All Writing Courses
Right-Sizing Zoning for Better Outcomes
Using elements of the built environment that contribute to a community’s unique sense of place and examples from across the United States, this course explores how to realign zoning with the goals and policies adopted in community plans.
Controlling Rents
This course introduces planners to the debate surrounding rent control, discussing both what rent control is able to accomplish, and where it often has unintended consequences.
The Elements of Citymaking: Design, Policy, and Finance
Examine the theory of city-making at various scales, ranging from a development site at the smallest scale to the largest urban regions.
Women and Cities 3: Gender Equity in Private Life
This course explores interiors as they relate to gender equity using several case studies as examples.
Accessory Dwelling Units: Understanding America’s Newest Housing Typology
Explore the latest ADU policy developments from leading American cities, key challenges and opportunities for increasing or limiting ADU production, first-hand examples, and best practices in ADU affordability programs.
Resilience Planning for Wildfires
This course explores the history of wildfire management, the factors that increase the threat of wildfires, and how communities can incorporate resilience thinking to plan for wildfires.
Parking Benefit Districts
Parking Benefit Districts may be the simplest, cheapest, and fastest way to improve cities, stop subsidizing congestion, protect the environment, and promote economic and social justice by managing curb parking as valuable real estate.
The High Cost Of Minimum Parking Requirements
In The High Cost of Free Parking, course instructor Donald Shoup argued that minimum parking requirements subsidize cars, increase traffic congestion, pollute the air, encourage sprawl, increase housing costs, degrade urban design, prevent walkability, damage the economy, and penalize people who cannot afford a car.
American Architectural Styles
This course traces the history of American architectural styles and discusses how to identify styles for historic preservation projects.
Historic Preservation: How-to Guide
This course discusses how planners contribute to the preservation of historic resources.
The Government’s Role in Historic Preservation
This course takes an in-depth look at the role of federal, state, and local governments in historic preservation. The course examines regulations, funding, and tax relief.
Environmental and Sustainability Standards
This course explains the different and most relevant sustainability standards—such as GRI, CDP, SASB, ISO, B-Corp, and others—as well as the differences between process and performance standards.
Solving Coverage and Location-Allocation Problems
Location-allocation problems involve locating supply sites and simultaneously allocating demand to those sites so the entire system is optimized. With this course, you will learn the basic principles of the coverage and location-allocation problems and be able to solve them using LINGO software and map the results in QGIS.
Area-Based Location Optimization: Urban Green Space Selection
By the end of this course you will understand the basic principles of area-based location optimization and be able to solve the knapsack, threshold, and shape problems using LINGO software. The course also shows how to map the results of these skills in QGIS.
Suitability Analysis and Linear Optimization: Siting a New Transit Line
This course applies suitability analysis techniques and least-cost path analysis—which optimizes routes on linear features—to planning for and siting a new transit line.
Location Optimization
This course introduces the basic principles of location optimization models and provides a hands-on tutorial on point-based location optimization using QGIS and LINGO.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course provides an introduction to urban design sketching by teaching how to draw urban design sketches and master plans using a mix of colored and black ink. These drawing techniques can be used to create plans that are detailed and expressive enough to use both in academic and professional presentations.
Incremental Code Reform: Enabling Better Places
The Congress for the New Urbanism’s Project for Code Reform streamlines the zoning code reform process by providing local governments with place-specific incremental zoning code changes that address the most problematic barriers first, build political will, and ultimately create more walkable, prosperous, and equitable places.
The YIMBY Movement: Opportunities and Challenges for Planners
Yes In My Back Yard, most commonly referred to as YIMBY, is a grassroots social movement advocating for an increase in housing development at the regional, city, and neighborhood levels. This course examines YIMBY organizational structures and the roots, goals, setbacks, successes, and tactics of the movement.
Complying With Federal Law in Regulating Telecommunications
Telecommunication technologies and facilities are subject to federal law and intersect with land use regulation and development. This course examines the requirements for such technologies as radio antennas, satellite receiving dishes, cellular towers, and 5G DAS wireless networks to comply with federal laws and regulations.