Community and Regional Planning (CRPL)

Description: Field of community and regional planning introduced and studied in relation to the history of cities, urbanization, and regionalization. Origins and evolution of American urban and regional planning practice. The planning process as a response to social, political, physical, and economic factors is analyzed. Introduces the community comprehensive planning process, plan implementation, and functional areas of planning.

Description: Linkages between knowledge and organized action in planning practice are analyzed in terms of philosophical underpinnings, decision theory, programming, policy formulation, politics, goals, values, and social change. Historical traditions of contemporary planning theory. The identities, roles, and relationships of planners with society.

Description: Applications of constitutional, common, administrative, and statutory law in the planning process are studied. Roles of the branches of American government in the regulation and control of land use and development, as well as in the planning, development, and delivery of public services and facilities. Legal theories, issues, cases, and applications relevant to professional planning practice, as well as the legal responsibilities of participants in the planning process.

Description: Applied qualitative research techniques. Interpret verbal data generated by the community. Organize, categorize, and analyze the words (data) into critical empirical comparable units of analysis. Optimize "active" listening skills; techniques to incorporate qualitative community concerns into the planning process; and epistemological insights on how to combine data obtained from divergent research methods into a single research project.

Description: Introduces and familiarizes the student with the theory and practice of fund-raising and grant writing. Overview of the principles and concepts of philanthropy and the basic issues of fund-raising. Skills of writing a case statement, conducting a donor search and analysis, designing a fund-raising vehicle, and writing grant applications in "real world" situations.

Description: Theory and practice of spatial analysis and visualization with geographic information systems in planning. Selection and use of computer software and data for problem solving and decision making in community and regional planning and related fields. Various practical applications of geographic information systems, visualization, spatial analytics, geospatial mapping, modeling, and geo-database management. Hands-on training

Description: Provides advanced level instruction on the knowledge and methods needed for the complex spatial analysis in developing and utilizing geographic information in planning. The main subjects to be covered are advanced analysis with raster, network analysis, 3D modelling and visualization, spatial-statistical analysis, and geodatabase management. This course also includes wide variety of real world settings for GIS analysis and spatial decision making in planning - from a broad and practical perspective.

Description: This course provides an introduction of contemporary theories, principles, and methods of environmental survey and analysis in environmental design and planning. It includes an analysis of the critical environmental elements, their interrelationships, and human interactions in environmental design and planning. This course emphasizes synthesizing Geographical Information System (GIS) spatial analysis skills and environmental analysis knowledge into a coherent concept for practical applications. By the end of the course, it is expected that students will have the ability to use GIS to perform environmental spatial analysis and site analysis.

Description: Analytical methods and techniques for research, problem solving, and decision making are studied and applied within the context of the planning process. Statistical analyses; forecasting methods; optimization techniques; models and simulation techniques; and methods of demographic, economic, land use, and policy analyses are studied in relation to community and regional planning.

Description: The central goal of the course is to help students think critically about issues related to people's quality of life in contemporary communities. How the quality of life of individuals and groups is influenced by the social, psychological, physical, economic and demographic conditions in their environment. It teaches how to systematically carry out an applied research project--how to study a research problem, analyze data, and effectively communicate the results of the research.

Description: Introduces principles and practices of planning, design, and implementation for multiple-structure built environments. Influences of physical, social, environmental, and economic factors upon planned and designed environments. Various planning and design methods, processes, and products introduced. Means of project implementation explored, and examples of existing and proposed projects studied.

Description: Explores the connection between transportation planning, land use, and urban form. Review the history and policies that have shaped current transportation systems, and the planning tools available to influence this process. Address planning for multiple modes of transportation (car, bus, bike, walk) and the implications of transportation planning for health, equity, and sustainability.

Description: The history and practice of urban design in planning. Focuses on the overlapping fields of design and planning, as well as the myriad impacts of urban design.

Description: Examines the range of professional settings in which preservationists conduct their practice. Gain an understanding of the relationship between preservation and allied disciplines including, architecture, design, planning, and real estate development. Expands on the economic demands that pressure historic building stock in our communities, and the tools used to implement preservation policy.

Description: Integrates public health into community planning and design process. Explores how a community's physical environment can have both positive and undesirable influence on human health, physical activity, mental health, safety, air and water pollution, social activity and well-being of its residents. Examines how community planning - such as land development pattern, urban service, housing, zoning, transportation, and land use - has changed walkability, environmental quality, access to services, vulnerable populations, social interaction, quality of life and health conditions. Develops strategies to improve conditions of communities. Utilizes community health impact assessment.

Description: Introduces environmental planning, including its history and origins. Major environmental issues throughout the world, and the roles of planning in addressing these problems. Environmental planning process and environmental legislation.

Description: This class provides an overview of "environmental impact assessment" in the United States. This course explores how to conduct environmental impact assessments, environmental impact analysis, review of environmental impact statements, and use of various regulatory review processes. It emphasizes the significant environmental legislation - National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA applies to all federal agencies and most of the projects and decisions. This class introduces the background and implementation of the NEPA, and explains the preparation of environmental impact statements (EISs). This class covers the major themes of environmental impacts assessment, including air pollution, water quality, land resources, cultural resources, archaeology, traffic, noise, transportation, and so on. This interdisciplinary class fits students in all departments, including Natural Resources Management, Environmental Studies, Civil Engineering, Wildlife and Fisheries, Planning, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Public Policy, and others.

Description: Overview of theory, principles, methodology, and procedures of planning for hazards, disasters, and emergencies in communities and regions, with the goal of reducing vulnerabilities and increasing resiliency in the disaster management cycle: mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery.

Description: Holistic approach to the selection and analysis of planning strategies for protecting water quality from nonpoint sources of contamination. Introduction to the use of methods of analyzing the impact of strategies on whole systems and subsystems; for selecting strategies; and for evaluating present strategies.

Description: Introduces the theory and principles of economic development planning. Concepts, analytical approaches, and theories of economic growth of local communities introduced. Consideration of local economic development plans for small communities. International perspectives of economic development.

Description: Introduction to the comparative study of urbanization and planning in developing countries. Social, economic, and spatial organization of Third World cities, including international trends, theories of development, life in these cities, and how the people and governments of Third World countries attempt to cope with their problems and plan for a better future.

Description: Development converts rural landscapes into housing, roads, malls, parks, and commercial uses. This process fragments landscapes and changes ecosystem functions, drives up land prices, and pushes agriculture into more marginal areas.This multi-disciplinary, experiential course guides students in learning about the urbanization process, the impacts on landscapes, people, and the community, and the choices that are available to informed citizens.

Description: Diverse issues relating to contemporary professional planning practice are studied through abbreviated case studies and presentations by visiting specialists and participants in the planning process. Interrelated social, economic, political, and physical factors affecting specific planning situations. Current and emerging roles for professional planners.

Description: Aspects of community and regional planning not covered elsewhere in the curriculum are presented as the need arises.

Description: Professional project is a non-thesis culmination of the MCRP degree program. The professional project emulates professional planning practice and is pursued individually by the student with supervision by a faculty advisory committee.

Description: Supervised practical experience in a planning-related organization.

Description: Individual or group investigations of problems relating to community and regional planning.

Description: Current concepts, ideas, and issues relating to professional planning practice are studied. Contexts of planning practice, the professional planner's relationship to society, ethics in professional planning practice, and political and organizational behavior in plan making and policy implementation. Roles of citizens, client groups, and consultants in the planning process. Forms of collaborative problem solving, including mediation and negotiation. Planning office and project management issues and approaches, including personnel administration and project financing and budgeting.

Description: Application and synthesis of multi-disciplinary philosophies, theories, methods, analyses, and techniques of planning in the context of contemporary complex planning projects. Individual and team approaches pursued in specific project contexts for survey research, definition of research questions and hypotheses, analyses, creative problem solving, formulation and evaluation of alternatives, plan making, and development of implementation strategies.

Description: Focuses upon the application of planning principles, planning theory, planning process, and planning techniques, to regions, communities, and urban-scale problems in real-world settings. Opportunities to apply the knowledge and techniques learned in other Community and Regional Planning courses. Develops additional skills and experience in research, analysis, problem-solving, planning, teamwork, and presentation.