Aleece Smith

MUPP 2010

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Can you describe your work and how your planning degree contributes to it?

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In my most recent planning position, I worked with communities all over the country planning for active living and healthy eating. Technical skills like mapping with GIS took the spotlight, but having knowledge of planning history was helpful in understanding the fraught political barriers some communities face no matter the changes they are trying to make.

 

What do you like most about your current job or related work in planning?
 

I'm currently living abroad and it's been interesting experiencing how regional planning practices and preferences can differ so much from the North American variety.

 

What advice do you wish you had gotten as a MUPP or, conversely, what advice would you give to young planners today?

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Spend more time learning how to visualize environments, whether the data are about populations, behaviors, policy implications, etc.