Road enthusiasts - working in your hobby

[roadfro]

I ask because I'm seriously considering going to graduate school in the near future for urban planning (most likely starting in 2012.) It's funny, I never considered that I could have a career related to roads at all until I took a history course my junior year of undergrad called "Rise of the American City," and the major point of the course is that transportation completely affected how American Cities were built. At this point, it dawned on me that I was possibly in the wrong major and that my hobby of reading/collecting maps, reading about and driving on roads could be turned into something...useful.

I'm leaning towards urban planning because part of the main reason I love learning about roads and experiencing them is because I love the history behind them - why they were (or weren't) put there, who they served (or didn't) - the social side to them. The people affected. I'm reading a book right now about the history of segregation in real estate in Baltimore, and it's so fascinating because it goes hand-in-hand with how transportation was developed. I can completely see myself doing something with transportation planning and community development for these (and 10,000 other) reasons.

Anyway, I could ramble all day...I want to hear about your careers and education and experiences. Even if your professional backstory isn't directly related to roads, tell us anyway.

Interesting. I just finished a course on Urban Geography. While the focus wasn't primarily on transportation, a portion of the course dealt with urbanization and how enhancements to transportation technology (streetcars, cars, etc.) was a major factor in how today's urban cities have developed.

Don't think that urban planning is just about roads, though. You will probably end up finding that urban planning will have more to do with land uses and development than the roads that are around such projects. Sure, there will be some overlap with the traffic side, but that isn't always the primary focus in urban planning.

If you live in/near a city that has a government access channel, try watching some of the city/county planning commission meetings that are broadcast. You could also try attending a meeting in person if that's available to you. Such proceedings will give a small taste of what the planning field is about, as well as some of the politics involved.