About the Program

Urban Planning is a multi-disciplinary professional practice that focuses on the development of the built environment. Operating within a political environment, planners work to develop sustainable and equitable plans, programs, and policies that shape land use, housing, transportation, economic development, and the environment. The program emphasizes technical skill development as practiced in the real world, including courses in geographic information systems.

About the Government, Planning, and Philosophy Department
Cassety Hall 202
1300 Elmwood Ave.
Buffalo, NY 14222
Phone: (716) 878-6116
gpp.buffalostate.edu

Admission Requirements

Any matriculated student in good academic standing may declare this program.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

1. Appraise basic themes in the planning field and the multidisciplinary aspects of the planning profession.

2. Defend ideas and information from prior planning practices and scholarship by their application in planning documents.

3. Explain the profession’s role in creating socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable and equitable communities.

4. Generate planning documents from maps, graphs, and other visual representations that analyze information by seeking patterns, relationships, and social connections.

5. Design and deliver clear and convincing written and oral presentations.

Program Requirements

General Education 23 Requirements (33 credit hours)

Urban and Regional Planning Major Requirements (39 credit hours)

Required Courses
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
PSC102 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN215 INTRODUCTION TO URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN315 LAND USE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN325 MAPS AND MAPMAKING USING GIS | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN401 PLANS AND PLAN-MAKING | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN431 PLANNING PRACTICUM | 3 - Credit Hours
OR PLN488 INTERNSHIP | 1 - 15 Credit Hours

Planning for Society Electives (9 credit hours)
Complete at least 3 of the following Courses:
PHI102 INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN309 URBAN GEOGRAPHY | 3 - Credit Hours
OR GEG309 URBAN GEOGRAPHY | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN341 HOUSING AND EQUITABLE URBANISM | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN350 PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUITIES | 3 - Credit Hours
PLN380 NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 3 - Credit Hours
PHI301 JUSTICE: LIBERTY VS. EQUALITY | 3 - Credit Hours

Public Policy Electives (6 credit hours)
Complete at least 2 of the following Courses:
PSC215 URBAN GOVERNMENT | 3 - Credit Hours
PSC305 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY | 3 - Credit Hours
PSC315 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS | 3 - Credit Hours
PSC415 URBAN PUBLIC POLICY | 3 - Credit Hours

Planing Analysis Electives (6 credit hours)
Select two from the following:

Complete at least 2 of the following Courses:
PLN405 URBAN ANALYSIS USING GIS | 3 - Credit Hours
OR GEG405 URBAN ANALYSIS USING GIS | 3 - Credit Hours
GEG418 REMOTE SENSING | 3 - Credit Hours
GEG425 FUNDAMENTALS OF GIS | 3 - Credit Hours
GEG428 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING APPLICATIONS IN GIS | 3 - Credit Hours
GEG485 INTERACTIVE AND WEB-BASED MAPPING | 3 - Credit Hours
SOC240 ANALYZING SOCIAL PROBLEMS | 3 - Credit Hours

All College Electives (48 credit hours)