Writing Courses
- AIA CES
- AICP CM
- AIA CES
- AICP CM
Top Writing Instructors
Master Urban Planning Skills With A Planetizen Courses Subscription.
Try Free Courses
High quality video lessons developed by experts.
Complete course work to receive a certificate from Planetizen.
Test your comprehension with course quizzes.
Access reading lists, articles, and other materials prepared by instructors.
All Writing Courses
Plain Language 102: Integrating Words and Images for Effective Communication
Build on your foundational knowledge from Plain Language 101 by exploring the power of visual presentation and layout.
How to Scope for Plan Implementation
Learn hands-on steps and procedures for creating a well-scoped and funding-ready planning study.
Plain Language 101: Techniques to Write Clear, Readable, Inclusive Planning Materials
This course covers the basics of writing in plain language through a series of interactive chapters.
Interpreting Places and Spaces
Interpretive media can dramatically enhance people's experience of place. Learn how to develop and execute a plan that brings the stories tied to places to life.
Planning a Municipal Wayfinding System
Often overlooked, wayfinding is important for urban design, accessibility, and economic development. Learn the elements of a successful wayfinding system in this course.
Planning Commissioner Training
The new "Planning Commissioner Training" series offers citizen planners a chance to learn the tools to make a positive impact in their communities (available as a separate subscription).
Storytelling for Planners
This course will teach planners how to adapt proven storytelling methods employed by creative artists for centuries. We will cover the storytelling applications to analog and digital outreach methods.
Writing Master Plans, From Start to Finish
In this course you’ll learn how to approach a master plan—starting with concept development and community voice, and finishing with the mechanics of organizing and expressing ideas.
Writing a Press Release
At the end of this course, you will feel confident in establishing your audiences and crafting language that provides the most impact in your press releases.
Digital Publishing for Planners
This course identifies popular digital publishing methods, and explains tradeoffs between user-friendly self-publishing tools and premium hosting services.
Blogging About Planning
In this course we will review how blogs are used as planning tools to educate and engage participants in community decisions.
Producing Engaging Documents
Learn to combine text and graphics into a coherent document. At the end of this course, you will be able to identify all the elements of a document, understand their purpose, and use them effectively.
Editing for Sense and Accuracy
This course reviews approaches and tools to make editing routine and useful. At the end of this course, you will know how and when to edit. You'll be able to set up a style sheet, apply it to a document, and refine your work to create a polished document.
Writing for Planners: Documents that Work
This course reviews the different types of documents planners are called on to write—from one-page memos to complex master plans—and apply a simple writing approach that ensures the document's points are complete, compelling, and accurate.
Crafting Engaging Email Newsletters with Constant Contact
Constant Contact is one of the leading internet-based email creation programs, and this course will lead you through the process of establishing an account, creating a branded template for repeated use, and crafting compelling content using text and images.
Podcasting for Planners
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.
Creating Interactive iPlans with iBooks Author
This course provides an introduction to the basic functions of Apple iBooks Author and demonstrates how the program can be used to develop interactive documents such as interactive iPlans.