Course Library
Browse our library of planning courses
Location Optimization
This course introduces the basic principles of location optimization models and provides a hands-on tutorial on point-based location optimization using QGIS and LINGO.
Urban Design for Planners 3: Neighborhoods and Centers
This course demonstrates how to delineate a set of neighborhoods and neighborhood centers for a given area and suggests design improvements that enhance neighborhood centers.
Urban Design for Planners 2: Getting Started with QGIS and SketchUp
Course instructor Emily Talen guides viewers through the process of transferring a shapefile of building outlines into SketchUp and processes of basic manipulation necessary to create a 3D model. Learn how to load data into QGIS, set the coordinate reference system, and change the graphic display of data layers.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
Urban planners and urban designers are interested in building places that embody beauty and hope. In this course, Emily Talen, PhD, FAICP, presents free urban design software tools that can help urban planners and urban designers visualize changes in the built environment to support the overarching goal of creating better places.
The DIY Form-Based Code: Publishing and Expanding
In this fourth and final course of the DIY Form-Based Code series, learn to visually communicate publishable form-based code by using SketchUp and InDesign.
The DIY Form-Based Code: Testing and Refining
This third of four courses from the "DIY Form-Based Code" series shows how to use Excel and SketchUp to generate randomization tests, modeling, and refinements for a draft version of a form-based code.
The DIY Form-Based Code: Research and Development
Covering concepts critical to developing the foundation for a code, this course takes a a tour through the creation of a code for the hypothetical city of Wrightville.
AutoCAD for Site Planning
This course establishes a workflow for an illustrative site plan, including how to represent existing conditions and create detailed plans for specific areas within a larger project. Building on AutoCAD 101, learn to draw more complex plans using aerial imagery, photography, and hand-drawn sketches as the base layer.
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.
Introductory Population Analysis with Excel
Whether you're new to population analysis or just need a refresher, this course offers a comprehensive overview of the steps necessary to conduct analysis and develop projections using publicly available data. The course reviews Census data and builds skills, such as population projection, cohort survival, and concentration calculations that are essential for every professional in the planning and design community.