Introduction

Hello World! I am “Your Friendly Neighborhood Planner” and welcome to www.urbanplanninglife.com. If you do not know who I am, no worries as I will provide you with a bit of information about myself and I hope you stick around long enough so we can become friends. Well enough rambling. As I stated above many know me as the “Friendly Neighborhood Planner” on instagram which is where my journey to creating this website began.  

Why did I Create This Website

Oddly enough I never thought of creating a website. It all came about from me going through some difficult times during my life and my outlet has always been education. My mother has always said, “If you could be a lifetime student I know you would”, and you know what, my mother was right! I have always been the nerdy/geek of the family as I always went left when everyone else went right and I always excelled in school. But, the only thing my mom didn’t quite understand was that although I graduated college with a Bachelors in Urban Planning (CSUN Matadors forever!), I am and will forever be a life-long student as long as I encounter new people, places and things (I couldn’t resist the Placemaking motto its the nerd in me). 

However, this time around I want to be “The Student” and “The Teacher”. As I mentioned when I started my Instagram page I was going through some pretty depressing things in my life and I needed a positive outlet and that outlet was me challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone, realize my greatness, and understanding that I had a purpose and a dream before getting into corporate America. You ask what that dream was? That dream was to share the knowledge I have ascertained throughout the years with others despite my usually shy disposition. 

Things to Remember 

But, as I said earlier,I still consider myself to be a student so please never feel as if you cannot correct me, share something you know with me, or give me constructive criticism because I do not know it all.  It is my goal that this website be warm and inviting with a tint of humor. It is my goal to teach you something. It is my goal to continue to learn from you. It is my goal to provide a space that all different types of planners can see as their safe space. It is my goal to bring more awareness to our multifaceted and highly misunderstood profession. And lastly, it is my goal that you eventually take on my Urban Planning Life Motto:

 “Planners need to be the bloom to attract people who will then pollinate others with love, peace and knowledge”

Cheers to learning, cheers to helping each other, cheers to uplifting one another, and cheers to the Urban Planning Life!

If you would like to know more about how and why I became a planner check out My Story. Lastly, if you have comments, questions, and/or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the Friendly Neighborhood Planner.