Environmental planning directs decision making for urban planning, urban design, land development and natural resource conservation with consideration given to environmental, social, political and economic factors. The field applies the natural and social sciences to promote environmentally sound growth, effective management of natural resources and solutions to urban development to offer the frameworks necessary for achieving sustainable outcomes. In this sense, environmental planners might enlist the traditional skills of landscape architects and urban planners, such as physical planning and site design, to inspire more creative and ecologically informed plans and help mitigate the detrimental effects of development.
The Environmental Planning Minor provides non-ENVD students experience with the process, technical skills and professional practice of environmental planning. To this end, students software applications (primarily Geographic Information Systems/GIS), theoretical and conceptual materials, and take a planning studio. The minor is directed at students interested in obtaining a graduate degree in planning, urban design or landscape architecture and those wishing to employ interdisciplinarity into their major using the tools of planning and landscape architecture.
Requirements
Required Courses and Credits
The minor requires that students complete a minimum of 18 credits in environmental planning-related courses. Of those 18 credits, at least 9 must be taught within the ENVD program.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Theory and History Requirement | 3 | |
| Choose one: | ||
| History and Theory of Sustainable Planning and Urban Design | ||
| History of Landscape Architecture | ||
| Process and Practice | ||
| Landscape Architecture Theory | ||
| Technology Requirement | 3 | |
| Choose one: | ||
| Geographic Information Science: Mapping | ||
| GIS in the Social and Natural Sciences | ||
| Electives | 6 | |
| Choose two: | ||
| Process and Practice | ||
| Strategies and Techniques for Sustainable Planning and Urban Design | ||
| Sustainable Futures Planning | ||
| Digital Tools LAND/PLAN | ||
| Special Topics: Social Factors in Design (Inclusive Community Design) | ||
| Special Topics: Physical Factors in Environmental Design (Field Sketching through Landscape) | ||
| Special Topics: Physical Factors in Environmental Design (Designing and Planning for Natural Areas) | ||
| Special Topics: Physical Factors in Environmental Design (Transportation Planning) | ||
| Special Topics: Theory and Criticism in Environmental Design (Sustainability and Feng-shui ) | ||
| Housing Policies and Practices | ||
| Site Planning, Materials, and Technologies | ||
| Ecological Planting Design | ||
| Landscape Architecture Theory | ||
| Design Studio | 6 | |
| Choose one: | ||
| Capstone in Planning and Urban Design | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 18 | |
Plan(s) of Study
Environmental planning directs decision making for urban planning, urban design, land development and natural resource conservation with consideration given to environmental, social, political and economic factors. The field applies the natural and social sciences to promote environmentally sound growth, effective management of natural resources and solutions to urban development to offer the frameworks necessary for achieving sustainable outcomes. In this sense, environmental planners might enlist the traditional skills of landscape architects and urban planners, such as physical planning and site design, to inspire more creative and ecologically informed plans and help mitigate the detrimental effects of development.
The environmental planning minor provides non-ENVD students experience with the process, technical skills and professional practice of environmental planning. To this end, students take courses in software applications (primarily Geographic Information Systems/GIS), theoretical and conceptual materials, and take a planning studio. The minor is directed at students interested in obtaining a graduate degree in planning, urban design or landscape architecture and those wishing to employ interdisciplinarity into their major using the tools of planning and landscape architecture.