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Community and Regional Planning

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Contact Information

    This is an archived copy of the 2024-2025 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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    Overview

    www.design.iastate.edu/community-and-regional-planning

    Community and regional planning are a field of study aimed at understanding the ever-changing socioeconomic and physical environments of our communities and planning for their future. Planners evaluate and seize opportunities to solve problems. Planners work at multiple levels of government, as well as the private sector, and they are concerned with issues that affect every corner of the world: the preservation and enhancement of the quality of life in a community, the protection of the environment, the promotion of equitable economic opportunities; and the management of growth and change of all kinds.

    Graduates of the Community and Regional Planning department are able to integrate planning knowledge and skills in a variety of practical applications and can communicate effectively in written and oral form. Graduates will be qualified for a variety of entry-level positions in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. They will also be well prepared for graduate study in a variety of fields, including urban planning, law, public policy, public health, environmental science, geography, sociology, urban design, historic preservation, data science, and architecture.

    Graduates of the Community and Regional Planning department are expected to understand the structure and functions of urban settlements, including the history of planning and urban development and the processes for plan and policy making. Graduates should have skills in problem formulation, quantitative analysis, written/oral and graphic communications, and collaboration, and in synthesizing and applying knowledge to practice. Graduates are expected to be able to assess the impact of plans and alternatives based on principles of equity and social justice, economic welfare and efficiency, environmental sustainability, and cultural heritage in the context of citizen involvement in decision making.

    The department is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. The curriculum is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Our students gain an education that, when combined with experience, supports eligibility for membership in the American Institute of Certified Planners.

    The department administers two undergraduate minors: Urban Studies and Geographic Information Science (GISC). The department cooperates in the undergraduate minors in Design Studies, Digital Media, Critical Studies in Design, Environmental Studies, and Sustainability.

    Student Learning Outcomes

    We educate students to be critical thinkers and engaged global citizens who have the ability to contribute to a better world. Graduates of the Community and Regional Planning program at Iowa State University will be skilled in understanding and articulating community problems and issues and be able to apply planning knowledge in a diverse and democratic setting, to the standards of conduct outlined by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

    Graduates of the program will:

    • Demonstrate essential knowledge of the purpose and history of planning;
    • Demonstrate knowledge of planning ethics, equity and social justice and be capable of making sound ethical judgments;
    • Demonstrate knowledge of planning law and local government institutions regarding how plans and policies are developed and implemented;
    • Be knowledgeable about the planning process; understand how social, cultural and economic forces influence land use changes; be able to develop alternative scenarios for the future; and have experience applying these ideas through active learning and real life experiences;
    • Have a working knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative methods and demonstrate their ability to apply these methods in order to analyze a planning problem or situation;
    • Engage communities, identify a range of tools that can be applied to different situations, and demonstrate their ability to expand participation, ensure inclusion, and give voice to diverse stakeholders;
    • Demonstrate professional written, oral and visual communication skills within a variety of educational and community settings;
    • Be knowledgeable about the natural environment and understand the factors that create sustainable and resilient communities;
    • Be knowledgeable about diverse ideas, cultures and societies; and
    • Have a basic knowledge about global issues that affect planning, urbanization, and societies.