Explore Urban Planning Courses
Discover hundreds of courses, with new courses added weekly.
Our most popular courses
- AIA CES
- AICP CM
- CNU-A
Learn from urban planning courses taught by trusted professionals
Choose from affordable subscription options to access hundreds of online courses
Maintain professional certifications like AICP CM and CNU-A
Take course quizzes and earn certificates of completion
Featured Courses
Jeff Speck outlines five principal reasons to build walkable communities, which include:
Understanding the basics of AI provides urban planners with ideas for integrating improved methods into their work and enhancing their analytical outputs. AI can offer data-driven insights for informed decision-making, predict future urban growth patterns, and optimize resource allocation.
Suburbs are taking center stage in America’s struggle to achieve equity and inclusivity. Urban cores are increasingly white and affluent, while poverty—with all its related dimensions of race, education, and class—is moving to suburbs.
Universal Design stresses the development of a built environment that is inclusive and welcoming for all, including those with physical disabilities.
Join thousands of urban planners on Planetizen Courses
Browse All Courses
Form-Based Codes 101: Neighborhoods
This course introduces the essential elements of neighborhoods.
Form-Based Codes 101: Learning How To Look
This course will teach you the skills to appreciate and analyze the measures and functions of good urbanism.
Form-Based Codes 101: Introduction
This course defines form-based codes, explains why they were invented, and distinguishes form-based codes from conventional "use-based" zoning ordinances—all with an emphasis on placemaking and walkability. We will provide an overview of the development of form-based codes, their mandatory and optional component parts, and the importance of making form-based codes context or place-specific.
Managing Multiple Social Media Platforms with Hootsuite
Learn how to manage your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts—all under one roof.
Building Websites with Tumblr
Learn how to create simple and effective, yet dynamic, websites using the popular blogging service Tumblr.
Defensible Sign Regulations
Communities regulate the characteristics of signs to achieve multiple goals, such as limiting driver distraction, maintaining the aesthetic character of the community, and implementing aspects of related plans. This course will show participants how to draft—and adopt—sign ordinances that accomplish those purposes while conforming with the First Amendment.
Regulating Sex Businesses, Part 2: Practical Tips
This course will provide practical tips for developing local zoning and licensing regulations for sexually oriented businesses. This course builds on material from Part 1 of this two-part series.
Regulating Sex Businesses, Part 1: Principles and Foundations
This course shows how to lay the foundation for ordinances that mitigate the negative effects of sex businesses while conforming with constitutional requirements under the First Amendment.
The Ethics of Office Administration, Part 2
The second course in the "Ethics of Office Administration" series discusses how to identify, evaluate, and resolve difficult scenarios that might arise in a planning office.
Planning and the Law: Procedural Due Process
The United States Constitution protects rights to "due process." In a land use law context, due process is why local governments must treat legislative and quasi-judicial decision making differently. At the end of this course, students will be able to differentiate between legislative and quasi-judicial decisions and to understand the due process implications of the distinction.
Planning and the Law: The Takings Clause
This course will help students understand and explore three legal concepts borne of the United States Constitution's Takings Clause: eminent domain, regulatory takings, and exactions. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify whether a particular government action is at risk of violating the Takings Clause.
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.
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.
Tactical Urbanism: How It's Done
From unsanctioned crosswalks to city-led "Pavement-to-Plaza" programs, instructor Mike Lydon describes the success of short-term, temporary projects in influencing long-term physical and policy changes in cities across the United States and Canada.
Photoshop CS5 for Planners - Intermediate
Design professionals widely recognize Adobe Photoshop as the premier image editing software, with many valuable applications for urban planning.This course builds upon the Introduction to Photoshop course, offering step-by-step instructions on more of the helpful tools that come with Photoshop CS5.
Photoshop CS5 for Planners - Advanced
Adobe Photoshop is widely recognized among design professionals as the premier image editing software, with a great many valuable applications for urban planning. This course builds upon the Introduction to Photoshop and Intermediate Photoshop Courses, giving you step-by-step instructions on some of the advanced tools that come with Photoshop CS5.
Ethics: Balancing a Business Friendly Planning Environment, Part 2
Over the past several years, the private sector, led by developers, has increasingly courted, conflicted and collaborated with planning departments amid shrinking budgets. As business interests engage and influence public agencies and planning strategy, the role of ethics is of increasing importance for the practicing planner. This is the second of a two-part series that evaluates and analyses the role of planners, from public window staff to department heads, in an increasingly business-friendly environment.
Planning Ethics
The work of planning for communities is rooted in values, often unexpressed, about the role of government in working for a better future. This course reviews the expectations expressed in the AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and then explores the application of the code in a number of planning ethics case studies. This conversation about building and sustaining an ethical planning organization sets out to define what makes an ethical planning organization and describes steps that planners can take to improve the ethical climate of their organizations.
Illustrator for Planners - Advanced
Adobe Illustrator is widely recognized among design professionals as the premier vector drawing software, with many valuable design and mapping applications for urban planning. This course builds upon the Intermediate Illustrator for Planners course, going into more detail on how the program can be used for logo design, map making and other uses.
Start Learning with Planetizen Courses
Choose from affordable subscription options to access hundreds of online courses today.
Sign up