Cities

Cities are the most exciting places to be in the world today. Their density and diversity produce inescapable energy, dynamism, and opportunity. But an increasingly urbanized world means cities face increasingly complex challenges. Like building infrastructure to weather the effects of climate change, while delivering fluid services to growing populations. Like fostering neighborhoods that integrate people of different cultures, socio-economic levels, and generations, rather than segregating and isolating them. These days, it’s not enough to design beautiful city plans. If you want to provide sustainable city solutions that positively impact people’s lives, you need to have a deep understanding of all the dynamics at play within a city.

While urban issues are core to our urban planning program, we’ve also woven them throughout all of our degrees. How could we not? Cities grapple with almost every significant policy issue. And there is no better place to understand urban issues and experiment with solutions than in NYC—one of the most vibrant cities in the world. As a student, you will have a broad set of analytical, policy, and management skills to help you tackle the unprecedented city challenges of tomorrow. We will train you to craft effective plans and policies that take into account physical design, political and social implications, and financial realities.

Our graduates hit the ground running because of the broad, interdisciplinary skill set we provide. Thanks to our Capstone program, they walk into their first post-graduation jobs having already applied their skills in a real-world setting. And they develop more effective solutions because they understand context. As an NYU Wagner graduate, you, too, can improve the quality of life in cities and urban neighborhoods through intelligent, informed infrastructure and design and thoughtful policy and planning.