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

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

screen capture of the four panelists

The Future of Cities After COVID-19

James Brasuell, Allison Arieff, Mariela Alfonzo, Scott Frazier, William Fulton

57 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

Construction inside a large two-story mall.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

48 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

park with city skyline in background

Greening the Neighborhood: Accelerating Sustainability with LEED-ND

52 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

sanitation worker on the back of a garbage truck

Understanding Sanitation Work

46 Mins

CIP
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

person installing solar panels on building roof

Introduction to Climate Action Planning

Michael R. Boswell, Tammy Seale

66 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Aerial shot of a sewage water treatment plant.

Connecting Households to Sewer Systems

55 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

rooftop urban garden with buildings in backgorund

Urban Agriculture

47 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

black and white image of a crosswalk light with a green walking man and a red hanging man

Walkable City 2: The Useful Walk

82 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

exterior of leed building

Greening the Neighborhood: LEED-ND Core Concepts

29 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

large landfill with electronics and computers

Wasted Urban Opportunities

53 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

cars in traffic

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting for Cities

Michael R. Boswell, Tammy Seale

60 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

History of U.S. Landscape Architecture, Part 1

Kristin Faurest

64 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

graphic of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

UN Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Cities in Implementation

75 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

view of downtown minneapolis from bridge

Greening the Neighborhood: LEED-ND Metrics

65 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

detached accessory dwelling unit ADU in backyard

Accessory Dwelling Units: Understanding America’s Newest Housing Typology

57 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

beach houses on coastline

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Cities

Michael R. Boswell

59 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

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.

Master Urban Planning Skills With A Planetizen Courses Subscription.

Sign up

All Sustainability Courses

Resilience Planning for Heat and Drought Events

Instructor: Chris Holtkamp

Learn how cities can prepare their infrastructure and social services for heat waves and droughts in a warming world.

4.40

85 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

Resilience Planning for Floods

Instructor: Chris Holtkamp

This course builds on the "Introduction to Resilience Planning" course and uses the approach presented there as the framework for addressing flood threats in communities.

4.51

69 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

SACPLAN CPD

Introduction to the UrbanSim Cloud Platform

Instructor: Sam Blanchard

At the end of this course, participants will be acquainted with the UrbanSim forecasting methodology, understanding the features available in the UrbanSim Cloud Platform and the basics of an UrbanSim model at the Census block level.

4.05

51 Mins

SACPLAN CPD

Free