Program Overview

City & Regional Planning, MCP: Public & Private Development

The Master of City Planning core curriculum encompasses the basic skills and knowledge required of all planners regardless of their specialization, and is a hallmark of our cutting-edge and practical approach to educating city planners. Students who complete the core will understand the legal and historical basis of city planning; they will know how to use a wide variety of population and economic data to understand local communities; and they will understand the form and arrangement of cities and metropolitan areas around the world. Most important, they will understand which planning approaches work best in which contexts and circumstances.

Students in the Public & Private Development concentration will learn the planning, design, entrepreneurial, and financing principles of developing for-profit and community-oriented housing and commercial development projects; how to put together development proposals and plans that meet the needs of tenants, the marketplace, and the community; how to develop projects that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable; and how private developers can work in partnership with cities and towns, redevelopment agencies, non-profits, and community groups to create affordable housing and public-private development partnerships. These same skills and abilities will be widely valued outside the United States, especially in growing areas of Asia and South America.

Curriculum

A total of 18 course units are required for graduation. 15 course units must be in City Planning (CPLN) courses.

• City & Regional Planning Requirements
  • Core Requirements
    • CPLN 5000: Introduction to City Planning: History, Theory and Practice (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 5010: Quantitative Planning Analysis Methods (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 5020: Urban Economics and Public Finance (1 course unit)
    • or CPLN 5090: Law of Planning and Urban Development
    • CPLN 6000: Studio I (2 course units)
    • CPLN 7010: Planning Studio (or other CPLN 70x0 Studio) (2 course units)
  • Spatial Analysis Requirement
    • CPLN 5030: Modeling Geographical Objects (1 course unit)
  • Electives
    • Select 3 CPLN Electives (CPLN courses or with FMCP attribute) (3 course units)
    • Select 3 General Electives (must be 5000-level or higher) (3 course units)
• Public-Private Development Requirements
  • Required Courses
    • CPLN 5400: Introduction to Property Development (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 6410: Progressive Development (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 6420: Downtown Development (1 course unit)
  • Concentration Electives
    • Select one of the following: (1 course unit)
      • CPLN 6430: Design and Development
      • CPLN 6440: Housing Policy
      • CPLN 6200: Techniques of Urban Economic Development
      • CPLN 5040: Site Planning
      • Other PPD-related course with permission of advisor

Plan of Study

The standard course of study is outlined below:

• First Year
  • Fall:
    • CPLN 5000: Introduction to City Planning: History, Theory and Practice (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 5010: Quantitative Planning Analysis Methods (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 5030: Modeling Geographical Objects (1 course unit)
    • CPLN 5400: Introduction to Property Development (1 course unit)
    • Total course units: 4
  • Spring:
    • CPLN 6000: Studio I (2 course units)
    • Concentration Requirement 1 (1 course unit)
    • Choose 2 Electives (2 course units)
    • Total course units: 5
• Second Year
  • Fall:
    • CPLN 7010: Planning Studio (or other 70x0 Planning Studio) (2 course units)
    • CPLN 5020: Urban Economics and Public Finance (or Elective at 5000-level or higher) (1 course unit)
    • Concentration Requirement 1 (1 course unit)
    • Choose 1 Elective (1 course unit)
    • Total course units: 5
  • Spring:
    • CPLN 5090: Law of Planning and Urban Development (or Elective at 5000-level or higher) (1 course unit)
    • Concentration Requirement 1 (1 course unit)
    • Choose 2 Electives (2 course units)
    • Total course units: 4
• Total course units: 18