For the love of regional planning

My name is Aune, a student at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) studying urban and regional planning (honours).

Having finished my grade 12 with fairly good points, you would think I would have my mind made up about what to study, but it was quite the contrary. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be studying what I am right now, but here we are. I was slowly running out of options, and admission spaces were quickly getting filled. I was then left with the choice of moving from my hometown for geology, doing planning, or choosing to suffer in engineering. A choice was made.

Studying planning was not a joyride. Firstly, I had to get myself to like the course while taking it, as if the pressure was not already getting to me. I am very familiar with numerous deadlines in a short time span, which causes me to have sleepless nights.

Frankly, the workload is not spaced out properly, and I had to constantly check my mental and physical health, but I eventually pulled through all these trying times.

What really helps in these times is having genuine and supportive friends. It was also very helpful that we have helpful and understanding lecturers who are always willing to compromise.

Town planners are considered a jack-of-all-trades, which is one of the reasons I most appreciate the course. It is not just about deciding "what to put where in an urban setting," but also all the aspects that influence these sorts of decisions, which basically shape people’s surroundings and consequentially their lives.

I would advise anyone who wishes to pursue the course to go for it. Like me, you will be enlightened on so many issues affecting urban populations and how to solve them. If you have an eye for design, if you have an eye for sustainability, if you have an eye for policies that shape cities, this is where you belong. Come and enlighten yourself, tog.