Course Library
Browse our library of planning courses
Virtual Reality for Planners 4: Refining the End User Experience
This final course of the virtual reality series discusses the big picture, looks at space planning and event setup, discusses alternatives to the full VR experience, and lists a few ways to fine tune the user’s experience for maximum success.
Virtual Reality for Planners 3: Working with Unity
In this third course of the virtual reality series, we will create a VR application from scratch using Unity. We will be adding SketchUp data, VR components, materials, textures, backgrounds, sky and finally virtual reality.
Virtual Reality for Planners 2: Modeling in SketchUp
Learn how to use SketchUp to create content appropriate for a virtual reality environment. By the end of the course, viewers will be ready to learn how to prepare a final model for export into Unity.
Urban Design for Planners 2: Getting Started with QGIS and SketchUp
The second course in the Urban Design for Planners series provides training on two important tools: SketchUp and QGIS.
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. The first course introduces the software you’ll use to create analytical maps, 3D models, and 2D graphic designs.
Visual Simulation: Rendering Styles and Presentation with SketchUp
Learn to create finalized drawings in SketchUp that look more hand drawn than photorealistic. Using SketchUp and Adobe Photoshop, this course will help you take more control over final images than possible when only exporting from SketchUp.
Visual Simulation: Advanced Rendering in SketchUp
In this course, you'll learn to create an advanced rendering of a SketchUp site model, using a free third-party renderer called Kerkythea to design realistic lighting and shading. Then add components to your rendering in Adobe Photoshop.
SketchUp for Planners - An Introduction
Get started using SketchUp, the popular, easy-to-learn 3D digital modeling program. This course provides an introduction to how planners and architects represent three-dimensional objects in two-dimensions, with step-by-step instructions for creating and using simple 3D models.
SketchUp for Planners - Intermediate Part 1
Building on Introductory SketchUp for Planners, this course introduces intermediate SketchUp users to the program’s geolocation functions and demonstrates how to create more complex models of planned projects or developments. Additionally, this course illustrates how to create and export video walk-throughs of SketchUp models using the program’s animation features.
SketchUp for Planners - Intermediate Part 3
Combining SketchUp and Adobe Creative Suite, this course demonstrates how to use SketchUp together with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to create illustrative and informative photo simulations, perspective views, sections and site plans.
InDesign for Planners - An Introduction
Adobe InDesign is widely recognized among design professionals as the premier document layout software, with a number of valuable applications for urban planning. This course gives you a step-by-step introduction to the basic tools of InDesign CS6.
InDesign for Planners - Intermediate
Adobe InDesign is widely recognized among design professionals as the premier document layout software, with a number of valuable applications for urban planning. This course builds upon the Introduction to InDesign course, giving you step-by-step instructions on some of the more complex tools that come with InDesign CS6.
InDesign for Planners - Advanced
Adobe InDesign is widely recognized among design professionals as the premier document layout software, with a number of valuable applications for urban planning. This course builds upon the Introduction and Intermediate InDesign courses, giving you step-by-step instructions on my advanced features of InDesign CS6, all built around designing and composing a longer report/plan.