Urban design, land use, and transportation policy can all affect the overall physical and mental health of communities. Planners impact public health through decisions that affect air quality, housing density, transportation options, land use, access to parks and green space, and more. Understanding public health can help planners make more equitable decisions that improve the lives of families and the sustainability of urban communities.
All Public Health Courses
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.
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.
Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Production Facilities
Instructor: Lauren Dunning
This course examines the role for planning in addressing various forms of urban agriculture as well as many examples from around the country of the statutes, policy, and practices implementing interventions in food production at urban scales.
Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Retail Facilities
Instructor: Lauren Dunning
This course introduces information from legal and public health perspectives on the retail side of food systems entities, such as farmers markets, grocery stores, and mobile vending.