| SPECIALIZATIONS
The urban and regional planning profession
involves numerous specialized practice areas. While the core and
required courses provide a well-rounded and comprehensive program
of knowledge and skills, students are encouraged to explore specialized
coursework that takes advantage of the rich and varied faculties
throughout the University.
Environmental planning
Environmental planners work to enhance the physical environment
and to minimize the adverse impacts of development. Our environmental
planning courses emphasizes land, water, and atmospheric aspects
of land uses, and include GIS analysis; environmental law; landscape,
architecture, and design; environmental impact assessment; and environmental
mitigation measures.
The work of environmental planners includes developing policies
and programs to manage and protect natural resources, identifying
the environmental implications of government policies or proposed
land uses, cleaning up polluted areas, preventing the contamination
and destruction of ecosystems, and conserving non-renewable resources
by promoting sustainable practices for transportation or economic
development.
Housing and community
development
Housing and community development planners work with community
members to develop strategies that increase the overall quality
of life in neighborhoods and communities. Our housing and community
development courses prepare planners to take active roles in addressing
important community concerns, such as access to affordable housing,
job training, and transit and transportation.
The work of housing and community development planners includes
developing affordable housing, preparing initiatives to expand home
ownership among low-income people, establishing business incubators
and developing job training to promote economic self-sufficiency,
encouraging development of mixed-use projects that offer services
and jobs close to where people live, proposing housing opportunities
for people from all income levels, and working to improve basic
services, such as transit or public health in low-income communities.
Land use and urban design
Land use and urban design planners encourage development
that is responsive to the unique conditions of their local and regional
settings. Our land use and urban design courses prepare planners
to design solutions that are respectful of the assets and circumstances
of their locations and that lead to sustainable and efficient neighborhoods,
cities, and regions.
Land use and urban design planners’ work includes designing
long-range plans to develop and protect community’s assets
— from housing, recreation, and transportation to water and
air quality — and encouraging sustainable development practices
— from transit-oriented development (TOD) to infill development
in urban areas to developing or administering local regulations
that establish the types of housing, industrial, and retail facilities
that can be built in the city. It also may include coming up with
ways to finance public services, evaluating the impact of proposed
residential or commercial development and suggesting ways for communities
to respond, and protecting open space and agricultural land in the
face of increasing demands for new homes and businesses.
Transportation
planning
Transportation planners work to meet the existing transportation
needs of people and businesses and to predict future travel demand
to ensure that transit and transportation systems are adequate.
Our transportation planning courses include study of the social
and economic aspects of mobility and the connection between land
use policy and regional transit and transportation needs.
The work of transportation planners includes identifying the need
for future transportation services and facilities, identifying the
social and economic aspects of travel distribution, improving public
transit services, identifying causes and solutions to urban sprawl,
developing ways to finance needed facilities, developing programs
to reduce travel demand, providing home-to-work options for welfare
recipients trying to find jobs, and organizing transportation services
for mobility-impaired populations.
Regional, economic, and
workforce development
The regional, economic, and workforce development specialization
is designed to build an in-depth expertise in the regional, economic,
and workforce development field by exposing students to more advanced
theory, methods, and practice. |
