## [Discover your destination](/discover-your-destination) ### You're probably a Planner! Do you: - Engage in community work? - Want to make a difference about climate change? - Care about social justice? - Seek true Indigenous reconciliation? - Build, help, or work with communities? - Want to prepare for future disasters? - Secure good housing, or make housing secure for everyone? These are all Planning or guided by Planning. And if you’ve ever worked with people on any of these issues, in a way you’re already a Planner. UBC SCARP is a pathway to be a recognised expert in problem-solving and partnerships. Image ![Young people on a bus, overlayed with a compass symbol](/sites/default/files/styles/original_image/public/2025-09/1-discover-your-destination-banner.png.webp?itok=iVhqV6lw) ### Let's start with the 2 big questions: - Just what IS Planning? - Planning sounds great, but why is UBC SCARP special? ##### Just what IS Planning? ###### "It is the way of Planners that we believe a better world can always be created." -Heather Campbell, Director, UBC SCARP ###### "Nothing's getting built without Planners." -Emilie Adin, former president, Planning Institute of BC Planners are agents of positive change in the world. We leverage everyone’s expertise together to solve the world’s biggest challenges. What does that look like? We: - Protect and improve cities and communities - Listen to and believe diverse peoples about what they need to thrive - Bring knowledge from all over the sciences and humanities about how to solve today's biggest challenges - Partner with people affected by injustice to transform tomorrow and leave no one behind We tackle some of the biggest challenges facing us today, including: - Climate change's effects on regions and communities - The housing crisis - Inequality and injustice - Repairing Indigenous injustice and relationships - Helping communities prevent or persevere through disasters There are many, many ways to be a Planner out in the world, whether you: - Design communities in a Studio - Engage the public or corporate partners in decision-making - Analyse data in an office - So, so much more ##### Planning sounds great, but why is UBC SCARP special? Our most crucial lens on Planning is about partnerships, and one of our most crucial partnerships at UBC SCARP are with the Musqueam people, who have lived, worked on, and played on the land we occupy since time immemorial, learning from one another and even creating SCARP curriculum together. Planners, at their best, build and protect communities, and make sure no one is left behind. SCARP goes further: we’re teaching a new generation of Planners to break with the colonial legacy, whether by working in respectful partnership with Indigenous communities in alignment with their values and priorities, or by putting our knowledge into action and Planning in partnership wherever we go. ##### What else? Why SCARP? SCARP student Nancy Hofer on why she chose UBC SCARP##### More words from our students: ![Paul, by lake in city](/sites/default/files/styles/square_200/public/2022-10/paul_akaabre.jpg.webp?itok=ICOIvU4T) ### [Paul Boniface Akaabre](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dvXACn8AAAAJ&hl=en) "\[UBC is\] one of the world's renowned educational institutions... and the most international university in North America- where you can learn and network with scholars from diverse backgrounds across the globe." [Full interview](https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/boniface-akaabre-paul) ![Khadija Anjum](/sites/default/files/styles/square_200/public/2022-09/khadija_anjum.jpg.webp?itok=VTvlQO5R) ### [Khadija Anjum](https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/anjum-khadija) "The SCARP faculty's broad research expertise and wide geographical focus, extending to South Asia, was a key influence in my decision to apply here given my keen interest in planning and development in countries of the Global South... The wide diversity of Schools and Departments \[at UBC\] is highly attractive for a student of community and regional planning like myself, since planning is essentially a multi-disciplinary field benefiting greatly from specialized knowledge in other disciplines." [Full interview](https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/anjum-khadija) ![Picture of Meryem Belkadi](/sites/default/files/styles/square_200/public/belkadi_meryem-1.jpg.webp?itok=nyfJ_6ud) ### Meryem Belkadi "The ethics and values that SCARP holds and has held in the past align with mine in terms of social justice, poverty alleviation, and equity advocacy. Professors at SCARP are known throughout the world for their work on urban development, international development, and advocacy for better and more equitable cities. Also, as a North African Muslim woman, I was convinced that I would thrive in a department as diverse and inclusive as SCARP." [Full interview](https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/belkadi-meryem) ![Louisa in white blazer](/sites/default/files/styles/square_200/public/2022-10/louisa-may_khoo.jpg.webp?itok=SbvrBq7n) ### Louisa-May Khoo "I am so grateful to be rooted at SCARP, highly regarded as a giant among North American planning schools for its social and community planning focus. I have benefitted much from SCARP’s forward-looking lens, its embrace of stakeholder partnerships across different sectors and its relentless pursuit for social change, justice and inclusivity – inspiring me to likewise be a warrior in these causes." [Full interview](https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/khoo-louisa-may) [< Previous: A roadmap for future SCARP students](/roadmap-for-future-SCARP-students "A roadmap for future community leaders and civic innovators") [Next: Your many route options >](/your-many-route-options "Your many route options")