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Community planner vs urban design consultant

The differences between community planners and urban design consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a community planner and an urban design consultant. Additionally, a community planner has an average salary of $65,352, which is higher than the $63,960 average annual salary of an urban design consultant.

The top three skills for a community planner include community planning, DOD and demolition. The most important skills for an urban design consultant are GIS, urban design, and sketch.

Community planner vs urban design consultant overview

Community PlannerUrban Design Consultant
Yearly salary$65,352$63,960
Hourly rate$31.42$30.75
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs24,34341,918
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does a community planner do?

As a community planner, your job is to develop programs and plans for the utilization of land within your community. You are responsible for improving the community by achieving community goals such as the revitalization of infrastructure and physical facilities and accommodating population growth. Other duties include advising civic leaders on how to best use the land resources, working closely with other stakeholders in the development of new construction projects, and managing a team of specialists and guiding their work.

What does an urban design consultant do?

An urban design consultant is in charge of many projects, and so they have to oversee tasks and plan assignments. They are skilled in creating interior design solutions, space planning, sketching, and product selection. They have to analyze information and data gotten from market research studies and censuses. They also have to do presentations and prepare reports.

Community planner vs urban design consultant salary

Community planners and urban design consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Community PlannerUrban Design Consultant
Average salary$65,352$63,960
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $90,000Between $51,000 And $79,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateMassachusettsMassachusetts
Best paying companyDepartment of Homeland SecurityPerkins&Will
Best paying industryProfessionalTelecommunication

Differences between community planner and urban design consultant education

There are a few differences between a community planner and an urban design consultant in terms of educational background:

Community PlannerUrban Design Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common majorCommunicationUrban Planning
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Community planner vs urban design consultant demographics

Here are the differences between community planners' and urban design consultants' demographics:

Community PlannerUrban Design Consultant
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 51.5% Female, 48.5%Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.4% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between community planner and urban design consultant duties and responsibilities

Community planner example responsibilities.

  • Guide production planning activities ranging from developing and revising production schedules, forecasting trends and customer demand, and managing logistics.
  • Create material bill of materials (MBOM or EBOM) assisting with driving demand in MRP for development assemblies.
  • Create sophisticated GIS tool to maximize understanding of construction constraints by combining base specific data with regional and national data sets.
  • Perform on-site plaza, parking, and vehicle/bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure audits, supplement with GIS analysis techniques.
  • Perform project work for categorical exclusions in environmental assessments and feasibility studies in compliance with NEPA federal guidelines.
  • Direct inbound or outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, or logistics quality management.
  • Show more

Urban design consultant example responsibilities.

  • Manage the website and twitter page, write the blog posts and attend numerous fashion shows and sample sale rooms.
  • Research previous transportation studies and offer recommendations to improve roadway and corridor design as well as ways to mitigate regulatory delays.
  • Research previous transportation studies and offer recommendations to improve roadway and corridor design as well as ways to mitigate regulatory delays.

Community planner vs urban design consultant skills

Common community planner skills
  • Community Planning, 31%
  • DOD, 25%
  • Demolition, 23%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Community Development, 2%
  • GIS, 2%
Common urban design consultant skills
  • GIS, 20%
  • Urban Design, 18%
  • Sketch, 10%
  • Landscape Architecture, 10%
  • CAD, 7%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 5%

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