Economic Geospatial Analyst/Planner

Are you a total data geek? Do you enjoy creating visuals to simply explain complex concepts?

Urban3 is looking for a planner/GIS analyst with 3+ years experience (a combination of university, internship, and/or professional work is acceptable) to join our Asheville office. Our ideal candidate has experience working on strategic design projects, as well as an ability to communicate clearly through visual language (tables, diagrams, models, and maps).

Candidates will have at least a bachelor’s degree in economics, planning, data visualization, GIS, geography, urban design, architecture, or landscape architecture. Expert proficiency with GIS, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Excel is required. Experience with Sketchup, Blendr, and Python and/or Javascript will elevate those candidates. Those with masters degrees in Planning, Urban Design, Data Visualization or Geography will be given preference.

This job is for someone who is extremely curious, able to think at the macro and micro level about urban planning concepts, and who relishes working with challenging GIS-based projects.

You will be responsible for:

• Working with city/county parcel and assessment data in GIS on a daily basis
• Working directly with city and county government staff, and traveling to meet with clients across the US and Canada for site visits (10% travel, post-pandemic)
• Creating and conducting fiscal impact analyses for alternative land use scenarios using GIS and Urban Footprint
• Designing and implementing tools (i.e. spreadsheet models to determine internal rate of return, cost/benefit, lifecycle costs) to measure the fiscal and/or economic impact of alternative infrastructure investments (e.g., transportation infrastructure, water infrastructure, economic development incentives, housing programs)
• Research, studies, or policy analyses demonstrating the impacts of smart growth on economic and fiscal issues, and for using smart growth as a tool for achieving fiscal health and spurring economic development;
• Creating compelling data visualizations to reveal the stories behind the economic dynamics of land use patterns, tax policy and development

We are a small, fast-paced and flat office — we look for people who are hyper-curious, engaged, ready for a challenge, and who have a great sense of humor. We believe in fairness, equity and transparency in all data and policy, and we strive to exhibit this in all of our work and in our office.

Recent projects include a county-wide economic analysis for Ramsey County, MN, a redlining analysis for Kansas City, MO, a fiscal impact analysis for the City of South Bend, and an economic impact analysis for an infill mixed-use development outside of Cleveland, OH. We work closely with other urban designers, planners, real estate developers, architects and landscape architects. For more information on Urban3, please visit urban-three.com.

We collaborate with consultants and supporters of the Strong Towns movement, and collaborate with the Strong Towns organization directly. Please visit strongtowns.org to learn more.

The selected candidate must be willing to move to the Asheville, NC area once it is determined that our office will no longer be remote only.

Urban3 is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, ability, age, or veteran status.

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