Master's of Regional Planning Program (MRP)

 Introduction
Degree Requirements
Course Descriptions

Theses
Projects

Core Faculty

Mark Hamin, Director
Ellen-J. Pader
Elisabeth Hamin
Jack Ahern
Robert Ryan

 

 


Emeritus Faculty

Meir Gross
E. Bruce MacDougall

For initial information about the program contact Sandi Potyrala, Graduate Secretary.

General Overview

The goal of the Regional Planning Program is to stimulate creative and systematic approaches for addressing and resolving the physical, economic, and social problems of towns, cities, and larger regions. Faculty and students are committed to the attempt to anticipate and adequately prepare for the impact of growth and development on the environment and vice versa, and to resolve conflicts between development and the environment.

The program is based on combining theoretical, historical, social, political, and technical dimensions of planning practice with strong emphasis on practice through studio and service to nearby communities. The program is oriented toward both the intellectual and the professional aspects of regional planning. Our alumni can be found in all levels of government as well as in consulting practice, real estate development, private industry, and in academic and research activities. They have been involved on the frontiers of social change since the 1960s such as urban revitalization, environmental protection, advocacy planning, historic preservation, growth management, economic development and geographic information systems.

The two-year Master's degree program offers a rich educational experience in many areas of regional planning, including the underlying theories of planning , urban form, urbanization, elements of the planning and decision-making processes, policy analysis and implementation, social planning, information technology and planning tools and techniques. The main areas of concentration within the MRP program are:

  1. Built Environment
  2. Economic and Community Planning
  3. Environmental Policy and Planning
  4. Information Technology in Planning
  5. Landscape Planning

Links with the program in landscape architecture enable advanced students to work with other faculty members and students studying problems of landscape architecture and urban design, particularly through the Dual Degree program.

In addition, there is now an opportunity to obtain both planning (MRP) and law (JD) degrees through an agreement with the Western New England School of Law. Details of this new arrangement are available here.

 

Master's Program and Areas of Concentration

Elective courses within the Regional Planning Program generally fall within one of five areas of emphasis that reflect interests and research of the faculty and related University agencies. In addition to fulfilling the core requirements, students select an area of concentration from which they take at least three related courses within the Regional Planning Program or elsewhere on campus. This enables each student to have one or more areas of speciality within the much larger, interdisciplinary planning program and ensures that everyone has sufficient background to undertake advanced research on a final project or thesis. Concentrations should be selected by the end of the first semester.
Built Environment Ellen Pader, Robert Ryan, Elisabeth Hamin
This concentration focuses on social, political and cultural analyses of the built environment. It is concerned with exploring different social and cultural responses to the built environment, analyzing policy, planning and design criteria for building more responsible urban forms, and intervening in discriminatory practices. Topics of study include domestic and international analyses of land use policy, urban form, design and development, housing policy, spatial relations and social change.

Required courses:

An additional course approved by BE faculty, within or outside the department, such as:

Or approved courses in Art History, Anthropology or Sociology.

Economic and Community Planning Meir Gross, Elisabeth Hamin
This concentration focuses on understanding the economic and social pressures facing communities, and strategies for building local and regional economies. It explores issues such as how towns, cities and regions will survive in a globalizing economy, and how towns and cities build communities in periods of boom and decline. Topics of study include industrial locations, regional analysis, social planning and social impact assessment, public and private finance, land-use planning and spatial analysis. The Center for Economic Development provides opportunities for applied research.

Required courses:

An additional course approved by ECP faculty, within or outside the department, such as:

Or approved courses in Transportation Planning, Economics, Management, Political Science or Sociology.

Environmental Policy and Planning Jack Ahern
This concentration focuses on central components of environmental policy and planning. It explores policy formation and the planning process at the local, state, national and international levels as they relate to environmental degradation and preservation. Topics of study include economic, social, political, ethical and legal dimensions of environmental policy and planning.

Required courses:

An additional course approved by EPP faculty, within or outside the department, such as:

Or approved courses in Environmental Science, Entomology, Chemicals and the Environment, Biology, Forestry & Wildlife Management, Microbiology, Wildlife Biology, Biology, Public Health, Plant & Soil Science or Civil Engineering.

Information Technology in Planning Meir Gross, E. Bruce MacDougall
This concentration focuses on policy formation, evaluation and implementation as they are increasingly influenced by information contained in large databases that must be accessed, analyzed and displayed with computers. To do this successfully requires not only skills with computer techniques, but also knowledge of what data are appropriate and how they may be interpreted and effectively presented. Topics of study include information technology courses with a particular focus on geographic information system technology. Required courses: An independent study focusing on building skills in some aspect of information technology in planning. One of the following:
Landscape Planning Jack Ahern, Meir Gross
This concentration focuses on the assessment, plan formulation and evaluation of land units and landscapes for various uses ranging from urban and suburban through recreation/greenways to landscape protection and preservation. Geographic Information Systems has been the emerging tool of landscape and land use planning. Required courses: Two of the following: You should have some competency in GIS. Recommended course:
Degree Requirements Up to Home Page (Larp)
Last Modified 3 February 2002 by Sheila Koczur
Send email to: larp@larp.umass.edu