M.S. UP Class of 2018 at Commencement
M.S. Urban Planning
Weijian Bi, Faraz Butte, Whigham Covington, Augustus Haney, Angela Li, Melinda Martinus, Lingran Meng, Tola Oniyangi, You Wan, Guanglin Yang, Adede Amenyah, Tonks Chen, Steven Kyle Cook, Yanling Deng, Madeleine Haslam, Abraham Murrell, Edward Palka, Coco Ke
Spring 2017 - Planning StudioRichard Plunz, Nick Klein
Weijian Bi, Faraz Butte, Whigham Covington, Augustus Haney, Angela Li, Melinda Martinus, Lingran Meng, Tola Oniyangi, You Wan, Guanglin Yang, Adede Amenyah, Tonks Chen, Steven Kyle Cook, Yanling Deng, Madeleine Haslam, Abraham Murrell, Edward Palka, Coco Ke
Pauline Claramunt Torche, Sean Nelsen, and Anna Stokes
Spring 2018 Course
Leah Meisterlin
Spring 2018 Course
Leah Meisterlin
The Columbia University Master of Science in Urban Planning is an accredited two-year program of professional education. Actively engaged in practice, our curriculum connects the study of the urban built environment with grounded analysis of socioeconomic and political conditions. We explore the tensions between market forces, civil society, and the goals of planning, paying special attention to the role of urban analytics and the quest for social justice. Students learn to evaluate and shape efforts to develop and enhance cities and their communities in ways that foster healthy and sustainable living.
Located in New York City, our program promotes a global outlook. We look to planning issues locally and internationally for studio projects, classroom case studies, and thesis research. By studying the impact of global linked processes (e.g. immigration and climate change) as well as local conditions on cities and communities, we think creatively about planning and policy approaches to improve processes and outcomes in cities around the world.
Planning education promotes the redistribution of resources and social justice in cities as much as the creation of wealth. Our students connect challenges of urban development, sustainability and equity with the political and socioeconomic conditions that define them. They learn to engage and assess the increasing abundance and availability of data to address urban problems and inform planning efforts. Throughout the curriculum, the emphasis is on real-world problems and how planners can act to improve the lives of urban residents.
Being part of GSAPP, our program connects with design, preservation, and real estate faculty and professionals to add to ideas and techniques developed by planners and social activists. We also offer a range of curriculum and dual-degree options within and beyond GSAPP for students interested in additional content expertise and skills. Our graduates work in critical and leading roles in government, private firms, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, multilateral institutions, and international NGOs.
Curriculum
The faculty shares a core pedagogic belief that the best professional education takes place in an environment of learning by doing, reinforced by classroom work and group projects. Planners must have a thorough understanding of the economic, social, political, legal, and physical forces that shape the built environment.
Curriculum offerings equip students with familiarity with the range of analytic and research techniques used by planners, practical skills through a semester-long studio project and other class projects, and competency in both general and specialized knowledge of planning. Students are required to choose at least one concentration area among four options: Built Environment, Community and Economic Development, International Planning and Development, and Urban Analytics. Students take a minimum of four courses and 12 points in a concentration.
Studios
In the Urban Planning studio, there is a real client with a real-world issue that will be analyzed by students working as a team under the direction of faculty. The deliverables that results will reflect critical analysis of socioeconomic, environmental, and political conditions as well as stakeholder engagement, and encourage students to consider “best practices” in planning and innovative thinking. Studio takes place in the spring of the students’ first year, and is thus not a “capstone” project but a way of integrating classroom learning with practical experience early in the students’ education.
Current Faculty
Fall 2018 Courses
| Course | Semester | Title | Student Work | Instructor | Syllabus | Requirements & Sequence | Location & Time | Session & Points | Call No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pla4008‑1 | Fall 2018 |
History and Theory of Planning
|
Hiba Bou Akar |
114 Avery; (201 Fayerweather, 200 Buell, 300 North)
M 10 AM - 12 PM; 12 PM - 1 PM (201 Fayerweather, 200 Buell, 300 North)
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
66947 | |||
| Pla4022‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Fundamentals of Urban Digital Design
|
Jennifer Chang, Andrew McGee |
201 Fayerweather, UP Computer Lab
F 2 PM - 4 PM, LAB F 4 PM - 6 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
67696 | |||
| Pla4050‑1 | Fall 2018 |
UP Elective Internship
|
Margaret Wiryaman | Open to M.S. UP 2nd Year With Approval Only - Via Application |
Full Semester
1.5 Points
|
68546 | |||
| Pla4208‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Planning Methods
|
Malo Hutson | Required for 1st Year, One Lab is Required |
200 South Fayerweather
W 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
88146 | ||
| Pla4209‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Planning Methods Lab
|
Required for 1st Year, CAP 18 |
UP Computer Lab
M 2 PM - 4 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
91346 | |||
| Pla4209‑2 | Fall 2018 |
Planning Methods Lab
|
Required for 1st Year, CAP 18 |
UP Computer Lab
M 4 PM - 6 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
92346 | |||
| Pla4209‑3 | Fall 2018 |
Planning Methods Lab
|
Required for 1st Year, CAP 18 |
UP Computer Lab
TH 4 PM - 6 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
92846 | |||
| Pla4577‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Geographic Information Systems
|
Leah Meisterlin | Required for M.S. UP 1st Year |
113 Avery
TU 9 AM - 11 AM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
95896 | ||
| Pla4578‑3 | Fall 2018 |
GIS Lab
|
Clara Chung | Required for 1st Year, Cap 22 |
UP Computer Lab
TH 6 PM - 8 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
76279 | ||
| Pla4578‑4 | Fall 2018 |
GIS Lab for Architecture and Urban Design
|
Grga Basic | Cap 20 |
UP Computer Lab
W 1 - 3 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
79529 | ||
| Pla4578‑1 | Fall 2018 |
GIS Lab
|
Kaz Sakamoto | Required for 1st Year, Cap 22 |
UP Computer Lab
TU 7 PM - 9 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
97046 | ||
| Pla4578‑2 | Fall 2018 |
GIS Lab
|
Kaz Sakamoto | Required for 1st Year, Cap 22 |
UP Computer Lab
W 6 PM - 8 PM
|
Full Semester
0 Points
|
98396 | ||
| PLA6003‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Genesis and Development of Zoning
|
Douglas Woodward, Purnima Kapur |
201 Fayerweather
TH 6 PM - 8 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
63496 | |||
| PLA6009‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Introduction to Environmental Analysis
|
Peter Marcotullio |
408 Avery & 200 Fayerweather North
TH 9 AM - 10 AM & TH 10 AM - 11 AM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
81046 | |||
| Pla6067‑1 | Fall 2018 |
On Spatial Exclusion and Planning
|
Hiba Bou Akar |
201 Fayerweather
M 2PM - 4PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
16446 | |||
| Pla6088‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Introduction to International Development
|
Marcela Tovar-Restrepo |
201 Fayerweather
TU 5 PM - 7 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
85030 | |||
| Pla6330‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Site Planning & Support Systems
|
Graham Trelstad |
115 Avery
F 9 AM - 11 AM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
90941 | |||
| Pla6434‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Introduction to Transportation Planning
|
Floyd Lapp |
115 Avery
TU 3 PM - 5 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
13443 | |||
| Pla6526‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Chinese Urbanism in Global Context
|
Weiping Wu |
300 Buell South
W 3 PM - 5 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
13279 | |||
| Pla6573‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Community Development Planning
|
Lance Freeman |
200 Buell
TU 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
11196 | |||
| Pla6581‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Practicum: Planning & Mega Projects In Global Cities
|
Adam Lubinsky |
300 Buell South
W 6 PM - 8 PM
|
Ses B= 10/22-11/30
1.5 Points
|
12596 | |||
| Pla6586‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Writing the City
|
Charles Euchner |
201 Fayerweather
M 4 PM - 6 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
13596 | |||
| PLA6615‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Planning for Resilience: Practicum on Santiago de Los Caballeros
|
Marcela Tovar-Restrepo | CAP 12 |
201 Fayerweather
TH 2 PM - 4 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
88696 | ||
| PLA6617‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Resilient Urban Systems: Practicum on Transit
|
Thaddeus Pawlowski |
200 Buell
TU 3 PM - 5 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
16346 | |||
| PLA6619‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Urban Informatics I
|
Anthony Vanky | Cap 23 |
201 Fayerweather
M 6 PM - 8 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
27546 | ||
| PLA6619‑2 | Fall 2018 |
Urban Informatics I
|
Anthony Vanky |
201 Fayerweather
TU 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
76201 | |||
| Pla6918‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Thesis I Workshop
|
Lance Freeman | Required for M.S. UP 2nd Year |
114 Avery
W 9 AM - 11 AM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
20896 | ||
| Pla6919‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Urban Planning Thesis II
|
11146 | ||||||
| Pla6930‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Advanced Quantitative Techniques
|
Lance Freeman |
200 Buell & Urban Planning Computer Lab
TH 11 AM - 1 PM; TH 2 PM - 4 PM (Lab)
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
26096 | |||
| PLA6939‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Sustainable Urban Planning and Design
|
Jonathan Martin |
300 Buell South
F 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
76646 | |||
| PLA6943‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Politics of Community Planning and Participation
|
Ethel Sheffer |
115 Avery
TH 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
92046 | |||
| Pla6909‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Advanced Studio III - Joint Historic Preservation/Urban Planning Studio
|
Erica Avrami, William Raynolds |
300 Buell North
TU 2 PM - 6 PM
|
Full Semester
6 Points
|
66096 | |||
| Pla6925‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Advanced Research I
|
Weiping Wu | By Appointment |
N/A
N/A
|
Full Semester
2 or 3 Points
|
21546 | ||
| A6708‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Sustainable Retrofits
|
Michael Adlerstein |
655 Schermerhorn
TH 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Ses B= 10/22-11/30
1.5 Points
|
76781 | |||
| A6785‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Theory of City Form
|
Vishaan Chakrabarti | All GSAPP Interdisciplinary |
200 Fayerweather South
F 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
66446 | ||
| A6783‑1 | Fall 2018 |
Narrative Urbanism: Strategic Storytelling For Designers and Planners
|
Cassim Shepard | All GSAPP Interdisciplinary, GSAS |
115 Avery
F 11 AM - 1 PM
|
Full Semester
3 Points
|
72191 |
Video produced by Urban Planning students as part of the course “Hong Kong as a Palimpsest: Transit-Induced Redevelopment in To Kwa Wan” led by Weiping Wu and Jose Luis Vallejo.
RIO: DESIGN THINKING FOR HEALTH URBAN ENVIRONMENT
Video produced by Urban Planning students of the Spring 2017 course “Rio: Design Thinking for Health Urban Environment”, taught by Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo.
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Urban Planning Semester in Review
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