Delayed Satisfaction
Maurice Light is an Urban Planner with a concentration in transportation. His passion for designing transportation networks spans all the way back to his childhood years. At the young age of 9, he would plan his adventures around the city with his mom, using the city transit system. This allowed him to dream of different trips and journeys within his young mind. Eventually, he would go on to figure out all of the routes within his city. As he got older, his focus shifted to making the transit routes better and more comprehensive. His continuous curiosity would lead him to enter a civil engineering program and then transition into his urban planning master’s degree. As he matured, he realized that his interest in designing transit systems was really behind understanding the psychology and sociology behind the people who would use the transportation systems. Once he understood this relationship he knew that he had to find a career path where people benefited from his work.
Throughout his 20-year career, Maurice has worked in many different cities including Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Phoenix, Dallas, and Los Angeles. He has been able to gain experience in both the private and public sectors, making him well-rounded within his field. As you can imagine he has worked on many projects, but when asked which one stood out to him the most he said it was a transportation network he created and led in Minneapolis. He and two other planners were tasked with coming up with the night routes for the entire city. From an outsider looking in, I can only imagine how daunting of a task this was. However, Maurice seemed to enjoy the challenge. He was the lead on the project, which meant that he was heading the feasibility study and had a major impact on route decisions. He knew that his decisions would impact the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people on a daily basis for years to come. Although this was a significant amount of pressure, this project supported his ultimate goal of having people benefit from his work. He was able to complete the project on time and the city had a functional transportation network for its citizens.
Speaking with Maurice allowed me to see the design from a different perspective. When he told me that he was able to see projects he worked on come into fruition years later. I was reminded of how long and complex the design process can be. Light rail systems that he worked on 10 years ago in Phoenix were finally operational and being used by the community. He spoke to me about how satisfying of a feeling he had when he could be reminded of all of his work that he did years ago. Many times in the design field, we forget that we create tangible things. Reminiscing on your hard work can create a great feeling of fulfillment at any point in your career! I want to thank Maurice for reminding me of this, and I hope his experience reminds you of the reasons you chose to work in your industry.
You can check out his LinkedIn profile HERE
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