The Portrait of the Artist as Urban Planner

For all the technical expertise that goes into urban planning, there's a good deal of artistry to it as well. You might not want to drive a cab in a city designed by Jackson Pollack, of course, but it's hard to deny the chaotic kinship between city life and something like a drip painting. Planner Neil Freeman sees a natural harmony between his professional work and his creative interests.

"Anyone who has more than one thing they're passionate about — and there are a lot of people out there like that — you end up finding ways to connect them," says Freeman. "Urban planning is thinking about the built environment and thinking about social conditions and working with people. The more ways you can try to approach those problems the better, and I think art is a good outlet for working on that."