Resource and Environmental Planning

What is Planning?

Resource and environmental planning is a multidimensional profession which deals with both the natural and human dimensions of the world around us. Planning is a creative, inter-disciplinary process, focused on people and the places where they live, work and play. It has an important spatial focus.

Planners ask questions like:

What can we do to conserve biodiversity and our natural heritage?
What can be done to improve the prosperity of our businesses and economy?
How can we secure a better future for the poor and future generations?

What do Planners do?

Reconciling conflicting interests and finding common ground lies at the heart of planning. Planners help people create innovative options and implement agreed upon solutions, translating knowledge into collective action.

Planners design for the future, seeking to improve human prospects in the face of rapid economic, environmental, political and technological changes. The global reach, inter-connectedness, complexity and increasing pace of these changes challenge governments, business and civil society. Planners confront the most critical challenges of the 21st century, helping to make sense of this changing world, and design solutions that are innovative, feasible, just, democratic and sustainable.

Planners design cities and urban areas that are innovative and exciting, full of character and aesthetic appeal, with efficient transport systems, and neighbourhoods that are safe and affordable. They also design productive rural areas that have vibrant communities; and natural areas that conserve indigenous flora and fauna, providing opportunities for recreation, contemplation and solitude.

What is the Planning Programme like?

The Planning Programme at Massey has nine academic staff members who are enthusiastic, committed to teaching excellence, and have a high awareness of current planning issues. We offer over 20 papers that reflect the wealth of expertise and professional experience our staff bring to this Programme.

The Bachelor of Resource and Environmental Planning (BRP) is our most popular qualification and one that is renowned for providing an excellent, practically based planning education. Our graduates are thoroughly prepared for professional practice with a solid education in generalist planning accompanied by a specialisation in a planning-related discipline.

The Bachelor of Resource and Environmental Planning meets the accreditation requirements of the New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI), the professional body for planners that is recognized by planning institutes overseas.

Our Programme works in partnership with the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programme.

Where will Planning take me?

Planning students enjoy a dynamic, challenging, and fun learning environment. They develop:

critical thinking skills
the ability to make sense of and solve complex, real-world problems
a strong foundation for professional practice

Planning is an excellent career choice. It is a multi-dimensional profession, concerned about the diversity, productivity and vitality of our economy, communities and natural systems.

Our graduates find jobs quickly and, on average, earn over $40,000 in their first year of employment. They enjoy a wide choice of exciting career opportunities working within New Zealand or overseas for:

private consulting firms
local, regional or central government
corporations
research institutions
voluntary, special interest and grassroots organisations

They take on a variety of roles, including:

policy analysts
resource consent officers
managers
environmental consultants
urban planners

Interested in finding out more about a qualification in Planning?

Students interested in knowing more about Planning as a degree should consult

The Source (279 KB) . The purpose of The Source is to provide new and prospective students with information about the planning programme, its procedures, and the type of course work students will encounter during their degree. You will also find useful information to help you cope well at University.

One of the distinctive features of the Planning degree is that it combines a generalist planning education with a second specialisation in a planning-related discipline (such as Geography, GIS, Development Studies, or Sociology). This enables students to develop multi-disciplinary skills in their areas of interest. Staff within the School will help you put together a coherent second specialisation and overall study programme but first you should consult the Planning Your BRP (461 KB) information booklet. From this information booklet you will be able to formulate your own preferences and plan your BRP program of study.

The papers offered by the planning programme are shown graphically in the flow diagram below.If you wish to print this diagram or wish to a see larger version then open this 2009 Planning Papers

More detailed descriptions and requirements for each paper can be found at the Paper Offerings.

If you have a more specific request or require more detailed information then please contact the Programme Coordinator