Geography and Planning

Why study Urban and Regional Planning?

Who should consider majoring in Urban and Regional Planning?

Students that:

• want to learn about methods to deal effectively with growth and development of all kinds
• are interested in positive social, economic, environmental, and physical change
• want to work with people from different backgrounds to develop better communities
• want to find methods to protect the natural and built environment
• want to learn the skills to help communities develop a vision of the future, preparing plans responsive to shared communityobjectives
• want to learn to present recommendations to public officials and citizen groups in a comprehensive and understandable way

Planning is the profession that is dedicated to helping society manage change. Planners help to evaluate and seize opportunities and to understand and solve problems. Most planners work at the local level, but they are concerned with issues that affect the world – the preservation and enhancement of the quality of life in a community, the protection of the environment, the promotion of equitable economic opportunity, and the management  of growth and change of all kinds.

Planning has its roots in geography, engineering, law, architecture, landscape architecture, social welfare, and government reform, but most contemporary planners are trained in the social sciences so that they can understand the society and the economy in which planning functions and in which plans must be implemented

Our Urban and Regional Planning B.S. is the only undergraduate planning degree program in the SUNY system. The program emphasizes technical skills and it is applied in nature – many of the courses are taught by professional planners currently employed by local planning agencies. Our GIS course offerings provide students with highly marketable skills that compliment the planning curriculum. Upper division classes are small (10-20 students), which facilitates individual attention.