How to become an urban planner
Official title: Urban planner
Also called: Environmental designer, Town planner, Urban design architect, Urban design planner, Urban land planner, Environmental designer, Town planner, Urban design architect, Urban land planner
Urban planner plans layout and coordinates development of urban areas in addition to arranging and supervising collection of data on economic, social, physical and other factors relative to development of area. He/she analyses data to ascertain the nature, extent and rate of an area’s growth and development, and consults with appropriate specialists to prepare plans for area development, including zoning of industrial, commercial and residential areas and location of recreational, educational and other community facilities.
Main tasks
- Planning layout and coordinating development of urban areas
- Compiling and analysing data on economic, legal, political, cultural, demographic, sociological, physical and environmental factors affecting land use
- Conferring with government authorities, communities and specialists in fields such as architecture, planning, social science, the environment and the law
- Devising and recommending use and development of land, and presenting narrative and graphic plans, programmes and designs to groups and individuals
- Advising governments, companies and communities on urban and regional planning issues and proposals
- Reviewing and evaluating environmental impact reports
- Planning and the development of land areas for parks, schools, institutions, airports, roadways and related projects, and for commercial, industrial and residential sites
Ways in
- University: Architecture & Built Environment degrees, Offered by 2 universities in Singapore
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $64,584 a year. The middle half earn $52,584 to $90,000 a year.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
- Building architect
- Landscape architect
- Landscape designer
- Fashion designer
- Product/Industrial designer
- Land surveyor
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Questions people ask
How do I become an urban planner?
Ways in include: Architecture & Built Environment degrees.
How much does an urban planner earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $64,584 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $52,584 to $90,000.
Will AI change the work of an urban planner?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026