Message From the director

Message from the Director

Each fall, as the faculty greets the incoming class of planning students, we are reminded of the tremendous privilege and responsibility we have in educating the next generation of planners. Each spring, as the graduating class presents its applied planning project, we are reminded how proud we are of our students and alumni.

Planning is a challenging and ever-changing profession. Practicing planners report that one of the best things about being a planner is that each day brings new challenges and fresh opportunities. The Masters in Urban Planning at UWM seeks to equip students with the skills they will need wherever time and their personal careers may take them. For this reason, our program focuses on understanding urban dynamics and on developing the problem-solving skills needed to address urban problems and guide urban futures

Our program encourages students to recognize the long-range interdependencies between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural areas. The core courses lay the foundation for understanding the dynamics of metropolitan areas and develop the skills for addressing the problems and opportunities they face.

Planning skills: communication, analysis, and political effectiveness. The first year core focuses on developing the skills planners need to develop alternatives, analyze policies, and successfully implement programs that emerge from the planning process. Core courses require students to sharpen their analytic and communication skills. Finally, since the best plans are useless if they sit on a shelf, the curriculum stresses the political and organizational skills needed to successfully implement plans and policies.

How do we plan? Planning theory introduces students to alternative perspectives on the best ways planners approach problem solving. Students learn the basic steps in policy analysis and public participation in policy development and planning.

 

Urban geography. Urban planning also includes a strong spatial component. The first year core courses stress urban geography, including how cities form and the geographic distribution of social and economic characteristics. Students are introduced to the fundamentals of land use control and how such controls influence the shape of metropolitan areas. Training in the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offers another tool that planners use to understand the geography of urban problems and issues.

 

The Milwaukee laboratory. Our commitment to revitalizing urban centers and building healthy metropolitan areas is renewed every day as the faculty reaches out to the Milwaukee community as a living laboratory for learning and discovery. The second year core courses, and many elective courses, involve students in real-life planning experiences. Students work in groups, under faculty supervision, for clients in the community. Students experience first-hand the challenges of articulating a vision, finding solutions, analyzing policies, and preparing plans. In addition, almost all of our students elect to take an internship working in planning agencies to further develop their skills through "on the job" training.

Emphasis areas. Through elective courses, students obtain a deeper understanding on particular problems facing metropolitan areas and alternative strategies for solving them. Elective courses in the program cluster in the areas of urban revitalization and economic development; geographic information systems; land use and transportation; urban design; and environmental issues.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming a Planner

Urban Planning Mission and Goals

For more information on careers in planning, contact:
Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
American Planning Association