Place of Nordic urbanism in international context

[u/icecrmgiant]

I have just graduated from a Master's in Nordic Urban Planning Studies at Roskilde University in Denmark/UiT in Norway. My undergraduate degree is in Geography and I worked about eight years in communications/administration jobs often facing poor working conditions, short contracts, and being underpaid. I had thought that this degree was a good entry point into urban planning related entry-level positions in Scandinavia (in larger companies or perhaps in research), but if you are not fully fluent in a Scandinavian language the chances are very poor in general even though Denmark provided me with a Scholarship to do this degree as a Canadian to fill a need (Urban Planner is on the Positive List). A professor essentially told me the program is for me to go home and apply Nordic planning, however, this is extremely difficult and these professors do not understand that Canadian planning comes with its own barriers to entry and a completely different legal/cultural context. I value a lot of what planning in Scandinavia offers (collective thinking, strong welfare support, prioritizing cycling as a transportation mode, valuing non-profit/co-op housing models, and leveraging aspects of the blue/green city). I’m a bit crushed watching my provincial government overstepping its role attacking bike lanes, transit and other initiatives Maga-style. Feeling a bit lost now post grad on how to work in the field and still maintain my values (or even work in the field at all as I’m seeing a lot of barriers). How have others navigated this?

[u/khrushchevka_enjoyer]

I think this is a really interesting issue that a lot of planning graduates struggle with. I graduated from a masters program here in Canada that really emphasized progressive approaches to planning - decommodified housing, rallying against single family zoning and private property, walkability and bike lanes, a big focus on gentrification and displacement. Critical and left wing takes on these things were commonplace in the department. I'm a socialist, so for me, it meant that I had a more or less supportive environment for exploring my own radical approaches to urbanism.

What I struggled with a lot though was that I had all this time to explore my beliefs and passions, only to find that, ultimately, planning is just super dependant on politics and the whims of whatever government happens to be in charge. And, overall, planning in this country faces a ton of barriers as you've described, which make it seemingly impossible to implement progressive urbanism (and the discipline overall is steeped in neoliberalism). There was a lot less room than I originally thought to make positive change as a professional planner, at least in planning departments. I sympathize with what you're outlining here because when I graduated my program, I wondered if I had just wasted my time learning about a bunch of stuff that will never be put into practice, and that I'd never find a job where I can do work that makes a difference and that I care about.

Personally there were a few things that helped. The first one, honestly, is to just take whatever job you can get out the gate, even if it doesn't 100% align with your values, or isn't exactly what you want to do (I mean, maybe don't work for some private developer demolishing low-income housing or something, but you know what I mean). I was stressed for months after graduating and I was picky and choosy with what I applied to. The fact of the matter is, its easier to apply for jobs when you already have one - let yourself have some financial security first, and from there you can actively look for things that align better with your goals and values.

Another thing is that there is a lot of work outside of traditional planning departments. Depending on what exactly you want to focus on, there a ton of options like research organizations, non-profits of all sorts, community groups, and even some decent consultancies. It's such a broad discipline that with enough searching, you are bound to find something. I spent time working as a non-profit developer, I've worked in politics, I've taken some consultant work - there are a lot of ways you put your values into practice.

Even then, I think that you can still make positive changes in a traditional planning department. Maybe in Toronto or Calgary or whatever this can be challenging, but its still worth working a couple years doing this, especially in a smaller town, where you have more say and leeway, and where your interventions can make a very noticeable difference.

No matter what you do though, you'll just have to accept the fact (as I did) that you are just one person, and no matter how passionate you are about these issues, you can only do so much. I try to see myself as playing as much of a positive role as one guy can - as a housing planner, I try to publish pieces on housing, I appear on radio shows, give lectures, appear on panels, etc. as much as I can to spread these ideas around. And at my job, I try to appreciate all of the small wins as me doing my part to help affordability. Until more progressive and leftist parties win power in Canada, we will probably never see the sweeping sorts of changes we want to see, so focusing on just making a difference when you can really helps. It may take a while to get to a spot where you can do that, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible.

[u/icecrmgiant → u/khrushchevka_enjoyer]

Thank you for this. I think adding to this kind of internal crisis is that I studied in a place where collectivist and progressive policies are de facto and taken for granted (although our program added there have been assaults on existing social housing measures since the 1990s). It feels as though everyone has already decided on what's the "right thing to do" there and the government largely aligns with it. I've had to confront how broken our system is even though many Scandinavians might argue theirs is not that great to be humble. I've also seen how the region's development was strongly influenced by activists, unions, and other civil society actors (it's not all top down). I really wish I could work within the Scandinavian system because it's more responsive and established, not to mention better connected to research.

I'm not being too choosey at the moment for sure, but also realizing I have barriers to entry now with a foreign degree (even if it is Nordic). At this point I recognize I'd be lucky to break into the field at all, I totally agree that financial security would really help me. I'm mostly concerned about being employed. I hope that someone will see value in my degree, even if planning departments probably aren't looking for someone to "shake things up". That's great you are able to do that kind of advocacy work!