand more auto-oriented design in your neighbourhood. Transit is an expansion of pedestrian activity - make it better! It also helps with the urban design aspect of not having fields of parking and highways everywhere.
Finally, I really agree with what's been said here about freedom. I think both because of planning's utopianism as designing a city from scratch, as well as because of planners' more common left-leaning politics, it can be hard to give up power and influence to private investors. But they need it! The market has a role to play in giving people what they want, and that responsibility needs to be supported. It's crazy that the charming 33ft wide convenience stores in the middle of residential neighbourhoods have been zoned out of existence. With a little more freedom to bring individuals' ideas into the public sphere, the city becomes a more interesting place. Even if the classic planning model of housing, jobs, and entertainment separated and easy car transport between them worked perfectly, it's not terribly inviting or fun. Look at where tourists go - it's the messy eclectic spots, and they happen organically. Let's allow for more of that!