City & Regional Planning: Sustainable Transportation & Infrastructure, MCP

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.

This concentration explores the roles of transportation and other capital infrastructure systems in shaping urban and metropolitan development patterns in the U.S. and around the world. It focuses foremost on urban highway, public transit, and non-motorized transportation systems and their connections to sustainable, livable and economically-productive development forms; and secondly on water, energy, and communications infrastructure. It covers initial planning and development topics (such as right-of-way and system planning issues), linkages to urban and economic development issues (such as those surrounding high-speed rail), and ongoing finance and management topics such as pricing, equity of access, and value creation. Students who complete the Sustainable Transportation & Infrastructure Planning concentration work for local and municipal governments, for state highway departments and metropolitan transit operators, for transportation and infrastructure planning consultants, for system developers and utilities, and for policy and planning organizations advocating more sustainable transportation and development choices.

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 5000Introduction to City Planning: History, Theory and Practice1
CPLN 5010Quantitative Planning Analysis Methods1
CPLN 5020Urban Economics and Public Finance1
or CPLN 5090 Law of Planning and Urban Development
CPLN 6000Studio I2
CPLN 7XXXPlanning Studio2
Spatial Analysis Requirement
CPLN 5030Modeling Geographical Objects1
General Electives
Select 3 course units3
CPLN Electives
Select 3 CPLN elective courses3
Sustainable Transportation & Infrastructure Requirements
Required courses
CPLN 5050Planning by Numbers 11
CPLN 5500Introduction to Transportation Planning1
CPLN 6500Transportation Planning Methods1
Concentration Electives
Select one of the following:1
The Practice of Trans.Plng:Crafting Policies & Bldg. Infrastructure
Multimodal Transport
Advanced Transportation Seminar
Other STIP-related course with permission of advisor
Total Course Units18
1

Students may not count CPLN 5050 as their Breadth Methods requirement.

Internship Requirement

Because a planning education extends beyond the classroom, all MCP students are required to complete a planning internship, usually between their first and second years. Internships may be paid or unpaid, for at least six weeks. Internships can be completed at any government agency or commission, private consulting firm, or non-profit or advocacy organization involved in planning practice, or research.


The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2024 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.