Abby B. *This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
19 Best Side Hustles For Urban Planners
1. Talk about urban planning on your personal YouTube channel
If you love sharing ideas and making video content with it, the best way to make side income in the long term is by having your own YouTube channel.
As an urban planner, you don’t have to be making videos of yourself talking to the camera to be explaining urban planning concepts! Most of the YouTube channels I’ve recommended down below does not do that.
Of course, to be making any other kind of video than a simple one where you’re talking can be quite hard especially if you have limited video designing skills. So my best advice is to start with what you have – even if it’s not the best!
As long as you make it educational and useful, there’s always an audience you can grow with it. The key is to be consistent with your uploads and have at least one video scheduled every week.
With time and effort, YouTube allows you to earn through advertising income, affiliate income, sponsorships and from selling your own products! You can be selling both physical and digital product online by promoting them with YouTube.
Interesting YouTube channels in the urban planning niche:
| What do I need to start? | – A camera to record – Portable microphone for better sound – A video editing software |
Read: What I spent for my vlogging gear in first 6 months
2. Start a podcast for a passion you have
If you prefer sharing audio clips than video ones, you can consider a side hustle in podcasting. Since urban planning is quite a narrow niche, I would recommend targeting a larger category e.g. designs. This way, you make it easier for others to find your podcast!
If you choose to stick to making your podcasts all about urban planning only, it would be wise to use social media to promote it. You can be video-recording your podcasting sessions and sharing short clips of it on apps like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube (as shorts).
This is a content strategy almost all podcasters are getting into today as it allows you to achieve more.
Choosing a narrower niche in the beginning will help you plan your content better and manage your time more efficiently – super important if you have a full-time job as most people quit due to burn out!
Just invest in a good microphone, headset and learn how to use the right editing software. As a podcaster, you can earn through number of downloads you get and paid brand sponsorships.
| What do I need to start? | – Good desk microphone – Set of quality earphones – An audio editing software |
Check out: 13 best design podcasts for architects
Huge fan of reading articles and getting into details? You can become a part-time blogger alongside having a day job.
Compared to starting a YouTube channel or a podcast, setting up your own blog would require some technical work but it’s nothing too difficult. Just search for a good YouTube video about it and follow my steps to set up a blog here.
Just like the two options above, it’s best to stick to a single niche when starting out with your blog. Focus on writing content for urban planning topics (if you want to) and show that you’re an expert in the field.
Educational content is much more searchable via Google search compared to personal stories of yourself. Blogging is not a quick fix to making an income but it can generate you passive income in the long run.
This should come in the form of advertising revenue, affiliate commissions, brand deals and sales of your own digital products e.g. courses!
| What do I need to start? | – A WordPress Website – Domain name & hosting – Passion to write for a specific niche |
Read: Why I invested in a blogging coach before doing anything else
Not everyone is into YouTube, podcasts or a blog. Most people today love using social media to share their day-to-day so if you’re one of them, you’re in luck!
There’s money to be made with social media and it can be easier than making videos for YouTube or writing long form content on your own website. Popular ways to earn with social apps is to get paid brand sponsorships and promote affiliate products/services.
I personally find it easier to share affiliate links on Twitter, Pinterest and TikTok. This is not to say that it’s impossible to do it on Instagram or Facebook – but not all apps want people to step out of it.
You can find products and services to promote on affiliate marketplaces like Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. Just sign up for an account and start promoting!
Ideally, you should only promote things that relate to your niche. Commission rates can differ starting from 0.5% all the way up to 50% for different categories and physical products will generally have lower commission rates compared to digital ones!
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
5. Learn how to become a stock photographer
As an urban planner, you probably have a huge passion for nature, architecture and buildings. One way to make money with this interest is to take photographs to sell on stock websites.
If you didn’t know, large websites and content creators often purchase stock images and videos online to use within their content and marketing materials. These pictures are sold by independent artists and photographers!
You don’t need advanced photography skills to be making passive income with stock photography. Just take up some basic skills to get started and learn along the way. Your pictures can be sold at any time of day repeatedly.
Stock websites you can join to start:
| What do I need to start? | – A good camera & photography skills – Basic photo editing skills – Consistency to upload photos frequently |
6. Write for other blogs and websites as a freelancer
If you’re interested in article writing but not looking forward to building your own blog from scratch, you can consider offering freelance services for content writing – specifically for urban planning and related topics.
Content writing is super lucrative for anyone looking to start a side hustle online as there’s so many opportunities to grab. Large blogs often outsource their writing work to freelancers so they can scale faster.
To start with, you’ll need good writing skills (for the language you’re writing in), some basic SEO knowledge as well as ability to do good research for the topic you’re writing about.
This beginner freelance writing course would teach you everything you need to know about writing for clients! By focusing entirely on writing for a single topic or field, you can specialize yourself and negotiate a higher payrate than the average freelance writer.
| What do I need to start? | – Writing skills – Good command of English or language you’re writing for – Platform to promote your writing service |
7. Become a Medium Member to earn with your writing
Looking for a sweet spot between writing for a client and blogging on your own? You can sign up as a Medium Member to earn from your articles published on Medium through their Partner Program.
This is much more manageable for those with a full-time job as it is less demanding than entertaining your clients’ timelines and requests. You’ll also have less uncertainty about your earnings compared to waiting for your own blog to make money.
Of course, if you’re looking to build a stable long term side work in writing, you’ll need to think beyond just writing for Medium. Check out the link above to see the criteria you need to fulfill!
| What do I need to start? | – A Medium membership – Specific niche or category to write about – Consistency in publishing new articles |
8. Create online courses for urban planning
If you’ve always thought about starting a career in teaching, you might want to consider creating your own online courses first. This way, you’ll get to practice your teaching skills, fine tune your course structure and get valuable feedback from the public.
Just like stock photos, online courses are digital products you can sell repeatedly and earn from passively. There are so many platforms you can use to sell courses but I highly suggest selling them on learning marketplaces like the ones I’ve listed below.
It would allow you to leverage on the platform’s existing audience and marketing strategies. It’s too much to figure out as a complete beginner!
You can be making courses for college students taking the subject or for anyone that needs extra guidance. I personally find that people are more inclined to purchase a course when it allows them to upskill and make more money on their own.
Some sites you can host online courses on:
| What do I need to start? | – A niched course idea – Well thought out module – Tools to record your lessons e.g. screen record, microphone |
Creating courses is too much work for you? Here’s a list of digital products you can make to sell on easy platforms like Etsy. I’ve made a quick guide on how to make these products too!
9. Self-publish your own urban planning e-book with Amazon KDP
A lot of people underestimate the significance of publishing your own e-book, thinking that no one will ever purchase it. However it goes beyond just making the sales, as an e-book can have multiple benefits especially for someone that’s looking to advance in their careers.
If you’re from a teaching background or you’re well recognized in the urban planning industry, you might just open more doors by publishing your own book.
You can self-publish your own book through online publication sites like Amazon KDP, Lulu or Book Baby – without going through traditional publishing companies. It’s super easy to set up your book for sales compared to traditional routes and you would still earn your royalties as a book writer.
Your audience will have the option to purchase your book in digital form (e-book) or a physical printed one – your earnings should differ with these options.
As e-books are digital PDF files, you can also include affiliate links to products within your e-book and redirect people to your social media accounts. Double passive income for the win!
| What do I need to start? | – Book writing skills – Join an online self-publishing platform |
10. Start a digital product shop on Etsy
If you’re an avid user of Etsy, you would know that they have a huge market for digital products in all kinds of niches. Common digital products you can find are Excel templates, Canva templates, how-to guides, printables and digital planners.
You can find my longer list of digital products to sell on Etsy here – includes samples!
I’ve not used a lot of platforms myself, but I know that Etsy allows sellers to create listing of digital products where they don’t need to ship anything and buyers will immediately be able to download the files upon purchase.
Instead of selling stock photos or complicated online courses, you can create simple printables in a niche that you love. Think of it as a way to diversify your passive income streams for the long term.
You’ll just need to upload the files once to set it up for sales. I’ve included some samples of printable posters you can make as an urban planner down below!
| What do I need to start? | – A digital or physical product idea – Tools to create the digital product – Platform to sell on |
11. Teach urban planning part-time at universities or colleges
Confident of your teaching skills? Apply to part-time teaching roles to make use of your weekends or weekday nights.
If you’re nearing your retirement age or you’re halfway through your career, exploring teaching opportunities might be a good thing to consider. Just bear in mind the time and patience it takes to prepare for lectures, conduct after class discussions and run student assessments.
Teaching is a great way to recap your studies and share your experience to the younger professionals in your field. You’ll possibly find great fulfillment from knowledge-sharing and get to build real connections with academia along the way.
| What do I need to start? | – Relevant experience in the field you’re planning to teach – Time to dedicate to teaching – Job openings to apply to |
12. Offer pet-sitting services in your free time
Want to start a simple side hustle just to fill up your time? You can offer pet-sitting services in your area to take care of cats and dogs.
This is a fairly simple side job to get into if you love pets and have the experience of taking care of them. You just have to accompany these pets, ensure they’re properly fed and do anything extra the owner tells you to.
Pet-sitting usually takes a few hours as longer stays would require home boarding instead. The latter would need the pet owners to bring their pets to your house for you to take care when they’re away.
Aside from the usual pet-sitting and home boarding, apps like Rover also offers dog-walking, drop-in and day care services. It’s so much easier to get yourself started by signing up for these pet care apps!
Pet sitters typically get $15-20 per visit but you can always negotiate a better payrate once you have the experience.
Services you can include with pet sitting:
- Walking
- Home boarding
- Sleepovers and night care
- Training
- Bring to vet
- Basic grooming & care
- Travel trips
| What do I need to start? | – Good skills with pets e.g. dogs, cats – Tools for the service you want to offer – Platform to market your services |
13. Purchase old furniture to resell for profit
As a digital marketer, I still have so many other things I’m personally interested in, which includes refurbishing old furniture. I’ve done it as a side project and posted some of my work on online second hand marketplaces for sale.
Surprisingly, there’s quite a demand for unique furniture!
Your passion for architecture can be expanded into other things revolving design including furniture flipping. Depending on your area, people may leave their old unwanted furniture by the road side for anyone to take it for free.
If you have the time to look for these, take it back home and learn how to make it look nice again. You can also head to stores that sells old items for cheap.
Once you’re done refurbishing it, take pictures and post on Facebook Marketplace to see if anyone is interested in buying it. You can sell for a good price and make at least 80% profit!
Here’s a sample of my recent work, which was done for my nephew and niece. The table and chairs look brand new with just a coat of paint and some wraps!
| What do I need to start? | – Good eye to spot unique furniture to flip – Storage space to keep new furniture – Platform to resell your upgraded furniture |
14. Provide freelance consulting services online
Content writing is not the only freelance service you can offer. There are so many job postings on Upwork in all kinds of fields and industry!
You may have had some experience providing consultation as an urban planner or receiving advice from other urban planners. Reframe that as a service you can offer on your own on the side.
With a simple search, you’ll find job listings for architectural design, urban planning, landscape design and even municipal architecture. Some advertisers are looking for freelancers on part-time basis for at least 30 hours a week, with an average pay of $20-$30 per hour.
Of course, your pay rate should reflect your level of experience so don’t be afraid to negotiate. It would also benefit you to share your services on social media and link it back to your Upwork profile.
Social media and trust helps you compete against others that readily accepts a low pay!
As long as it’s not against the policies of your current full-time job, you should be fine. You can also work with non-profits or local communities for a cheaper rate as it helps you build organic connections with people in the industry.
Other ways to promote your services:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Indeed
- TikTok (because anything can go viral here)
- Build your own website
| What do I need to start? | – An online portfolio of your best work – Freelance contract templates to work with – Platform to market your services |
15. Rent out your property or list it on Airbnb
If you own multiple properties, it’s time to make money from them! You can either rent it out for long term stays or list it on Airbnb for short term ones.
I prefer the second option! It provides greater flexibility for you as the house owner as you’re able to choose the days you’re accepting guests. There’s also lesser chance of your house being damaged by your tenants.
Costs of house maintenance can be a lot and you wouldn’t want to have tenants with overdue rent. Instead, you can channel whatever funds you have today to furnishing the property and making it comfortable for short term stays.
You can earn a lot more by having bookings for 8 days than 30 straight ones. Especially true for locations in demand by tourists!
| What do I need to start? | – A vacant room or property – Some home deco make the place rentable – Platform to market the space |
Check out: The starter guide to become a host on Airbnb
16. Offer home maintenance services on the weekends
Good at fixing things around the house? You can offer simple handyman services on the side to make use of your weekends or weekday evenings.
Generally, home maintenance services can make you a good income as long as you’re charging right. In another article, I shared how a handyman makes more than $80 per hour. Even if he’s doing it as a full-time job, it doesn’t mean you can’t make it a part-time one.
You can start by listing your services on sites like Nextdoor or Yelp. Other than fixing stuffs or painting homes, you can go into garden maintenance for services like weeding, pruning or planting as landscape design is probably something you’re good at!
Painting homes is probably an easier job to get into even if you have no background in it. Just invest in the right tools to ensure a smooth painting job.
| What do I need to start? | – Tools for the service you want to offer – Vehicle to drive around – Platform to market your services |
17. Make use of your car by driving others with Uber or Lyft
Want a side hustle that’s so simple you don’t need to think much for? You can drive others on a part-time basis with either Uber or Lyft.
All you need is a mobile phone to install the relevant apps so you get bookings – including instructions on where to head to, who to pick up and where to drop them off. If you’re a retiree or someone who loves driving, this may be a side hustle you can start without thinking too much.
It’s not a side hustle I would recommend for the long run as it consumes your time and energy but it can be a quick fix. Alternatively, you can deliver items with either Amazon Flex or Uber Eats.
| What do I need to start? | – A suitable vehicle to drive – Smartphone to receive ride orders |
18. Get paid to place advertisements on your car
Another way of making money with your car without doing the tough work of driving others around is to place advertisements on it.
You’ll need to sign up to car advertisement companies like Wrapify by first installing their app on your mobile phone. Then you’ll need to go for your normal daily drive for the app to determine campaigns you’re qualified for and send you relevant offers.
The pay varies depending on the campaign you’re sign up to and how much of your car’s body can be covered with ads. The example Wrapify provides on their website shows that you would earn almost double if ads are installed on every side of the car compared to just two sides.
The highest payout estimate is about $450 per month!
| What do I need to start? | – Your mobile phone – A vehicle you can place advertisements on |
19. Start an online merchandise store with print on demand
If you’ve thought about trying out dropshipping or starting an ecommerce store from scratch, I highly suggest going into print on demand first – check out my seven reasons why POD is for you.
POD is quite similar to dropshipping as you don’t need to purchase any stock to make sales and don’t have to be the one packing or shipping orders to customers. However, it’s entirely focused on merchandise design and printing.
Your chosen print on demand supplier (either Printify or Printful) will be printing your products and shipping your orders directly to customers on your behalf. As it is a white label business model, your customers will not know that the products are being printed by a factory (that’s not yours).
As a seller, you’ll need to make your own designs using tools like Kittl then upload them to products you want to sell. This includes t-shirts, tumblers and even tapestries – I’ve listed more down below!
If you don’t have the time to create designs yourself, creative marketplaces like Envato Elements or Creative Fabrica have affordable designs for you to use with POD.
| What do I need to start? | – Basic designing skills – A laptop to work with – An initial niche and product |
Can’t decide what product to design and sell? Check out my product guides before deciding!
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustles for urban planners you should go for? Here are the top 6 things to consider when deciding which is best for you.
- How much time can you commit to it?
- Consider how much time you can set aside for your side hustle for weekdays and weekends
- What type of income are you looking for?
- Do you want to make income actively or passively while you sleep?
- What sparks interest & passion in you?
- Choose a side hustle that aligns to your personal goals and interests as it keeps you motivated
- Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
- Different side hustles requires different level of communication with the outside world, are you comfortable meeting new people every day?
- What is your current partner or friend up to that you can leverage on?
- Doing something with a friend or partner makes things easier and more manageable
- How soon do you need to make extra money?
- Not all side hustles make the same amount of money in the same pace, do you need money today or in a year’s time?
Bottom Line
There are so many side hustles you can consider starting if you’re not entirely focused on your current expertise. So decide what you’re looking for, is it just a side job to make extra income or something that will look good on your resume?
In some cases, it can be both! Some of the ideas I’ve listed above would allow you to tap into both sides of the coin and achieve greater fulfillment from your overall career.
I always encourage my readers to build passive income streams to have the freedom of time and location!
Here are 19 best side hustles for urban planners:
- Talk about urban planning on your personal YouTube channel
- Start a podcast for a passion you have
- Share your urban planning knowledge with a blog
- Grow your followers on social media to earn with affiliate programs
- Learn how to become a stock photographer
- Write for other blogs and websites as a freelancer
- Become a Medium Member to earn with your writing
- Create online courses for urban planning
- Self-publish your own urban planning e-book with Amazon KDP
- Start a digital product shop on Etsy
- Teach urban planning part-time at universities or colleges
- Offer pet-sitting services in your free time
- Purchase old furniture to resell for profit
- Provide freelance consulting services online
- Rent out your property or list it on Airbnb
- Offer home maintenance services on the weekends
- Make use of your car by driving others with Uber or Lyft
- Get paid to place advertisements on your car
- Start an online merchandise store with print on demand
I’m not one to brag, but blogging has changed my life. I’ve been able to earn an income passively while on a coffee date and traveling with my family. With everything, it takes time to learn and not an overnight success – to speed things up, get yourself a blogging coach before starting.
These are my blogging resources to help you out:
- Step-by-step guide how to start blogging in your free time
- Why you need a blogging coach right from the start
- Worried of exposing yourself? You can blog anonymously
Photo by Ono Kosuki
