Urban Planners Skills and Competencies: Are We Different from Other Professions? Does Context Matter? Do We Evolve?

A survey asks 638 planning, planning-related, and nonplanning professionals in Southern California which job skills they value most. The authors want to know whether planners" perceptions of significant skills are different from other professions, whether the context within which planners operate makes a difference, and whether the perceived importance of skills evolves with career experience. They find communication skills to be valued more than technical and quantitative skills across all three groups. However, planners value certain types of communication—report writing and writing for the public—more than planning-related and non-planning professionals. Professional planning context matters; public-sector planners value written communication more than private-sector planners. And, planners" valuation of skills changes with length of planning experience, implying an evolutionary model. The authors discuss implications for graduate education and training curricula.