Urban and Regional Planning Major

What is Urban and Regional Planning?

Planners deal with the fact that human communities are always changing. The consequences of this change can be chaotic and destructive, or life enhancing. A planner's task is to help communities cope with this steady growth, change, and renewal in ways that will maintain and improve the community's quality of life. Planners recognize the complexity of communities. As with natural environments, human communities are strengthened by diversity. One task is to help communities become even more diverse, broadening the variety of employment, educational, cultural, entertainment, shopping, and housing opportunities and promoting a broad range of land uses, income levels, and types of people. Another task is to help communities deal with the clashes of interest produced by such variety and turn these differences into a positive force for constructive change. Urban and regional planning involves multiple disciplines and addresses cities and people, human services and infrastructure, fiscal issues and environmental concerns. It aims to support the emergence of more just, efficient and sustainable cities.

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What are Some Specializations Within this Broad Major?

Various specializations related to a major in Urban and Regional Planning may be offered by colleges and universities. These specializations may be of greater or lesser interest to you. A few of these specializations related to this field include, but are not limited to:

City or Urban Planning
Community Planning
Economic Development
International Planning Systems
Land Use Infrastructure
Planning Analysis
Public Administration
Regional Planning
Urban Affairs/Studies

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What Kinds of Students Major in Urban and Regional Planning?

Sometimes referred to as a specialization within the field of architecture, urban and regional planning is a major, which centralizes around providing the best possible surroundings for people living in a growing city environment. What is required is a sense of spatial planning as well as a sense of what is best and most comfortable for the inhabitants of a city, as these planners have a direct affect upon positive and negative surroundings for the masses. Students in this field blend intellectual, aesthetic and interpersonal skills.

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What Courses Do Urban and Regional Planning Majors Take?

The required and elective courses you would take for Urban and Regional Planning majors vary considerably among institutions. Courses are listed here that are illustrative of the breadth of topics you are likely to experience were you to major in this field.

Land Use
Community and Regional Planning
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Demographic Analysis
Economic Analysis
Multi-Goals Project Evaluation
Population Projection
Transportation Planning

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List of Potential Jobs in Urban and Regional Planning

These professions and professional organizations illustrate the types of positions you might qualify for if you complete this major. Some majors are more directly related to employment than others, however. You should consider the likelihood of employment after graduation carefully, if you do not plan to go on for graduate work in a field. Even with the completion of graduate work in some fields, however, employment is difficult, so you should determine what the prospects are for this or any major. Employment possibilities are often enhanced by the selecting employment-related courses and by the enrollment in second major or in a minor.

City Planner
Architectural Review
Construction Management
Development Consultant
Regional Planner
Urban Planner

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What is the Median Salary Range for Urban and Regional Planning Careers?

U.S. Median Salary(starting):$43,300

U.S. Median Salary(mid-career):$77,000

Note: These numbers are national averages so you could make more or less than these amounts. Actual expected salaries will vary depending on your chosen career path, experience, and even your geographic location. Are you interested in detailed information about the forecasted demand for a particular profession? Are you interested in the estimated salaries such positions are likely to pay? This government Web site allows you to search on a particular job, whether listed here or not, to give you this information.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Colleges and Universities offering majors in Urban and Regional Planning

universities with majors in Urban and Regional Planning

2-year colleges with majors in Urban and Regional Planning

MyMajors complete list has 164 schools in the USA with a major in Urban and Regional Planning.
-View the national listing!

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For information on options available to campuses wishing to see their programs listed on MyMajors, contact for details.

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