Identify opportunities or develop plans for sustainability projects or programs to improve energy efficiency, minimize pollution or waste, or restore natural systems.

“Identify opportunities or develop plans for sustainability projects or programs to improve energy efficiency, minimize pollution or waste, or restore natural systems.” is a core task performed by Urban and Regional Planners. Among the occupation's 25 rated tasks, workers place it 10th by importance (#16 most important). About 96% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Develop plans for managing or preserving natural resources. in Thinking Creatively

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T2.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation. · importance 4.7
• Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives. · importance 4.6
• 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. · importance 4.6
• Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density. · importance 4.6
• Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for programs or projects. · importance 4.4
• Recommend approval, denial, or conditional approval of proposals. · importance 4.3
• Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use. · importance 4.3
• Evaluate proposals for infrastructure projects or other development for environmental impact or sustainability. · importance 4.3
• Discuss with planning officials the purpose of land use projects, such as transportation, conservation, residential, commercial, industrial, or community use. · importance 4.2
• Keep informed about economic or legal issues involved in zoning codes, building codes, or environmental regulations. · importance 4.2
• Assess the feasibility of land use proposals and identify necessary changes. · importance 4.1
• Determine the effects of regulatory limitations on land use projects. · importance 3.9
• Review and evaluate environmental impact reports pertaining to private or public planning projects or programs. · importance 3.9
• Develop plans for public or alternative transportation systems for urban or regional locations to reduce carbon output associated with transportation. · importance 3.8

See all tasks on the Urban and Regional Planners page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-19778,
  title  = {Identify opportunities or develop plans for sustainability projects or programs to improve energy efficiency, minimize pollution or waste, or restore natural systems.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-19778}
}