Traffic congestion, affordable housing, water quality, coastal flooding, earthquake risks and the economic health of our regions all have one thing in common – the need for environmental planners to figure out the best way forward.
The trouble is…we don't have enough of them.
Waikato University Environmental Planning Professor Iain White says every problem affecting New Zealand is essentially a planning problem: "How do we free up land for houses and make sure they're the right kind of houses? How do we encourage sustainable transport? What can we do to mitigate climate change or manage water resources? Even obesity has a planning dimension in the sense that we can design communities to encourage people to walk and exercise more."
Environmental planners are in hot demand here and overseas. Everyone from local government to private consultants and environmental groups needs their expertise to tackle the major infrastructure and development projects on the horizon.
"It's about shaping the future of New Zealand and creating the kind of country we want to live in," White says.
"As our population grows, we'll have to make some hard choices about how we balance our natural environment with providing homes and communities for people.
"Issues such as natural hazards and the economic regeneration of our regions are huge, complex systems and we need environmental planning expertise to read and interpret those situations and help make decisions on behalf of society."
White says a Bachelor of Environmental Planning (BEP) is accredited by the New Zealand Planning Institute and is recognised around the world. Students can choose to work abroad as professional planners or stay to help solve some of New Zealand's most pressing problems.
Waikato University's four-year course provides the core skills to operate as a professional planner but also has three specialist streams (science, policy, and Te Ara Taiao: Māori) so students can follow their passion.
One big future issue is the changing shape of our central cities, says White: "With the rise of online shopping, we are witnessing the gradual decline in traditional city centres which were focused on retail.
"The question is: what will make them a successful place to be in the 21st century? We need to look at things like providing more hospitality, entertainment, green spaces and a mix of housing that enhances quality of life.
"We must join up the various dots and look at how we want people to live, work, travel and spend money to create the type of place we want to live in future. Otherwise we'll end up with what we have now – lots of suburbs, people stuck on motorways and CBDs that are empty from 7pm onwards."
Another looming challenge is the need to relocate homes and communities away from the coastline and rising sea levels. A Local Government New Zealand report estimates 125,000 buildings are at risk of flooding if sea levels rise above 1m.
"We need a plan on how we transition the most vulnerable of these communities away from the coast. How do we make decisions that are fair on the people who already live there? This will be a major planning issue for the next 50 years."
Other natural hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions also need to be accounted for in future housing and infrastructure decisions. An inter-disciplinary approach is vital to ensure the best science, engineering, public policy and planning comes together when deciding where homes should be built.
"For example, our students study planning law because you have to understand how rules and regulations can be used to shape outcomes," says White. "You also need to interpret the science so you understand the impacts on the natural environment, and understand politics and policy to decide what can you do and how can you do it."
While crystal ball gazing may seem like an impossible task, White is particularly fond of the saying 'the future's already here, it's just not evenly distributed'.
"One of the skills of environmental planning is trying to transition to a better future, so we need to read the early signs and act at the right time. Tourism has now overtaken agriculture as our number one industry and that's something that will probably continue. So issues around protecting our environment, water quality and hospitality offerings will be important."
The environmental planning cohort at Waikato University is relatively small (20-30 students per year on average) and White hopes more secondary school students will consider it as a future career option.
"Environmental planning is about what kind of future we want and how we're going to get there. It's a career for people who want to make a significant difference in our communities and it's a job where demand is only going to get higher."
