tall building for urban planning course

Writing Master Plans, From Start to Finish

In this course you’ll learn how to approach a master plan—starting with concept development and community voice, and finishing with the mechanics of organizing and expressing ideas.

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Course Info

  • Duration 10 video lessons (103 Mins)
  • Published Published
    2017
  • 4.23
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Browse Course Chapters

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    1.
    Introduction
    Chapter Duration 1 min
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    2.
    What Makes a Plan? Part 1
    Chapter Duration 9 mins
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    3.
    What Makes a Plan? Part 2
    Chapter Duration 9 mins
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    4.
    Why Do the Plan?
    Chapter Duration 4 mins
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    5.
    Successful Plans
    Chapter Duration 12 mins
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    6.
    Types of Plans
    Chapter Duration 15 mins
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    7.
    Whose Plan Is It? Part 1
    Chapter Duration 4 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    8.
    Whose Plan Is It? Part 2
    Chapter Duration 16 mins
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    9.
    Getting It Done, Part 1
    Chapter Duration 14 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    10.
    Getting It Done, Part 2
    Chapter Duration 14 mins

Course Description

Master plans are complex documents, meant to guide a community’s development for perhaps a generation. They are also moving targets—assembling lots of information, balancing conflicting positions and goals, and changing as they move through the planning process.  

In this course you’ll learn how to approach a master plan—starting with concept development and community voice, and finishing with the mechanics of organizing and expressing ideas. 

At the end of this course, you will understand the purpose of a master plan, the planners’ responsibility as a writer and advocate, how to balance stakeholders’ positions and community policies, and how to sort and present information.

Learn these skills

  • Civic Engagement
  • Communications & Media
  • Plan Making
  • Writing

AICP CM

This course is approved for 1.5 AICP CM credits. 

Meet Your Instructor

Claudia Kousoulas

Claudia Kousoulas

Claudia has more than 25 years of experience as an urban planner with work ranging from staff reports, large-scale master plans, promotional pieces, and special topic technical reports.

Meet Instructor

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