MUP - City and Community Planning

overview

Cities and communities are becoming more innovative: they are using data to optimize services and local decision-making, even as they are being forced to reexamine complex historical and contemporary realities in ways that may generate new institutional arrangements for improved urban development. At the same time, the need to better incorporate community-level dynamics that influence planning processes are more salient than ever. With the skills and knowledge gained in the City and Community Planning specialization, you can be part of this. You will learn the foundation of urban economics, urban planning practice and methods, and spatial analysis, while also developing an in-depth understanding of people’s lived experiences in their communities and the policy considerations that come to bear on planning outcomes.

As a graduate, you'll have the public service orientation necessary to make a long-term impact, whether working in and with government agencies, community-based nonprofits, or public-private partnerships.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Below is an overview of the required coursework. For detailed information, view the program checksheet

degree core requirements

Students must complete the following courses:

CORE-GP.1011, Statistical Methods
CORE-GP.1018, Microeconomics
CORE-GP.1020, Management and Leadership
CORE-GP.1021, Financial Management
URPL-GP.1603, Urban Planning: Methods and Practice
URPL-GP.2660, History and Theory of Planning

specialization requirements

Students must complete the following courses:

URPL-GP.1605, Land Use Law
URPL-GP.1620, Data Analysis, Mapping, and Storytelling
URPL-GP.2608, Urban Economics

ELECTIVES

Focus Areas

Focus Areas are optional groupings of courses to help you choose your electives. You can go deeper in your degree program and develop more advanced skills by choosing electives within the urban planning focus areas. To pursue depth in a focus area we suggest completing 9 credits. To pursue breadth, you may also choose electives across focus areas. 

Environmental Planning

Whether it is air pollution, deforestation or climate change, as urban regions grow, they continue to have dramatic effects on the global environment. The world's cities will also be dramatically impacted by the very changes that they induce, and these effects will be most felt by already vulnerable populations. It is imperative to the survival of humans society on earth that we understand how to plan cities and regions with the natural environment in mind. What can you do? This focus area will prepare you to make meaningful contributions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges through urban planning and policy.

URPL-GP.2625, Environmental Infrastructure is a key course in this area (recommended to build expertise). 

URPL-GP.2415, Public Policy and Planning in New York
PADM-GP.2472, Climate Economics
URPL-GP.2612, Smart, Sustainable Planning in Amsterdam
URPL-GP.2625, Environmental Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities
URPL-GP.2645, Planning for Emergencies and Disasters
URPL-GP.2666, Water Sourcing and Climate Change
URPL-GP.2680, Urban Design

Global Perspectives

The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban areas though rapidly increasing rates of urbanization are most expected in countries and regions of the world least able to prepare for—much less manage—this growth in the face of climate change, changing geopolitical dynamics, and limited resources. This focus area includes courses that cover the institutional, political and economic challenges of planning in least-developed countries and also topics such as international aid effectiveness, local government finance, water management, project appraisal, and more. 

PADM-GP.2214, Constructing National Development Strategies and PADM-GP.2245, Financing Local Government in Developing Countries are key courses in this area (recommended to build expertise). 

PADM-GP.2165, Policy Implementation: How Plans, Policies and Projects are Put into Action in the Government
PADM-GP.2202, Politics of International Development
PADM-GP.2203, Economics of International Development
PADM-GP.2211, Program Development and Management for International Organizations
PADM-GP.2213, Immigration Politics and Policy -- Past and Present
PADM-GP.2214, Constructing National Development Strategies
PADM-GP.2245, Financing Local Government in Developing Countries
URPL-GP.2612, Smart, Sustainable Planning in Amsterdam
URPL-GP.2645, Planning for Emergencies and Disasters
URPL-GP.2652, Urban Infrastructure Project Planning
URPL-GP.2666, Water Sourcing and Climate Change

Housing & Economic Development

Learn to plan and build thriving, socially- and economically-diverse communities. The courses in this focus area cover the key elements of a healthy community ecosystem: from the economic theories behind real estate markets to the social theories underlying the importance of community organizations. The focus area also builds practical skills, including how to analyze current planning and policy issues and create new ones.

PADM-GP.2416, Segregation and Public Policy; URPL-GP.4636/38, Housing Policy I and II; URPL-GP.2639, Real Estate Finance; and URPL-GP. 2452, Public-Private Partnerships, are key courses in this area (recommended to build expertise). 

PADM-GP.2106, Community Organizing
PADM-GP.2184, Community Based Participatory Action Research
URPL-GP.2415, Public Policy and Planning in New York
PADM-GP.2416, Racial Inequality in America: What Do We Do Now?
PADM-GP.2445, Poverty, Inequality, and Policy
URPL-GP.2452, Public-Private Partnerships, Public Spaces, Politics, & the Press
URPL-GP.2620, Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in American Cities
URPL-GP.2635, Community Equity and Wealth Building
URPL-GP.2639, Real Estate Finance
URPL-GP.2670, Land Use, Housing and Community Development in New York City Seminar
URPL-GP.2680, Urban Design
URPL-GP.4622, Wealth and Inequality
URPL-GP.4632, Planning Healthy Neighborhoods
URPL-GP.4634, Equitable Community Engagement
URPL-GP.4636, Housing Policy I
URPL-GP.4638, Housing Policy II

Transportation & Infrastructure

As the first point of contact in almost every citizen’s journey to an opportunity—be it healthcare, employment, or education—transportation sits at the heart of all major city planning decisions. This focus area emphasizes not only mobility—how quickly and efficiently transportation systems (streets, expressways, subways, buses, bike lanes, parking, ride-hailing) could move people or goods around, but also accessibility—namely the spatial distribution of all opportunities available. It will prepare you to be a new generation of transportation planners—technically savvy, policy sensitive, and socially responsible. 

URPL-GP.2631, Transportation, Land Use, and Urban Form; and URPL-GP.2641, Urban Transportation Planning are key courses in this area (recommended to build expertise). 

PADM-GP.2144, Debt Financing and Management for Public Organizations
PADM-GP.2149, Cost-Benefit Analysis
URPL-GP.2415, Public Policy and Planning in New York
URPL-GP.2612, Smart, Sustainable Planning in Amsterdam
URPL-GP.2631, Transportation, Land Use, and Urban Form
URPL-GP.2641, Urban Transportation Planning
URPL-GP.2652, Urban Infrastructure Project Planning
URPL-GP.2680, Urban Design
URPL-GP.4666, Topics in Urban Studies: Infrastructure in Action-Exploring NYC's Libraries, Streets, & Parks

Urban Analytics

Cities are becoming smarter: they’re using data to optimize services, infrastructure operation, and urban planning. Government agencies, nonprofits, consulting firms, and startups all recognize the importance of leveraging data to create effective public policy and urban plans but grapple with how to analyze large, complex datasets and apply the findings in urban planning environments. This focus area includes courses to help you understand data-driven approaches to tackle today’s most pressing urban challenges. 

PADM-GP.2505, Advanced Data Analytics and Evidence Building; URPL-GP.2618, GIS and Analysis; and URPL-GP.4650, Advanced GIS: Interactive Web Mapping are key courses in this area (recommended to build expertise). 

PADM-GP.2505, Advanced Data Analytics and Evidence Building
URPL-GP.2618, Geographic Information Systems
PADM-GP.2902, Multiple Regression and Introduction to Econometrics
PADM-GP.4119, Data Visualization and Storytelling
PADM-GP.4147, Large Scale Data Analysis with Machine Learning I
PADM-GP.4148, Large Scale Data Analysis with Machine Learning II
PADM-GP.4504, Introduction to Database Design, Management, and Security
PADM-GP.4505, R Coding for Public Policy
PADM-GP.4506, Python Coding for Public Policy
URPL-GP.4650, Advanced GIS: Interactive Web Mapping and Spatial Data Visualization

School-wide Focus Areas

In addition to the courses in the urban planning-related elective focus areas above, to gain a breadth of knowledge and skills you may also wish to choose electives from across course offerings, including from the school-wide focus areas. Relevant school-wide focus areas for you to consider as a Urban Planning student include, Communication Skills; Health Policy and Management; Inequality, Race, and Poverty; Program Evaluation; and more. 

CAPSTONE

The Capstone Program, a year-long consulting or research project, puts you out in the world resolving a problem or conducting an analysis for a client organization.

Students must complete the following courses:

CAP-GP.3601 and 3602, Capstone: Advanced Projects in Urban Planning I & II

or

CAP-GP 3148 & 3149, Capstone: Advanced Research Projects in Quantitative Analysis I & II

 

Authoritative curriculum information can be found exclusively in the University Bulletin. All other content, including this web-page, is for informational purposes only. You can find the curriculum for this program on this page of the Bulletin.

City and Community Planning Faculty

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