All about the profession of urbanist-ecologist
In the general sense, ecologists are specialists whose professional activities are aimed at analyzing the state of flora and fauna, as well as finding ways to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment. An urbanist-ecologist is a narrower specialization that requires certain knowledge, skills and abilities from a person.
Peculiarities
The description of the profession of an urbanist-ecologist is as follows: he is a highly qualified specialist whose activities are related to the design of new cities based on ecological biotechnologies.
The specialty implies work in the field of construction, energy and environmental pollution control. The profession became in demand all over the world several years ago. The so-called "green cities" are actively being built and developed in many countries of Europe, Asia and the United States.
In Russia, the need for specialists of this level is not very high at the moment.
But if we take into account the high level of environmental pollution (especially in large cities), then the demand for urban environmentalists will increase in the next few years.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of an urbanist are not too different from those of an ordinary ecologist. The professional duties of an urbanist-ecologist include the following:
- arrangement of space, taking into account the characteristics and aspects of the life of people and the city;
- identification of problems and needs of residents in terms of the environment, the ability to solve them;
- make the correct placement of areas such as pedestrian areas, parks, bike paths;
- minimize waste sites and everything that negatively affects the environment.
The main difference from ordinary designers and architects is that urbanists are improving the urban environment that was created earlier. However, they always focus on the environment.
The activities of the urbanist-ecologist in the workplace can be conditionally divided into several stages.
- Auditing. At this stage, the specialist studies the problems of a particular city, interviews local residents. Also, there is an acquaintance with the features of the development of the territory.
- General assessment and possible risks. This stage involves processing all the information received. A forecast of possible conflicts is made. From the outside, specialists who know the city can be involved.
- Strategic alignments. At this stage, the urbanist, together with a team of other specialists, presents the developed project to the local residents. Getting feedback from people is made. If necessary, some adjustments are made to the plan.
- Roadmap creation. At this stage, the project is presented not only to citizens, but also to local authorities and investors. All the nuances, including legal ones, are being negotiated.
- PR stage. Now the project is being widely publicized, mostly for the media. This allows you to make it recognizable and attract more investors.
The duties of an urban ecologist include a lot of diverse tasks, so his working day is often irregular.
Education
Urbanism is a relatively new science that combines components from many other disciplines. There is no specific specialty in Russia. But if a person wants to become an urban ecologist, he will have to deeply study the following subjects:
- sociology;
- geography;
- ecology;
- cultural studies.
The closest are such specialties as "Architecture", "Urban Planning", "Management of Urban Territorial Development". There are many universities in Russia where you can get an appropriate education. The most popular are:
- VyatSU in Kirov;
- IRNITU in Irkutsk;
- DSTU in Rostov-on-Don;
- NGUADI in Novosibirsk;
- SPbGASU in St. Petersburg;
- NRU MGSU in Moscow.
For admission, you will need to pass (the USE results are suitable) the following subjects: Russian language, mathematics, geography, social studies, drawing, and in some cases also academic drawing. You will have to study for at least 5 years.
Place of work
If a person really wants to take place in this profession, then experts recommend starting a career in a government institution. In this case, you can understand the specifics in more detail, get acquainted with the principle of operation of other related organizations, and gain initial experience. But this is not the key to success, therefore you can start your career in a private company. An architectural bureau or a city-planning university is a good place to start.
As you gain experience, you will be able to connect to larger projects. In a few years, when all the points have been studied, you can create your own business - open your own company, working in which you can create a good team and receive high-paying orders.
Since the profession of an urban ecologist is one of the non-standard ones, then wages can be very diverse... This indicator depends not only on the experience of the employee, but also on the status of the company in which he works. But if we talk about average indicators, then the salary of an urbanist is about 50-60 thousand rubles a month.
Urban ecologist - this profession is suitable for tactful people who know how to defend their point of view. You need to have stress resistance, communication skills, systemic thinking, the ability to listen to and accept someone else's opinion.
See below for the profession of urbanist-ecologist.