About Geography and Planning
Geography and Planning
About Geography and Planning
Geography
Geography is the study of the way in which people interact with the environment.
Physical Geography
Geographers study why the environment comes to be how it is – and how it is changing. This branch of the subject is generally called “physical geography” and it focuses on climate and climate change (eg the notion of global warming), soils, vegetation and biodiversity (a field known as “biogeography”), and the landforms on the face of the earth and the processes that lead to these landforms (everything from earthquakes and tsunamis to rivers and mountain building).
Human Geography
Geographers also study how people use the environment. This branch of the subject is generally called “human geography”. The focus here is on who does what, where, when, why and with what effect. Human geography encompasses the study of why some countries are less developed than others (and what can be done about this), why some regions in otherwise developed nations are less developed than others (and what regional development policy can do about this), and how the nature of the population varies from place to place (such “population geography” including the study of birth rates, death rates, and migration). At the heart of such study is the question of why people live where they do. In Australia’s case, a particular focus is on why so many Australians live in big cities, how the nature of urban life is changing, and the consequences of this metropolitan dominance.
More Information
Geography is a very “down to earth subject”, both in what it studies and in the approach it adopts. The emphasis is on what is happening in the real world and how people’s lives are changing. UNE’s geographers have a long and proud tradition of work in applied geography. There are therefore very close links between Geography and urban and regional planning. It is our view that planners must have a good grounding in Geography.
Geography is fundamental to understanding the world in which we live. All educated citizens need to have a fundamental appreciation of the nature of the environment (there is, after all, only one earth). They also need to understand who is doing what where, when and why – and what the consequences are. We cannot ignore the future and the need to plan for it.
First year Geography (GEPL111 and GEPL112) introduce physical and human geography and set the scene for a wide range of studies of more specific areas of people-environment interaction.
- As a young man, my fondest dream was to become a geographer. However, ... I thought deeply about the matter and concluded it was too difficult a subject. With some reluctance I then turned to physics as a substitute.
Albert Einstein (He was kidding, wasn't he?)- Geography is the study of earth as the home of people.
Yi-Fu Tuan- Geography is the science of places ...
Vidal de la Blache- Geography is the study of the patterns and processes of human (built) and environmental (natural) landscapes, where landscapes comprise real (objective) and perceived (subjective) space.
Gregg Wassmansdorf
Three good reasons to enrol in a course in planning
- It will put you on the road to a busy and interesting professional life, with job opportunities in both city and country.
- A qualification in planning can take you in so many directions, career-wise. And it can be coupled with qualifications in other fields.
- The job prospects are good. As society gets richer, the environment becomes more of an issue - so the demand for professional advice tends to increase
What is planning?
Just look through any newspaper. The chances are there will be at least one story on a "planning" issue -- perhaps a controversy to do with new development ... or some proposal to re-organise traffic flow in the central business district ... or new laws relating to the protection of historic buildings ... or an argument about air pollution levels ... or whatever. As a planner you will be in the thick of such debates.
Making a better world. It sounds ambitious. But that's exactly the business that planners are in -- working toward a more livable, more sustainable world. "Thinking globally, acting locally" is a pretty good motto for the profession.
Sometimes, the job is to advise politicians or local councillors on the implications of possible courses of action. "If you allow that to happen, then this will be the effect …" Or, "Here's a problem emerging. And here are some options for dealing with it." Broadly, planning is about how places work as inter-connected systems, in which everything affects everything else. It's about managing growth and change.
What background do you need?
It doesn't make much difference. People come into planning from all kinds of backgrounds. If you are still at high school, it really doesn't matter what subjects you have been studying. Planning is not an especially technical subject. You don't need to be a mathematician, or a scientist. And you don't need to have done any drawing - planners don't spend their days sitting at a drawing board.The important thing is to have an open and inquiring mind, an interest in your surroundings, and an interest in public affairs.
Where does a qualification in planning lead you, in the end?
Who can say? That first job is just the beginning. As with most professions, career paths branch out unpredictably. Especially when people reach senior management positions, they may find themselves operating outside their original professional field.
"I can honestly say," remarks Angus Witherby of his career in planning, "that I've never had a dull day."
"What I like about planning," says Judith Burns, "is the way you can re-invent yourself. You can turn your hand to so many different things."
Martin Auster adds, "I like the way the job relates to everything you see around you in the street."
Angus, Judith and Martin are on the staff at UNE, but had previous lives as planners outside the university. Angus and Judith still have their own consulting businesses.
See Also
Planning Institute of Australia information about planning careers
Local Government across New South Wales has come together to offer exciting graduate opportunities in a wide range of disciplines.