Sustainability | Planetizen Courses

Sustainability planning involves strategies and practices that reduce carbon emissions and the reliance on fossil fuels, conserve natural resources, promote infill development and density, and support renewable energy. Sustainable urban planning ensures the long-term ecological, economic, and social health of cities through policies and regulatory mechanisms that focus on energy efficiency and smart growth.

Sustainability Courses

cars in traffic emitting pollution

Transportation Planning: Effects on the Environment, Health, and Social Justice

Richard Willson

57 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Philadelphia Neighborhood

Green Infrastructure

56 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

bike lane

Bicycle-Friendly Streets: Design Standards

Michelle DeRobertis

41 Mins

SACPLAN CPD

people working in a warehouse surrounded with boxes

Sustainable Supply Chains

59 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

neighborhood with buildings and metro train

Introduction to Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools

69 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

mixed-use development with people walking, retail stores

Walkable Density: Building Livable, Equitable, and Resilient Communities

60 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

metro train with buildings in background

Transportation Planning: Land Use and Transportation Systems

Richard Willson

62 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Waves impact breakwater

Resilience Planning for Coastal Hazards

81 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

vegetables at farmers market

Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Retail Facilities

55 Mins

AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

variety of products such as household cleaners and cigarettes with green labels

Sustainability Marketing and Greenwashing

46 Mins

AICP CM

water dock with buildings in background

Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools for Communities and Existing Neighborhoods

108 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

tall trees and mountains with a night sky of stars

Lighting Regulations and Dark Sky Places

66 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

aerial view of houston freeways

Transportation Planning: Making Transportation Plans—Rationality and Politics

Richard Willson

60 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

A dry, cracked river bed baking in the sun.

Resilience Planning for Heat and Drought Events

85 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

garden of plants and vegetables in raised plots

Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Production Facilities

43 Mins

AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

sandbags aligned horizontally with a flooded street and houses in the background

Introduction to Resilience Planning

69 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

variety of housing units

Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools for Planned Neighborhoods and Landscapes

85 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

A modern skyscraper twisting towards the sky

Building Bad, Part 2: How Architectural Utility is Damaged by Expression

Jonathan Ochshorn

59 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

freeway with Dallas skyline in background

Transportation Planning: Principles and Practices of Transportation Finance

Richard Willson

62 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

pedestrian on path next to bikeshare

Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

79 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

bicyclists cross bridge in park with houston skyline in background

Greening the Neighborhood: An Introduction to LEED-ND

51 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

wildfire on a hill behind a row of suburban homes

Resilience Planning for Wildfires

58 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

solar panels

More Sustainability Appraisal Tools and Future Prospects

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

51 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

Top Sustainability Instructors

Eliot Allen

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

Chris Holtkamp

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

Carlos Zapata

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

Kristin Faurest

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

Seema Thomas

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

Michael R. Boswell

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

Richard Willson

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

Tammy Seale

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

Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck is a city planner who advocates internationally for more walkable cities.

David Rouse

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

David Dixon

David is well known for helping create new, mixed-use urban districts (in both cities and suburbs)...

John Hersey

John is a planner with two decades of experience critically evaluating and advancing transit-oriented development as...

Matt Raimi

Matt Raimi is the president and founder of Raimi + Associates, a Berkeley-based planning, design and...

Lauren Dunning

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

Jonathan Ochshorn

Jonathan is a registered architect with an academic background in structural engineering and urban design as...

Lindsay Malbon

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

Jenny Schuetz

Jenny is a Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro and an expert in housing policy.

Jason Neville

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

Donald Shoup

Donald Shoup is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA. His research...

James Brasuell

James Brasuell is the managing editor of Planetizen.

William Fulton

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

Scott Frazier

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

Mariela Alfonzo

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

Allison Arieff

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

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All Sustainability Courses

What Is Generative AI and Why It Matters for Urban Planning

Instructor: Tom Sanchez

This course introduces urban planners to Generative AI (GenAI), covering its fundamentals and demonstrating how it can create text, images, videos, and designs to enhance planning practices.

4.37

61 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

Free

Regulating Electronic Message Centers

Instructor: James Carpentier

This course provides practical, solution-focused guidance for regulations that leverage digital sign technology while protecting community aesthetic values and safety concerns. This course is available for free.

4.19

49 Mins

AICP CM

CNU-A

SACPLAN CPD

Free