What are the best ways to lead an urban planning team?

Context is important. Are you leading a team within a government agency or are you leading a team from the private sector that needs to work on a project defined by some public sector authority? There will be undoubtedly a need to provide a clear vision on the end state..and one that meets the needs of the agency or the community or that the plan serves. An alignment of shared goals is crucial. But in a VUCA world, it is important to seek a greater understanding on the possible shifts that could have underpinned the project in the first place. In a context that could evolve rapidly, I think it is becoming important to prep our teams to accept and adapt to inevitable change as a key ingredient to how teams and projects can "succeed".

In my experience, an impactul team is truly multidisciplinary - bringing experience and domain expertise from a multitude of backgrounds: regulatory, environmental, technical, entrepreneurial, health, artistic. After all, cities are complex and defined by a multitude of human factors - expanding the range of perspectives and skills is key to address that complexity. No tool can replace experience and intuition, only amplify it.

What makes difference is seeing the complete picture or let’s say the vision. As long as the purpose and goals are related to the vision (the vision can be on the national, sub-national or local level) and the vision is clear to all team members, leading the team will be more efficient and results will be more effective.

Working with and facilitating the project team and stakeholders to set the vision and goals helps the approach to be more holistic and inclusive. The process of putting together and telling the story of the project or program - how it came to be, evolved, altered, expanded coupled with trends, aspirations and expectations helps the team understands the meaning and depth of the vision and goals set.

The team also needs to make sure thay regular brainstorming sessions and creative discussions are held to share knowledge and develop holistic plans. More often than not teams only discuss the targets and progress leaving a lot of scope for holistic plannning The aspects most often overlooked or underestimated need to be considered in developing the team and the vision for future 1. Incorporation of community opinion and sensitivities, especially the marginalized 2. Integration across sectors 3. Climate sensitivities and vulnerabilities 4. Spatial interpretation using tools like GIS

Definitely agree with this. Cultivating an environment of collaboration and teamwork is crucial for team success. Clear goals and expectations must also be established, with consistent and constructive communication to foster open dialogue and progress.

I agree with the author's assessment of fostering a collaborative culture. I would only add that a well defined business philosophy should be defined to determine workflow needs and to establish the intellectual bandwidth of the collaborators. People who define and execute the business philosophy, work flow infrastructure, operations and accomplish the mission.

Collaborative culture, effective communication, and efficient coordination represent the most important skills - among others- of the team leader, as the team of urban planning project consists of so many sub- teams ; socioeconomic team, infrastructure team, utilities and social services team, land uses team, environmental team, architecture and landscape team , etc. It's not just limited small team as other projects in construction industry .

Patrick Geddes promoted "conservative surgery" instead of broad-stroke demolitions. Collaborate closely with architects, urban designers, and engineers to form a more holistic planning approach.

Planners need to sharpen their communication skills to be able to work alongside engineers or real estate developers. Because for example, it is not easy to convince developers to invest in inclusive spaces, since they are naturally aim to make a much return on their properties. For engineers, first priority is a safety of space users, therefore it is crucial to find a design outcome based on modern and at the same time secure solutions.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Ed Glaeser's "Triumph of the City" underscores the need for data in urban planning. Use GIS mapping, traffic models, and demographic data to guide your decisions. Flexibility: Daniel Burnham's famous quote, "Make no little plans," also carries the subtext that grand plans need the ability to adapt. Be prepared to alter strategies as conditions change.

Changes that are imposed on the project are an inevitable part of every urban planning project. As an urban project deals with long-term approaches for a city, there are many external risks that can have a direct impact on a project. I highly believe that a leader should consider any possible change, vulnerability, and risk in any step of a project, and adaptability and resilience can be two main factors that can be raised in a team.

As long as urban planning projects deal with long term development of a town or part of a town, Adaptability must be considered as a key word here, by planning we deal with the a community needs and expectations which are changing and developing year after year, and at the same time the outcomes of any urban planning project are bound by the rules and regulations which are also subject to change , so the team must invest a lot in flexibility to accept changes and to deal with it positively.

Good urban planners are forward-thinking. For example, they need to predict population fluctuations or possible damages caused by natural disasters. Compared to our parents' generation, we live in a dramatically fast-changing world, and being able to respond to it is a must-have skill to have today.

One concept I’ve found useful is context in questions asked (for input or data), to ensure bias are identified. Example: during walkability reports a question pertaining to “feeling safe” can be subjective (ie adequate lighting, sidewalk or bike lanes vs low lighting, long term resident, and knowing your neighbors); to an observer one may appear less safe or not ideal but a collective picture needs to be taken. Similarly, when discussing community/neighborhood needs (business, designs, transit, etc), depending on the audience and time of day/week, your pool of data may be skewed by those who are to attend, form the loudest groups, or have financial backing for approval /disprove; affecting grocery store types, transit stops & development.

I suppose that any member of the team has a career path plan, then every member of the team must has a fair evaluation during and after completion of the project and as a result , decision of promotions, rewards, coaching, filling gaps, developing skills must be taken

Leader has to be confident in his/her competencies in a variety of fields, including public policy, economic analysis, design etc. Trustful professionals need to mentor staff at all levels of the project, as it is an important activity for every professional who aims to establish an effective design team.

Many team members experience burnout after a while. long and exhausting working hours with many changes that happen in a project, while constantly receiving feedback and comments are some of the reasons that team members have complained about in my own projects. So the team leader can celebrate and reward the achievements and have mentoring sessions from time to time. On the other hand, I think it is essential to have meetings and get feedbacks from the team members, hearing their challenges, needs and concerns.

Two-ways evaluation concept is the best, honest and transperent way to get the maximum benefit from the project. Team leader must encourage stakeholders evaluation as well as team's members , all of them should give their assessment, whether targets were met or not. I think this is a democratic way to get a comprehensive and meaningful evaluation and accordingly clear and effective lessons learned

Meeting the deadline and the quality of the final outcome are two important metrics for the team's evaluation. Get feedback from a client to check on the team's performance. If there are any problems with teamwork, it is also important to consider non-workplace-related factors, such as mental health or family-related issues.

I highly agree with the author and think evaluation and reflection after delivering each step can maximize the efficiency. this evaluation and reflection can be from different perspectives, sharing ideas with the stakeholders and regulators with the team members and different disciplines of the project. A major dissatisfaction that I see in my own projects is from team members who complain about not getting stakeholdres ideas, or just reciveing the negative and weak points not the positive feedbacks.

In addition to celebrating and appreciating team efforts and stakeholders collaboration, it's essential to hold some workshops and seminars for the representatives of end users and community members to explain and discuss the outcomes, as their understanding and satisfaction pave the way for smooth and successful implementation .....

Financial Prudence: Robert Moses, although a controversial figure, highlighted the importance of financial viability in large-scale projects. Balancing budgets while aiming for long-term sustainability is crucial.

Overall, the leader maintains a trusted team of independently working professionals, let them shine n develop their products based on the vision and objectives. Just give clear guidance and let each in the team shine in their way, but be prepared to fill the gap. Afterall, each team member style n products are unique but vision and objectives are shared by the close knit team.