The Italian planner: insights from 20 years of planning education and practice in Italy

ABSTRACT In Italy, urban and regional planning education is a comparative newcomer to higher education, just as planners are among built environment professionals. Through an original collection of data, this paper investigates the outcomes of 20 years of planning education and practice, paying attention to the (mis)matches between the two and to the emerging internationalization of both. How many planning graduates are there? How are they trained? What do they do? What is their professional status? Findings confirm a situation of lights and shadows, the development of a distinctive professional identity remaining imperative to ensure future relevancy for the Italian planner.