hello everyone,

I have a masters degree in urban planning from a european university - and am looking for something/job opportunity in this field....any information on how to go about it will be appreciated....furthermore....if theres anyone who wants to mentor....kindly contact me...... please, contact me......for networking......resume....job opportunities...etc.etc... who knows i ll become a mentor myself for someone from this site/newcomer sometime in future...so any/all possible help and guidance will be appreciated. looking to hear from someone - in my field.

all the best,

Shireen

Urban planning? Is there any relation to Architecture field?

DIO

Hi! Though Urban Planning can be linked to Architecture, Present day Urban planners consist of mostly Geographers!. For urban Planning you need a degree in either Architecture, Civil Engineering or PG degree in Geography. They basically deal with the Design of cities, Control and Growth of cities, Open Space (moraine),Transportation study, Environmenntal Impact of cities at a Regional or Province level. The course which is more connected to Architecture is Urban Design which deals with the same stuff mentioned above but at a city (Urban area) Level.
IMO, All Architects can be planners (by logical thinking) but not vice versa.
TK
On a side note : I was thinking of studying planning in UOT (since there are a lot of govt. jobs in USA for this field and i assumed that it must be a good course to do in Canada and that it will have good canadian oppertunities. Study of Urban planning is not very hard to Architects since it is mostly common sense which Architects have in plenty. I happened to join a Urban Planning group in Toronto and found that it had around 10-15 South asian members and NONE of them could even find an entry level job even after searching for jobs for nearly 3 years and so i gave up the idea of studying it. A member in that group commented that to get into a position in planning you need to be a "Gora" since it was tight knit and had only limited oppertunities.

Disclaimer :Again, the last statement is not my opinion but only what i heard. Please use your common sense and logical thinking while reacting to my statement. This posting is only for your information and it may in no way represent the true urban Planning job situation in Canada

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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.

yes, in fact u r right about how you define urban planning.

well, as far as ur opinion about being a gora to get something here is concerned i would not know. i have to experience it in order to know! anyhow, still if you know someone in this field kindly help me in netwroking with this person/these people.

So what do u, urself, do?? and what did you end up studying ??? are u in any ways related to the field of architecture??? if so, that would be great...in fact my first professional degree is in architecture....
anybody out there who can assist me??????????

If you search under tamilkuravan under Charcha, you would find some excellent stuff about tamilkuravan and also about his illustrious past and his canadian experiences. He has also worked in the field of architecture in Europe. For a person like me who knows nothing about architectural field, tk's contribution has been highly educative.

Keep it up TK !

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On a lighter note I've seen this joke in many movies and has also been narrated to me in many different ways. The scene is the same but the location is either a well or a manhole in the middle of the road.

There is a person who is counting 11, 11, 11 next to a manhole and a person comes to him and asks him why are counting 11, the person tells the onlooker please look inside, while the onlooker looks inside the hole he gets pushed inside and the person who counts starts saying 12, 12, 12.....

This is a joke in a movie, but this is also the beauty of the concept of immigration to Canada. When somebody warns be careful, the other says may be it is you who was it fault, I think I can correct your mistake(s) and do better. The next person comes in falls into the hole, and he starts warning to the next person. This continues until the hole is full, or the people inside start pushing outside.

Let me ask you a question, why is that the Canadian immigration is simple, while US immigration is so tough(with so many barriers)?, Please ponder on this before leaping. There is the concept of labour certification where the employer has to prove to the labour board that by hiring you they are not denying a Citizen of his rightful earnings. Today many of well paying/ well set jobs are in threat because with influx of immigrants the supply side is in excess and they are willing to compromise on the situation. Another thing which is happening in Canada is organizations are moving towards more of temporary labor agencies or put people under short term contract. This way they do not need to pay for Medical. While the government has removed Eye exams, and cutting down on many medical benefits. You do need to pay for dentals if you do not have dentals. In the earlier times EI was for an year or more. Now it has been reduced to 8 months at 55-60% of your last salary. A simple set of braces for your children would cost $1000+.

The issue is job creation. Not profit creation for businessess by availability of cheap labour. If governments are not able to get businessess to invest they are failing. Look at GM's and Fords long term plans. While they are closing down here they are moving them away to India. Should not we congratulate our Indian Ministers and Local ministers who directly or indirectly taken those jobs there.

Can we think of any new major industrial investment in Ontario ?The strength of Canada is Oil, Paper due to lumber, Beef, Minerals and plastic processing. Other than it is a cheap labor backyard for USA for Warehousing. Do you know Birla group owns a paper mill here? Do you know how many mines are closing down?

The future of IT is in Asia(period). Good quality technical personnel are breeding there. Let Canada make a list of its strengths and focus on it.

I've a theory that as a new immigrant we tend of Liberal/Democrat/Congress and once we are set we become more Conservative/Republican/Communist once we find our jobs are under threat from cheaper alternatives.

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Speech by Thomas Friedman of The New York Times....

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our
vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, 'think of the
starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my
children: 'Finish your maths homework. Think of the children in India
who would make you starve, if you don't.'"

Desinumber4,
Are you my classmates sister sheerin from NZ?
I can connect you to the Planners of Toronto group. Unfortunately None of its members are employed in Planning except one girl from IIT Kharagpur who is working in the Planning (Housing) dept. of Toronto Municipality. Check your PM or e-mail to me for further details.
I am an Architect working as a draftsman in this great country. I work in a housing design company making working drg. for houses in Toronto.
TK

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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.

hello again people,

Anyone need freelance CAD work to be done - I can do CAD drafting for civil and architectural works - or if anyone knows anyone who needs - plz. contact me.