Environmental planning centers the environment and natural resources in land use and planning decisions. More recently, the rapidly advancing effects of climate change are prompting new urgency for policymakers at all levels to implement climate-friendly policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources, and build resilience for the future. Urban planners can have an impact on the environment through land use decisions, zoning codes, and transportation planning policies.

Environmental Planning Courses

wildfire on a hill behind a row of suburban homes
Resilience Planning for Wildfires
Chris Holtkamp
58 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
neighborhood with buildings and metro train
Introduction to Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools
Eliot Allen
69 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
A group of workers sorts through electronic waste.
E-Waste: A Growing Concern in Waste Management
Seema Thomas
51 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
screen capture of the four panelists
The Future of Cities After COVID-19
James Brasuell, Allison Arieff, Mariela Alfonzo, Scott Frazier, William Fulton
57 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
closeup map of texas showing weather conditions
Developing a Fact Basis for Hazard Planning
Shannon Van Zandt
62 Mins
  • SACPLAN CPD
two people walking in a flooded street with houses
Resilience Planning for Floods
Chris Holtkamp
69 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
water dock with buildings in background
Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools for Communities and Existing Neighborhoods
Eliot Allen
108 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
History of U.S. Landscape Architecture, Part 1
Kristin Faurest
64 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
rooftop urban garden with buildings in backgorund
Urban Agriculture
47 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
homes being rebuilt from natural disaster
Disaster Resilience and Recovery Through Land Use Planning
Walter Gillis Peacock
78 Mins
  • SACPLAN CPD
sanitation worker on the back of a garbage truck
Understanding Sanitation Work
Seema Thomas
46 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
variety of housing units
Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools for Planned Neighborhoods and Landscapes
Eliot Allen
85 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
Brooklyn Bridge Park at golden hour
History of U.S. Landscape Architecture, Part 2
Kristin Faurest
61 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
busy street with pedestrians, cars, and streetlights in New York
Designing the Megaregion
Jonathan Barnett
65 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
vegetables at farmers market
Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Retail Facilities
Lauren Dunning
55 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
large landfill with electronics and computers
Wasted Urban Opportunities
Seema Thomas
53 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
solar panels
More Sustainability Appraisal Tools and Future Prospects
Eliot Allen
69 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
Findlay market on a colorful street in Ohio.
Landscape Design for Social Sustainability, Part 1
Kristin Faurest
57 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
graphic of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
UN Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Cities in Implementation
Chris Holtkamp
75 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
garden of plants and vegetables in raised plots
Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Production Facilities
Lauren Dunning
43 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
people sitting inside a New York subway car
Women and Cities 4: Gender Equity in the Public Sphere
Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman
55 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
person installing solar panels on building roof
Introduction to Climate Action Planning
Michael R. Boswell, Tammy Seale
66 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
A busy street in Vienna, Austria.
Landscape Design for Social Sustainability, Part 2
Kristin Faurest
53 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
bicyclists with city bus in background in santa monica
Incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals into the Planning Process
Chris Holtkamp
66 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD

Top Environmental Planning Instructors

Eliot Allen

Eliot Allen, certified, LEED AP-ND, is an urban planner and Principal with Criterion Planners of Portland...

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Chris Holtkamp

Chris Holtkamp is a certified planner and is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Planning at the...

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Kristin Faurest

Kristin Faurest is a public garden education and outreach professional, author, and landscape architecture educator, committed...

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Carlos Zapata

Carlos Zapata is a Sustainability and ESG professional who is a graduate of Yale's MBA in...

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Michael R. Boswell

Michael R. Boswell is a Professor of City & Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University...

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Seema Thomas

Seema is an urban development professional focused on developing and expanding innovative and inclusive initiatives to...

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Tammy Seale

Tammy Seale is a principal with Michael Baker International and director of the Sustainability and Climate...

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Lindsay Malbon

Lindsay is an urban lighting and dark sky educator. Her lighting research has been featured in...

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Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Katrina is a lecturer, researcher, and advocate for heart-centered cities. Her work focuses on human behavior...

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Richard Willson

Richard Willson is a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at California State...

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Lauren Dunning

Lauren Dunning is a lawyer and public health practitioner whose work has focused on developing strategies...

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David Rouse

David is a consultant, educator, and author with over 40 years of experience in urban and...

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Michael Manville

Michael Manville is Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

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Jason Neville

Jason is an experienced urban planner, redevelopment professional, and affordable housing developer.

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Kayla Hunter

Kayla is an experienced non-profit professional who works with at-risk youth to reimagine unused, neglected spaces...

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Jonathan Barnett

Jonathan Barnett is Fellow of the Penn Institute for Urban Research and an Emeritus Professor of...

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James Brasuell

James Brasuell is the managing editor of Planetizen.

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William Fulton

William Fulton is the director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the former mayor...

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Scott Frazier

Scott Frazier is one of the hosts of the L.A. Podcast. Scott is also Director of...

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Mariela Alfonzo

Mariela Alfonzo is the founder and CEO of State of Place. Mariela also has a PhD...

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Allison Arieff

Allison Arieff is the editorial director of SPUR and a columnist for The New York Times.

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Todd J. Poole

Todd Poole is president, founder, and managing principal of 4ward Planning Inc., with more than 24...

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Peter Gordon

Peter Gordon is Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy...

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Walter Gillis Peacock

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All Environmental Planning Courses

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools Sign Up

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

Instructor: Emily Talen

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.

4.28
59 Mins
AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD
Urban Design for Planners 8: Parking and Traffic Sign Up

Urban Design for Planners 8: Parking and Traffic

Instructor: Emily Talen

The final course in the Urban Design for Planners series addresses the automobile as part of the urban fabric. The storage of cars and high levels of congestion can be very detrimental to neighborhoods, but good design can mitigate those negative effects. 

4.20
90 Mins
AICP CM
CNU-A
LA CES

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