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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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

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A B-29 over Osaka, Japan on 1 June 1945

History of City Planning 3: Midcentury Modern (1940-1979)

64 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

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cars on highway with suburb in background

Lewis Mumford on the City 5: The City as Man's Home

31 Mins

AICP CM

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people sitting on a bench overlooking new york skyline

The Theory and Practice of Culture and Placemaking

71 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

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view of Shanghai, China skyline

History of City Planning 4: Planning in the Postmodern Age (1980-Today)

74 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

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large city fountain surrounded by people

Lewis Mumford on the City 6: The City and the Future

29 Mins

AICP CM

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emergency call box on public street

Crime and Urban Planning in the United States

51 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

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A collage of four megacities

History of City Planning 5: The City of Tomorrow

56 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

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historic buildings in Charleston South Carolina

Introduction to Historic Preservation

Meredith Johnson

38 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

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skyline of LInkcoln Park Chicago

Economic Thinking for Planners: Cities, Externalities, and Governance

56 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

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person standing in front of a colorful mural

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

59 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

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portrait of Daniel Burnham

Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City

58 Mins

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...

Peter Henn

PETER J. HENN, Esq., AICP, is a land use attorney at Jones Foster in West Palm...

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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The American City, Part 1: A Brief History of the Regular Grid

Instructor: Mark David Major

Learn why the regular grid has been a standard part of the town planning vocabulary around the world for nearly five millennia.

4.13

47 Mins

AIA CES

AICP CM

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Economic Thinking for Planners: Cities, Externalities, and Governance

Instructor: Peter Gordon

Through history, people have become better off as they urbanized. This course investigates how and why the quality of life has improved in cities.

4.17

56 Mins

AICP CM

SACPLAN CPD