History | Planetizen Courses

Planetizen Courses offers historical perspective through courses designed to help planners understand the history of the profession and how essential concepts and ideas in the field were developed and popularized. Learn about the triumphs and failures of past planners and how past decisions continue to shape urban form today.

History Courses

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Panel of five speakers on webcams

Housing and Racial Justice: Current Events Urban Resilience

59 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

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aerial view of los angeles at night

The American City, Part 2: The Invention of a New Scale

Mark David Major

50 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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Sprawling residential neighborhoods with many single family houses.

Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix it

67 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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City Dreamers film ad

81 Mins

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aerial of Houston with houses and buildings

Planning for Racial Equity

55 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

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aerial image of portland oregon

The American City, Part 3: Learning from the Grid

Mark David Major

53 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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Findlay market on a colorful street in Ohio.

Landscape Design for Social Sustainability, Part 1

Kristin Faurest

57 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

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cleveland ohio skyline with industrial buildings

Classical Location Theory

169 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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redlining map

Race, Space, and Planning

66 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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aerial view of new york city

The American City, Part 4: Complexity and Pattern in the City

Mark David Major

53 Mins

AIA CES

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The I-5 in Portland, Oregon.

Roadways for People, Part 1

Lynn Peterson, Elizabeth Doerr

79 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

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people on steps of city center

Lewis Mumford on the City 1: The City - Heaven and Hell

29 Mins

AICP CM

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vintage photo of a boat with migrants near ellis island

A Brief History of Immigration and Planning

65 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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abandoned houses during great recession

Understanding the Great Recession

74 Mins

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sculpture in an urban plaza

Design for Peace and Democracy

Kristin Faurest

50 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

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traffic of cars on city street

Lewis Mumford on the City 2: The City - Cars or People?

29 Mins

AICP CM

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large group of people doing yoga outdoors in a city center

Women and Cities: Gender Equity, Past and Present

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

54 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

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Pompeii ruins with Mount Vesuvius in the background

History of City Planning 1: Ancient Times to the Modern Age (7,500 BC to 1900)

53 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

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Image of International Symbol of Access next to weighing scales

US Disability Access Laws for Planners

Jonathan Katz-Ouziel, Thomas Hamed

109 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

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European city with train and buildings in black and white

Lewis Mumford on the City 3: The City and Its Region

30 Mins

AICP CM

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women and children sitting at praxagora kok project in Stockholm

Women and Cities 3: Gender Equity in Private Life

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

54 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

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buildings, cars, people on Halsted Street in Chicago in 1900

History of City Planning 2: Modern Ideas of City Planning (1900-1939)

49 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

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still from the movie of two people walking on sidewalk with trees and buildings in the background

Lewis Mumford on the City 4: The Heart of the City

29 Mins

AICP CM

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kansas city missori buildings

Introduction to Culture and Placemaking

63 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

Top History Instructors

Jason Luger

Jason Luger is a lecturer in City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley, College of Environmental...

Mark David Major

Dr. Mark David Major, AICP, CNU-A is a Professor of Urban Design at the Savannah College...

Kristin Faurest

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

Annalise Fonza

Dr. Annalise Fonza is a Lecturer in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning at the...

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

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

Álvaro Huerta

Dr. Álvaro Huerta is a Religion and Public Life Organizing Fellow at Harvard Divinity School and...

Peter Gordon

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

Thomas Hamed

Thomas Hamed, AICP is a transportation planner who specializes in commuter transportation and mobility for all...

Jonathan Katz-Ouziel

Jonathan Katz-Ouziel is an autistic planner, an independent accessibility consultant, and the founder of Opossum House...

Elizabeth Doerr

Elizabeth Doerr is a writer with expertise and awareness around social and racial justice issues and...

Lynn Peterson

Lynn Peterson is a nationally recognized transportation and land use integration expert.

Nolan Gray

M. Nolan Fray is the Research Director for California YIMBY, an expert in urban land-use regulation...

Qian He

Dr. Qian He is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Maryland, College Park and...

Kayla Hunter

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

Lance Freeman

Lance Freeman is a Professor in the Urban Planning Program at Columbia University in New York...

Dave Amos

Dave is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cal Poly...

Meredith Johnson

Meredith is the owner of Johnson Planning and Preservation LLC, a boutique firm that works to...

Kevin Credit

Kevin is the Assistant Director for Urban Informatics at the Center for Spatial Data Science at...

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All History Courses

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Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

Instructor: Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck explains his five principal reasons for building more walkable places — Economics, the Environment, Public Health, Equity, and Social Cohesiveness — arming practitioners with a full range of arguments in favor of pro-walkability planning.

4.53

79 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

Free

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Designing a Wayfinding System

Instructor: Adam Fine

Learn how to create a comprehensive wayfinding signage system for your municipality from start to finish.

4.54

58 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

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American Architectural Styles

Instructor: Meredith Johnson

This course traces the history of American architectural styles and discusses how to identify styles for historic preservation projects.

4.53

71 Mins

AIA CES

AICP CM