Urban And Regional Planning Degrees

Urban and Regional Planning programs focus on the relationship between cities and people. This path of study teaches interpersonal skills, as well as intellectual and aesthetic skills. The goal is to help students understand how to create more sustainable and more efficient cities. Planners are usually employed by governments, development corporations, or non-governmental organizations and they work in the areas of land use, economic development, parks and recreation, transportation, and social services. The profession has traditionally emphasized assistance to low-income or marginalized populations.

Programs are very interdisciplinary in their approach and teach students how to analyze and forecast changes in communities; how to balance the needs of public and private activities in a community setting; and how to make decisions that will address the diversity of needs within a community. The discipline has recently extended to include such topics as transportation, real estate development, and new analytical methods. Overall, graduates end up with an understanding of how to improve the spatial, physical, and environmental qualities of a given community.