An Introduction to Urban Planning and Design

Master plans provide the long-term perspective for guiding sustainable city development through land use, housing, economic development, and transportation, while zoning and regional planning coordinate public agencies and private investment.

Urban design creates places for people by integrating buildings, spaces, and landscapes through problem solving, social equity, and economic viability into safe, attractive, well-connected public realms.

Urban renewal redevelops land to counter urban decay and attract private and public investment, changing land use and living conditions with potential quality-of-life gains and heritage risks.

Compare urban planning and urban design, mapping policies, infrastructure, and regulations to city features and user experience for livable, sustainable development.

Discover emerging trends shaping urban planning, including sustainable design, smart cities, and resilient, healthy, and inclusive settings. Analyze green infrastructure, mixed-use development, and data-driven decision making.

Explore sustainable urbanism that builds walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, expands public transport, and promotes dense, diverse, green cities with decentralized governance and vibrant public spaces.

New Urbanism emphasizes human-scale design, walkability, and mixed-use neighborhoods that connect people and places through density, diverse housing, and sustainable transportation.

Explore tactical urbanism, a low-cost, temporary approach transforming streets into parks, plazas, bike lanes, and gardens, using interim, pop-up, or do-it-yourself strategies to spark lasting city change.

Connect natural and engineered systems to blur the boundary between landscape and city. Highlight landscape urbanism's emphasis on performance over beauty and social interactions through reclaimed wetlands and parks.

Drive social equity through transit oriented development by building high-density, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods around transit hubs with affordable housing and accessible opportunities, while reducing car dependence.

Explore how artificial intelligence and big data unlock geospatial insights for urban planning and design, enabling smarter decision making, mobility analysis, and sustainable outcomes in smart cities.

Explore how artificial intelligence and big data power urban planning and design, from real-time transit optimization and safety monitoring to air quality sensing, smart energy, and waste management.

Explore an urban planning project as part of an introduction to urban planning and design.

Explore maps and data in urban planning to understand how design decisions are shaped. Learn how maps and data guide urban planning and design choices for better city outcomes.

Discover softwares and plugins for urban planning and design, and explore how these tools streamline workflows within the field.