Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis Course

Lesson 1 • History of Urban Development

Traces city growth from ancient settlements to industrial and post-industrial forms. Establishes the historical context needed for all subsequent planning theory.

Lesson 2 • Sustainability and Urban Planning

Defines sustainable development principles and their integration into planning practice. Links environmental, social, and economic goals to planning outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Urban Governance and Institutions

Covers the roles of public agencies, elected bodies, and community organizations in shaping cities. Prepares students to navigate institutional contexts in applied exercises.

Lesson 4 • Land Use Regulation Fundamentals

Introduces zoning, subdivision controls, and development standards as regulatory tools. Grounds students in the legal and procedural basis for land use decisions.

Lesson 1 • Introduction to Spatial Concepts

Defines location, distance, scale, and spatial relationships as analytical tools. Provides the conceptual foundation for all GIS and mapping work ahead.

Lesson 2 • Urban Spatial Structure Models

Reviews concentric zone, sector, and multiple-nuclei models of urban form. Connects classical models to observable patterns in contemporary cities.

Lesson 3 • Coordinate Systems and Projections

Explains geographic and projected coordinate systems and their distortion properties. Ensures accurate spatial referencing in all subsequent mapping exercises.

Lesson 1 • GIS Software Interface and Workflow

Orients students to the GIS workspace, toolbars, and project file structure. Establishes efficient workflow habits that support all subsequent GIS exercises.

Lesson 2 • Spatial Data Types and Formats

Distinguishes vector and raster data models and common file formats. Prepares students to source, load, and manage diverse urban datasets.

Lesson 3 • Cartographic Output and Map Design

Guides students through map layout, legend design, and print/export settings. Produces professional-quality planning maps suitable for public presentations.

Lesson 4 • Data Acquisition and Management

Covers open data portals, government repositories, and field data collection methods. Teaches data cleaning and organization practices critical for reliable analysis.

Lesson 1 • Qualitative Data Methods

Covers interviews, focus groups, and observational techniques for capturing community perspectives. Integrates qualitative findings with quantitative spatial data.

Lesson 2 • Data Visualization for Planning

Applies charts, graphs, and infographics to communicate planning data clearly. Emphasizes audience-appropriate visualization choices for technical and public audiences.

Lesson 3 • Land Use and Parcel Data

Covers parcel databases, assessor records, and land use classification systems. Enables students to map and quantify land use patterns across study areas.

Lesson 4 • Survey Design for Planning

Teaches questionnaire construction, sampling strategies, and bias mitigation for community surveys. Connects survey design to actionable planning intelligence.

Lesson 1 • Suitability and Site Selection Analysis

Combines weighted overlay and multi-criteria evaluation to rank candidate sites. Produces defensible, spatially explicit recommendations for planning decisions.

Lesson 2 • Buffer and Proximity Analysis

Creates fixed and variable buffers to assess service areas and impact zones. Directly supports site suitability and environmental review tasks.

Lesson 3 • Network Analysis for Urban Planning

Models street networks to calculate travel times, service areas, and accessibility. Supports transportation planning and facility location decisions.

Lesson 4 • Overlay Analysis Methods

Applies intersect, union, and clip operations to combine spatial datasets. Enables multi-criteria land suitability and conflict identification analyses.

Lesson 1 • Zoning Map Analysis

Interprets zoning district boundaries, permitted uses, and dimensional standards spatially. Identifies conformance, nonconformity, and rezoning opportunities.

Lesson 2 • Growth Management and Urban Boundaries

Analyzes urban growth boundaries, infill potential, and greenfield development pressure. Connects spatial analysis to regional growth management strategies.

Lesson 3 • Existing Land Use Mapping

Classifies and maps current land uses from parcel and imagery data. Establishes the baseline needed for future land use planning and change detection.

Lesson 4 • Future Land Use Planning

Develops future land use maps using scenario planning and community input. Integrates spatial analysis with policy goals to produce a comprehensive land use plan.

Lesson 1 • Travel Demand and Mode Analysis

Applies origin-destination data and mode share statistics to understand travel behavior. Supports demand forecasting and multimodal planning strategies.

Lesson 2 • Transportation Network Assessment

Evaluates road hierarchy, connectivity, and multimodal infrastructure using GIS. Identifies gaps and deficiencies in the existing transportation system.

Lesson 3 • Parking and Freight Analysis

Evaluates parking supply, demand, and freight movement patterns spatially. Connects parking and freight findings to land use and economic development goals.

Lesson 4 • Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning

Assesses walkability, bikeability, and active transportation infrastructure spatially. Produces prioritization maps for pedestrian and bicycle network improvements.

Lesson 1 • Capstone Planning Project

Integrates all course competencies into a full planning analysis for a realistic study area. Produces a professional report with maps, findings, and policy recommendations.

Lesson 2 • Comprehensive Plan Spatial Analysis

Synthesizes land use, transportation, and infrastructure analyses into a comprehensive plan framework. Demonstrates how spatial evidence supports each plan element.

Lesson 3 • Geodemographic and Equity Analysis

Applies spatial statistics to identify disparities in service access, environmental burden, and opportunity. Produces equity maps that inform equitable planning policy.

Lesson 4 • Urban Growth Modeling

Uses cellular automata and regression-based models to project urban expansion patterns. Connects growth projections to infrastructure and land use planning needs.