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

rendering of neighborhood
The DIY Form-Based Code: Research and Development
Norman Wright
66 Mins
aerial view of new york city
The American City, Part 4: Complexity and Pattern in the City
Mark David Major
53 Mins
  • AIA CES
church surrounded by city buildings
Federal and State Religious Land Use Statutes
Alan Weinstein
61 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
aerial of Houston with houses and buildings
Planning for Racial Equity
Lance Freeman
55 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
A roadway and an Amtrak train during golden hour.
Roadways for People, Part 2
Lynn Peterson, Elizabeth Doerr
54 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
street with storefronts and living spaces
Form-Based Codes 101: Introduction
Mary Madden, Victor Dover
74 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
3D model created in CityEngine for urban planning course
CityEngine for Planners 1: Introduction
Elliot Hartley
47 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
closeup of a hand holding a pencil and architectural drawings on a desk
The Site Plan
Brad Neumann
55 Mins
storefronts with different building heights
Right-Sizing Zoning for Better Outcomes
Christy Dodson
129 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
cyclists navigate two-phase turn on dutch intersection
Principles of Intersection Design
Lennart Nout, Nick Falbo
51 Mins
  • CIP
  • AICP CM
ink drawing of buildings and people in foreground
Drawing in the Landscape: Pen, Pencil and Watercolor
Darryl Jones
57 Mins
  • AICP CM
runners and bicyclists in park
Comprehensive Planning for Healthy Communities
Matt Raimi
78 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
cars and buses on busy street with metro train in background
Transportation Planning: The Role of Transportation Systems in Social and Economic Life
Richard Willson
47 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
historical buildings with pedestrians on a walkway
The Government’s Role in Historic Preservation
Meredith Johnson
61 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
people viewing wayfinding map
Planning a Municipal Wayfinding System
Adam Fine
57 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
rendering of city aerial
The DIY Form-Based Code: Testing and Refining
Norman Wright
81 Mins
person getting on bus for urban planning course
Transit Planning: The First/Last Mile
Lisa Nisenson
83 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
map view of mixed housing types
The YIMBY Movement: Opportunities and Challenges for Planners
Mark Vallianatos
66 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
  • SACPLAN CPD
redlining map
Race, Space, and Planning
Álvaro Huerta
66 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
A city with digital icons.
Planning in an Era of Disruptive Change
David Rouse
47 Mins
  • AICP CM
tree lined neighborhood
Form-Based Codes 101: Learning How To Look
Geoffrey Ferrell
71 Mins
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM
  • CNU-A
3d model created in CityEngine for urban planning course
CityEngine for Planners 2: Coding in Computer Generated Architecture (CGA) and Exporting
Elliot Hartley
70 Mins
  • AICP CM
  • SACPLAN CPD
still from the movie of two people walking on sidewalk with trees and buildings in the background
Lewis Mumford on the City 4: The Heart of the City
29 Mins
  • AICP CM
people sitting on a bench overlooking new york skyline
The Theory and Practice of Culture and Placemaking
Annalise Fonza
71 Mins
  • CIP
  • AIA CES
  • AICP CM

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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All Urban Design Courses

CityEngine for Planners 3: Integration and GIS Sign Up

CityEngine for Planners 3: Integration and GIS

Instructor: Elliot Hartley

Learn how to import real-world data from satellite imagery and terrain to GIS data.

4.14
70 Mins
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools Sign Up

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

Instructor: Emily Talen

Urban planners and urban designers are interested in building places that embody beauty and hope. In this course, Emily Talen, PhD, FAICP, presents free urban design software tools that can help urban planners and urban designers visualize changes in the built environment to support the overarching goal of creating better places.

4.28
59 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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