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
David Rouse
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
Carlos Zapata
59 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
neighborhood with buildings and metro train
Introduction to Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools
Eliot Allen
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
David Dixon
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
Chris Holtkamp
81 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
vegetables at farmers market
Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Retail Facilities
Lauren Dunning
55 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
variety of products such as household cleaners and cigarettes with green labels
Sustainability Marketing and Greenwashing
Carlos Zapata
46 Mins
  • AICP CM
water dock with buildings in background
Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools for Communities and Existing Neighborhoods
Eliot Allen
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
Lindsay Malbon
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
Chris Holtkamp
85 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
garden of plants and vegetables in raised plots
Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Production Facilities
Lauren Dunning
43 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
sandbags aligned horizontally with a flooded street and houses in the background
Introduction to Resilience Planning
Chris Holtkamp
69 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
variety of housing units
Urban Sustainability Appraisal Tools for Planned Neighborhoods and Landscapes
Eliot Allen
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?
Jeff Speck
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
Eliot Allen
51 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
wildfire on a hill behind a row of suburban homes
Resilience Planning for Wildfires
Chris Holtkamp
58 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
solar panels
More Sustainability Appraisal Tools and Future Prospects
Eliot Allen
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
Seema Thomas
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...

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Chris Holtkamp

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

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Carlos Zapata

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

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Kristin Faurest

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

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Seema Thomas

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

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Michael R. Boswell

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

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Richard Willson

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

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Tammy Seale

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

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Jeff Speck

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

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David Rouse

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

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David Dixon

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

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John Hersey

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

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Matt Raimi

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

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Lauren Dunning

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

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Jonathan Ochshorn

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

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Lindsay Malbon

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

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Jenny Schuetz

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

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Jason Neville

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

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Donald Shoup

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

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James Brasuell

James Brasuell is the managing editor of Planetizen.

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William Fulton

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

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Scott Frazier

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

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Mariela Alfonzo

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

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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

Introduction to New Mobility Sign Up

Introduction to New Mobility

Instructor: Lisa Nisenson

The course on "New Mobility" covers the gamut of technological advancements where planning, transportation, and infrastructure design intersect.

4.49
77 Mins
AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD
Transit Planning: The First/Last Mile Sign Up

Transit Planning: The First/Last Mile

Instructor: Lisa Nisenson

This course covers the range of elements needed to boost access to transit, with a focus on door-to-door transportation from a destination to a transit station.

4.43
83 Mins
AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD
Beyond Complete Streets for Walking and Biking Sign Up

Beyond Complete Streets for Walking and Biking

Instructor: William Riggs

This course covers current practices in planning and implementation of infrastructure for biking and walking.

4.21
54 Mins
AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD
Urban Design for Planners 8: Parking and Traffic Sign Up

Urban Design for Planners 8: Parking and Traffic

Instructor: Emily Talen

The final course in the Urban Design for Planners series addresses the automobile as part of the urban fabric. The storage of cars and high levels of congestion can be very detrimental to neighborhoods, but good design can mitigate those negative effects. 

4.20
90 Mins
AICP CM
CNU-A
LA CES

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