The Department of City and Regional (DCRP) offers an undergraduate minor in Urban Studies
and Planning in addition to first-year seminars.  PLAN 246 and PLAN 247 are introductory courses
open to all sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

For additional information, please follow the links below:
What is Urban Studies and Planning?
Careers in Planning
Consider a Minor in Urban Studies and Planning
About the Department
Requirements and Courses
What should I do if I Want More Information?


What is Urban Studies and Planning?
Urban planning is a profession that is dedicated to helping society manage change by assisting
in understanding and solving urban and regional problems.

Planners are concerned with real-world public health and safety challenges including the preservation
and enhancement of the quality of community life, the protection of the environment, the promotion
of equitable and sustainable economic development, and the management of urban growth.  

Planners address diverse public issues affecting where people live, work, and play; where they
shop and receive health care; how they get from place to place; what communities look like;
and how society uses resources.

The American Planning Association further explains the field of urban and regional planning
on its Web site.


Careers in Planning
Persons with an education in urban planning are increasingly in demand in North Carolina, the nation,
and the world as historic trends in urbanization continue unabated.  Traditionally, the entry route into
the planning profession has been through graduate education.  As the field of urban planning has
expanded, however, entry-level opportunities as planners are becoming available for persons who
can combine a major field of study in a discipline (e.g., geography, history) or interdisciplinary
area (e.g., environmental science, public policy) with specialized education in planning.

Planners work in many different organizational settings across the public, private, and not-for profit
sectors.  The primary professional association of urban planners is the American Planning Association,
having almost 50,000 members with approximately one-third as members of the American Institute
of Certified Planners (AICP).

For information about planning jobs currently available, visit:

• The American Planning Association's Careers Page
• The DCRP Job Search

Consider a Minor in Urban Studies and Planning
A wide range of undergraduate majors may be suitable for an Urban Studies and Planning Minor:
American Studies, Anthropology, Biology, Economics, Environmental Sciences and Engineering,
Geography, History, Management and Society, Operations Research, Public Policy, Political Science,
Psychology, Sociology.  If your program or department is not listed here, don't be discouraged!
The undergraduate degrees of recent DCRP masters' students range from engineering and zoology
to horticulture and linguistics.  All you need is an interest and concern for understanding and
managing change in cities and regions.

Are you interested in?

• Understanding the implications and possible responses to the rapid urbanization
  trends in North Carolina, the US, and the world?
• Improving human settlements, emphasizing the processes of physical development
  and their influence on social and economic characteristics?
• Exploring the interconnections among physical, economic, natural, and social dimensions
  in urban areas?  Between public and private enterprises?  Among various economic sectors?
• Focusing on the future and pathways for change over time, including affirming community
  goals, forecasting feasible paths, and developing paths to achieve desired futures?
• Identifying the diversity of needs in human settlements, guided by concern for public
  health and safety and the equitable distribution of community benefits?
• Learning about participation in decision making?
• Linking knowledge and collective action?

If your answer is YES to one or more of the above, you should consider the Minor in
Urban Studies and Planning.


About the Department
With a national and international reputation as one of the top three programs in urban and regional planning,
the Department of City and Regional Planning at Chapel Hill trains planners to meet the needs of a rapidly
urbanizing state, region, nation, and world.  Since its creation in 1946 the Department has provided
graduate-level planning education and training almost 2,000 planning graduates.  Within the University, the
Department has unique strengths in teaching and research related to the analysis and planning of land use
and spatial relationships within urban areas; planning and management of urban growth; housing, community,
and economic development; the analysis and planning of urban and regional transportation systems; the
design and preservation of the built environment; and environmental planning and natural resource management.


Requirements and Courses
Students in any department or curriculum at the University can elect the Minor in Urban Studies and Planning.
The Minor is offered through the Department of City and Regional Planning and consists of five courses.  
Students are required to take two core courses: PLAN 246 and 247. PLAN 246/247 is a sequence of courses
that introduces students to the structure and function of cities and ways planners solve urban problems.

In addition to the core curriculum in the Minor, students choose three additional planning courses.  Students
can select any other planning course with permission of the instructor after completing PLAN 246/247.
These courses enable students to develop knowledge in a planning specialization, such as land-use/
environmental planning or transportation planning; or, students may use this opportunity to develop a
better understanding of cross-cutting planning issues, such as planning ethics or international issues.

PLAN 246 Cities of the Future
PLAN 247 Solving Urban Problems
PLAN 260 Urban Politics and Public Policy (may not be selected by students majoring in public policy)
PLAN 267 Ethical Bases of Public Policy and Decision-making
PLAN 585 Environmental Management and Policy
PLAN 636 Urban Transportation Planning
PLAN 637 Public Transportation
PLAN 641 Ecology and Land Use Planning
PLAN 691 Honors Seminar

Planning Course Descriptions

For additional information on related course offerings, as well as a current, comprehensive rundown
of all undergraduate degree programs and courses, please consult the Record of The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill: Undergraduate Bulletin.


What should I do if I want more information?
For further details, students are encouraged to talk to their academic advisors and to contact:

Carolyn Turner, DCRP Student Services Manager.