Urban planner

An urban planner is a professional who practices in the field of urban planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town planner, regional planner, long-range planner, transportation planner, infrastructure planner, environmental planner, parks planner, physical planner, health planner, planning analyst, urban designer, community development director, economic development specialist, or other similar combinations. The Royal Town Planning Institute is the oldest professional body of town and urban planners founded in 1914 and the University of Liverpool established the first dedicated planning school in the world in 1909, followed by Harvard University in 1924. There also exists evidence of urban planners in ancient cities in Egypt, China, India, and the Mediterranean world. For instance, Hippodamus has often been credited the title of "the father of city planning" in Aristotle's Book 2. Urban Planning as a profession is a relatively young discipline. Urban Planning is an interdisciplinary field closely related to civil engineering. Few government agencies restrict or license the profession. As a result, a number of other related disciplines actively claim to have the training, expertise and professional scope to practise urban planning. While organizations such as the American Planning Association, the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Royal Town Planning Institute certify professional planners, others in related fields like Landscape Architecture also claim to have professional autonomy in urban planning.