AI exposure: Urban and Regional Planners
Develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
Reading this score
computed45.3% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Urban and Regional Planners at the 82th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 3.0 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 25 tasks it averages 1.96 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Keep informed about economic or legal issues involved in zoning codes, building codes, or..., at 80.0%. The least is Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for..., at 6.7%. A gap of 73.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 10 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 25 tasks, 23 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 2 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
25 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep informed about economic or legal issues involved in zoning codes, building codes, or environmental regulations. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.16 | exposed |
| Investigate property availability for purposes of development. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.32 | exposed |
| Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.56 | exposed |
| Prepare reports, using statistics, charts, and graphs, to illustrate planning studies in areas such as population, land use, or zoning. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | – | exposed |
| Research, compile, analyze and organize information from maps, reports, investigations, and books for use in reports and special projects. | 61.3% | 26.2% | 12.5% | – | exposed |
| Develop plans for public or alternative transportation systems for urban or regional locations to reduce carbon output associated with transportation. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.83 | exposed |
| Identify opportunities or develop plans for sustainability projects or programs to improve energy efficiency, minimize pollution or waste, or restore natural systems. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Prepare, develop and maintain maps and databases. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | – | exposed |
| Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.60 | exposed |
| Recommend approval, denial, or conditional approval of proposals. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.32 | exposed |
| Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.29 | exposed |
| Evaluate proposals for infrastructure projects or other development for environmental impact or sustainability. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.28 | exposed |
| Assess the feasibility of land use proposals and identify necessary changes. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.08 | exposed |
| Review and evaluate environmental impact reports pertaining to private or public planning projects or programs. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.88 | exposed |
| Advocate sustainability to community groups, government agencies, the general public, or special interest groups. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.56 | exposed |
| Prepare, maintain and update files and records, including land use data and statistics. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | – | exposed |
| Respond to public inquiries and complaints. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | – | exposed |
| Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.68 | exposed |
| Hold public meetings with government officials, social scientists, lawyers, developers, the public, or special interest groups to formulate, develop, or address issues regarding land use or community plans. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.56 | exposed |
| Discuss with planning officials the purpose of land use projects, such as transportation, conservation, residential, commercial, industrial, or community use. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.24 | exposed |
| Determine the effects of regulatory limitations on land use projects. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.92 | exposed |
| Coordinate work with economic consultants or architects during the formulation of plans or the design of large pieces of infrastructure. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.71 | exposed |
| Conduct interviews, surveys and site inspections concerning factors that affect land usage, such as zoning, traffic flow and housing. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | – | exposed |
| Supervise or coordinate the work of urban planning technicians or technologists. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.83 | untouched |
| Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for programs or projects. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 6 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.98 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.34 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.74 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.20 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.96 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.74 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.