Urban Planning and Sustainable Development

Department of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy, College of the Environment

This interdisciplinary program prepares students to enter professional fields concerned with the sustainability of the human and natural environment. The Urban Planning and Sustainable Development major consists of foundation, urban planning core, specialization, capstone and experiential courses. The foundation and planning core requirement incorporates the interdisciplinary foundation of the College of the Environment’s approach to the study of the human and natural environment, with an emphasis on public policy development, law, and the methods, theory, and processes of planning and decision-making. The specialization courses allow students to develop an area of specialized interest in a defined planning sub-discipline, to concentrate on a minor in an academic discipline, or to select from a number of thematically oriented clusters of courses.

College of the Environment’s Urban Planning and Sustainable Development major emphasizes innovative approaches to solving complex problems facing communities from the local to the global level. The program stresses progressive change leading towards equitable, healthful, livable, and sustainable communities with the emphasis on social and environmental justice, diversity, and service to under-served communities. The curriculum combines urban planning, urban and sustainable design, planning laws, environmental policy, and natural sciences to provide students with an understanding of the linkages between urban and natural systems and the multidimensional problems in urban development.

Graduates are prepared for entry-level careers in planning agencies, consulting firms, and nonprofit organizations in various fields locally, nationally, and internationally, as well as advanced graduate studies.

Do you want to shape the cities of tomorrow by:

Then Urban Planning and Sustainable Development, BA is the major for you. Cities are at the forefront of innovations that deal with these challenges and Western’s UPSD program will prepare you to be part of the solution!