| 요약2 |
In Korea, most professional planners have trained as a technician maintaining a long tradition of architecture and civil engineering. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the diverse roles of urban planners, responding to current changes in planning environment. Focus groups are used to brain-storm ideas that would improve the quality of professional planning practice. The first section describes the five typical roles played by planners, along with their shared values: i.e. technician, administrator, advisor, advocate, and communicator. The second and third sections present, respectively, external mega-trends and internal shifts that have real impacts on planning process. The last section highlights the working relationship between government officials and technical planners in engineering companies. Practitioners assert that there is an enormous mismatch between theory and practice; little attention is paid to public interest, knowledge, and participation in planning. They are struggling to overcome the bloated bureaucracy and ensuing repetitive procedural chores. However, the recent appearance of planning officials, still in their infancy, are hopefully expected to play technocrat roles. In conclusion, the newly emerging roles of practicing planner will be threefold: facilitator, coordinator, and mediator who master the skills of inter-personal communication and negotiation. |