As society's understanding of cities, neighborhoods, and communities continues to evolve, so too do the graduate education programs created to provide professional training in those areas.
"For students interested in becoming professional urban practitioners, postgraduate options have expanded…perhaps in response to the changing landscape of urbanism," writes Sophie Silkes. In fact, where once "options for would-be urban world-changers were once comprised of architecture, planning, design, and urban studies. Today, prospective students have the opportunity to pursue an MA or MSc in everything from Sustainable Environmental Systems to City Design and Social Science or Urban Strategies and Design."
"These programs explore disparate themes but have several common elements, which mirror today’s particular brand of exploratory, creative urbanism. With an emphasis on “interdisciplinary” or “transdiscplinary” curricula, they embrace criticism, question the traditional tenets of urban planning, and encourage entrepreneurial design innovation."
Silkes goes on to study the Theories of Urban Practice Master of Arts program at Parsons School of Design Strategies in Manhattan as an example of the new trends in urbanism education.
FULL STORY: Upending Urbanism: How New Postgraduate Programs are Revolutionizing the Way We Create Cities
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research