At its core, urban design is the process of deciding how a city will be organized. More than just the physical layout of roads, buildings, open space, and transportation networks, urban design includes decisions about land use, urban form, and neighborhood scale that affect citizens’ access to urban amenities and healthy living environments near amenities and transportation.

Urban Design Courses

title graphic reads "tactical urbanism"
Tactical Urbanism: An Introduction
Mike Lydon
81 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • 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
Pompeii ruins with Mount Vesuvius in the background
History of City Planning 1: Ancient Times to the Modern Age (7,500 BC to 1900)
Jason Luger
53 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
two-story craftsman style home with a green lawn
American Architectural Styles
Meredith Johnson
71 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
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
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
exterior and interior of tiny home for urban planning course
Regulatory Implications of Tiny Homes
Malak Hakim
58 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
view of Shanghai, China skyline
History of City Planning 4: Planning in the Postmodern Age (1980-Today)
Jason Luger
74 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
two elderly people crossing the street
The Pedestrian Safety Crisis in the U.S.
Angie Schmitt
53 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
Sketch of a mixed-use street scene
Placemaking for Innovation: Creating Innovation Ecosystems
David Dixon
50 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
street with buildings and trees
Form-Based Codes 101: Corridors
Geoffrey Ferrell, Kaizer Rangwala
55 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • LA CES
3d model built in CityEngine for urban planning course
CityEngine for Planners 4: Sharing Your Work
Elliot Hartley
77 Mins
  • SACPLAN CPD
large city fountain surrounded by people
Lewis Mumford on the City 6: The City and the Future
29 Mins
  • AICP CM
parking meter on sidewalk
The Right Price for Curb Parking
Donald Shoup
51 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
pedestrian on path next to bikeshare
Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
Jeff Speck
79 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
bike lane
Bicycle-Friendly Streets: Design Standards
Michelle DeRobertis
41 Mins
  • SACPLAN CPD
park with buildings in background
Calculating the Benefits of Parks, Trails, and Open Space
Todd J. Poole
34 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
buildings, cars, people on Halsted Street in Chicago in 1900
History of City Planning 2: Modern Ideas of City Planning (1900-1939)
Jason Luger
49 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
three images of New York buildings, Central Park and a man riding a bike
U.S. City Planning 101
Dave Amos
46 Mins
fingerboard sign
Designing a Wayfinding System
Adam Fine
58 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
park with city skyline in background
Greening the Neighborhood: Accelerating Sustainability with LEED-ND
Eliot Allen
52 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
data layers in QGIS for urban design course
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
Emily Talen
59 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
A collage of four megacities
History of City Planning 5: The City of Tomorrow
Jason Luger
56 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
large group of people doing yoga outdoors in a city center
Women and Cities: Gender Equity, Past and Present
Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman
54 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD

Top Urban Design Instructors

Emily Talen

Emily Talen is Professor of Urbanism at the University of Chicago. Her research is devoted to...

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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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David Dixon

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

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Eliot Allen

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

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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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Jeff Speck

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

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Jason Luger

Jason Luger is a lecturer in City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley, College of Environmental...

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Daniel Parolek

Daniel Parolek is a nationally recognized thought leader in architecture, design, and urban planning, specifically in...

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Lennart Nout

Lennart is an urban mobility design consultant, specializing in design and planning of bicycle networks and...

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Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Katrina is a lecturer, researcher, and advocate for heart-centered cities. Her work focuses on human behavior...

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Meredith Johnson

Meredith is the owner of Johnson Planning and Preservation LLC, a boutique firm that works to...

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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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Donald Shoup

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

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Chase Mullen

Chase is the Director of Design Visualization at MIG. With an acute eye for graphics and...

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Elliot Hartley

Elliot Hartley is an internationally recognised geodesign and Esri CityEngine expert.

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Mark David Major

Dr. Mark David Major, AICP, CNU-A is a Professor of Urban Design at the Savannah College...

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Norman Wright

Norman Wright is the Director of Neighborhood Services for Adams County, Colorado. In his career as...

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Darryl Jones

Darryl Jones is an artist and filmmaker based in Oakland, CA.

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Adam Fine

Adam is the Director of experiential graphic design at Nova Scotia-based Fathom Studio and has worked...

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Geoffrey Ferrell

Geoffrey is one of the originators of the modern practice of Form-Based Codes. His work ranges...

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Mary Madden

Mary Madden has nearly 20 years of experience in the fields of urban planning and design...

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Elizabeth Doerr

Elizabeth Doerr is a writer with expertise and awareness around social and racial justice issues and...

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Lynn Peterson

Lynn Peterson is a nationally recognized transportation and land use integration expert.

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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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Podcasting for Planners Sign Up

Podcasting for Planners

Instructor: Ma'ayan Dembo

Audio editing is a great way to tell a story, share information, create a digital record of events, or improve community outreach. In this course, learn the basics of podcasting and audio editing.

4.31
58 Mins
Gephi for Network Analysis and Visualization Sign Up

Gephi for Network Analysis and Visualization

Instructor: Nader Afzalan

Network Analysis helps urban planners, designers, and policy makers explore the dynamics and complexities of social networks and organizations. This course demonstrates the ways you can use the open-source Gephi software to visualize and analyze online social networks.

4.19
121 Mins

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Software