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 2: The Invention of a New Scale
Instructor: Mark David Major
Understand how the physical characteristics of block size and street length distinguish American cities from earlier models of urbanism, and the implications of these physical characteristics for sustainability in the 21st century.
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.