MSU URP Alumnus Allan Hodges Shared Expertise on Planning Careers in the Public/Private Sector
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EmailAllan Hodges, FAICP, who graduated from MSU with an Urban Planning master's degree in 1967, gave a lecture to the School of Planning, Design and Construction.
By: SPDC Communications
Allan Hodges, FAICP, who graduated from MSU with an urban planning master’s degree in 1967, gave a lecture to the School of Planning, Design and Construction’s Urban & Regional Planning graduate and undergraduate students at the MSU Union on Feb. 11. Hodges, is the Senior Planning Manager at Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) in Boston and has been very successful in both the public and private planning sectors, and structured his talk on a comparison between the two.
Hodges started his career in the public sector, working for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, before moving into the private and public sectors in the Washington, DC area. He joined PB in Boston in 1980.
In his lecture, he compared the pros and cons of the private and public sectors of various fields, including choice of coworkers, financial reward, job satisfaction, choice of project and quality of clients, among many.
In his comparison, both sectors appeared evenly matched. While in the private sector one could have more choices of projects, clients, location and so on, planners in the public sector have the opportunity to reap the personal reward of serving a community for extended periods of time, where they can remain involved in projects over long periods of time, rather than moving on to the next one immediately.
With the economy currently being in a slump, the question of availability of funding arose, to which Hodges said that both sectors can suffer equally. While budget cuts and politics affect the public sector, the private sector is more susceptible to communities’ willingness and ability to retain private planning consultant firms.
To illustrate exactly how large a range of projects is available for planners in the private sector, Hodges talked about a few of the biggest ones he has worked on over the years. They have ranged from locations, such as Hawaii to Boston, and from environmental impact statements for the Big Dig, Boston’s underground freeway, to corridor analyses in Indiana and Illinois, to downtown revitalization projects on the East Coast.
While one might think that there would be a greater financial reward in the private sector, Hodges stated that this is not necessarily the case. Big cities very much need competent planners, and will pay accordingly.
Being familiar with Michigan, Hodges was asked what he sees in Detroit’s future. With its vibrant culture and rich history, he envisions opportunities for planners to explore new ways of working with the City, by continuing with trends like urban farming, changing urban environments to rural and increasing housing production especially near the new Woodward Ave. streetcar under design.
When asked which sector a student should enter immediately upon graduation, Hodges advised his audience to start with the private sector. There, he said, newcomers to the workforce would learn to be competitive in their field, and how to make themselves billable. Once these skills are acquired, a transition into the public sector could be much easier than the other way around.
