Department of Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Illinois

PLAN AT ILLINOIS

URBAN & REGIONAL PLANNING

ILLINOIS IMPACT

Urban planning is thinking about the built environment and how it affects social conditions and communities.

Finding creative ways to approach community needs and challenges is what urban planners do best.

People. Places. Planet. Plan it!

ILLINOIS IMPACT

BY THE NUMBERS

87

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

64

GRADUATE STUDENTS

16

FACULTY MEMBERS

STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO

BY THE NUMBERS

5:1

OUR DEPARTMENT HAS OVER 100 YEARS OF HISTORY IN ILLINOIS URBAN PLANNING EDUCATION.

WHY PLANNING AT ILLINOIS?

1 SMALL DEPARTMENT, BIG UNIVERSITY Students can take advantage of the opportunities available at a large, tier 1 research university while enjoying a small department size that easily facilitates bonds between classmates and faculty.

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ACCESS

COMMUNITY The Student Planning Organization, Planners NetworkUIUC Chapter, and departmentsponsored events draw students and faculty together in social settings, whether it’s the holiday gathering in the atrium, kickball on the South Quad, or potluck dinners at faculty homes.

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3 TRIFECTA We are one of the few universities in the country to offer all three planning degrees: BAUSP, MUP, and PhD.

Between the university, Urbana, Champaign, and Champaign County, getting involved in planning issues at all levels is easy. The department works with three planning commissions, two city councils, a county board, the C-U Mass Transit District, and the Sustainability Advisory Commission, just to name a few.

OPTIONS From our core foundation, choose a concentration or minor, or build a dual degree.

Pick from a broad slate of Urban Planning electives and Planningrelated electives in sustainability, transportation, community development and social justice, economic development, land-use planning, and much more.

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7 REPUTATION

TRADITION Planning has been offered at Illinois since 1912 when only Illinois and Harvard offered Planning programs.

Planning at Illinois is routinely ranked among the top Urban Planning programs in the nation.

WHY ILLINOIS

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PLANNING CURRICULUM The Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies Planning degree requires a minimum of 120 hours.

Students must complete the core requirements, one concentration, and a capstone.

URBAN STUDIES & PLANNING CORE COURSES • • • • •

Introduction to City Planning Planning in Action Cities: Planning & Urban Life, or Chicago: Planning & Urban Life Communication for Planners Urban Informatics

STUDENTS SELECT FROM THE BELOW CONCENTRATIONS TO COMPLETE THEIR PLANNING COURSEWORK • • • •

Sustainability Policy and Planning Social Justice Global Cities

CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE The capstone experience engages students in the real world and prepares them for the job market. Completion of the capstone project typically includes a semester– or summerlong applied activity outside of the classroom. Examples include an internship, volunteer work, consulting project with a client, summer research, etc. In their senior year, students present their capstone project in a public setting.

The Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning (BAUSP) is a degree accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board; students may enter the planning profession directly after receiving their degree.

The minor in Urban Studies and Planning introduces students to contemporary issues and factors affecting the development and functioning of cities in the U.S. and worldwide and requires 20 credit hours of coursework.

CURRICULUM

UP357 Field Trip to Urbana Sanitary District

PLANNERS IN ACTION

Graduating Class of 2018

OF RECENT GRADUATES WERE EMPLOYED, INTERNING, OR PURSUING FURTHER EDUCATION WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF GRADUATION.

P L A NIN NI N AG C TAI B OR NO A D

90%

PLANNING ABROAD THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING IS

PLANNING ABROAD

INVOLVED IN MANY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS. Opportunities vary in length from a few weeks to a full semester abroad. Here are a few notable examples: • Illinois Center for Global Learning and Engagement, Taipei, Taiwan • Globalization and Urban Inequalities, Cape Town, South Africa • International Planning Studio: Multidisciplinary student teams develop design or policy proposals for urban development of sites in international contexts. The studio combines seminar and studio/workshop formats to apply critical analysis, define planning problems, and propose solutions that integrate the social, economic, physical, and cultural aspects of site development.

• Semester abroad: Experience the immersion of studying urban development, policy, and design for an entire semester at the University of Sheffield or Manchester in England, the University of New South Wales in Australia, or through provider programs in Shanghai, China, or Copenhagen, Denmark. The possibilities are endless!

w studyabroad.illinois.edu

Photos provided by Caeley Hynes

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Going abroad to Thailand was one of the most beneficial decisions of my life. It has strengthened and broadened my perspective on important world issues surrounding food systems, resource management, sustainable policy making, culture, and social justice.

Caeley Hynes BAUSP 2019

PLANNING ABROAD

While in Thailand, I learned how to speak conversational Thai, lived with a host family, and took courses in food systems, political ecology of people living in the mountains, and ocean conservation. I traveled to rural villages and embarked on expedition field courses that focused on experiential learning, inserting me into the center of various political, cultural, and ecological issues, and giving me the opportunity to learn directly from the locals, government, and other policy makers.

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PLANNERS WANTED!

$76K

MEDIAN ANNUAL WAGE FOR AN URBAN PLANNER IN 2020

Employment of urban and regional planners is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026—faster than the average for all occupations.

Demographic, transportation, and environmental changes will drive employment growth for planners.

RECENT URBAN PLANNING ALUMNI WORK IN THESE AREAS • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Advocacy groups Architecture firms Community service agencies Engineering firms Federal and State governments Historical restoration and preservation agencies Neighborhood revitalization initiatives Planning agencies Real estate developers Private foundations School districts Transportation agencies Zoning administrations

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Kate Pond BAUP 2013 Research Analyst Streetsense, Washington, D.C.

STUDENT SUCCESS

The Illinois in Washington program provided me with the opportunity to network with industry leaders, meet with potential employers, and learn the lay of the land in Washington, D.C., while continuing to work towards my Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning. Today, I lead the retail research and analysis team at Streetsense, a firm that specializes in creating places and reinforcing brands in communities around the world. I’ve had the privilege of working with Marriott Global, the City of Detroit, the Urban Development Institute, the District of Columbia, Starbucks, the Flint, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of private real estate development companies throughout the United States.

” Photos provided by Kate Pond

ENGAGE NOW FAA SUMMER INTENSIVE At this one-week, project based program for high school students you will become part of a creative community. Through FAA Summer Intensive you can choose the Environmental Arts Track option which is combination of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design, and Urban Planning. The FAA Summer Intensive provides a perfect platform for high school students who want to get a taste of life as a college student and learn about careers in the arts.

w go.illinois.edu/FAAsummer

NEXT STEPS

IDEAL CITY COMPETITION Register to enter: w go.illinois.edu/FAAcompetitions High school students compete for scholarships to iSTEAM or scholarships to attend the University of Illinois.

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COMPETITION OUTLINE You have no doubt been influenced by your hometown, places you have traveled, and how cities are depicted on TV and in movies. Now it’s time to create your own city. How does your ideal city look and why? Why would people want to live in your city?

FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS WHEN CREATING YOUR ENTRY •

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State your vision and the goals that you feel would be accomplished through your design, spatial organization, and public policy.

Develop urban design features or concepts that support your goals.

Show your design elements in your sketches and/or collage of images.

Put your vision and goals in a written statement.

How will your design produce a better city than conventional urban development would? The length is up to you, but three pages would likely be sufficient.

YOUR MATERIAL MAY BE SUBMITTED IN TWO FORMATS 1. Two Microsoft Word documents: one containing your written statement and a second one containing the accompanying images/sketches 2. A PowerPoint presentation containing both text and images FACULTY JUDGES WILL CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA WHEN EVALUATING YOUR SUBMISSION • • •

Whether you presented a clear vision and clear goals The comprehensiveness of what you considered in terms of the components of a city The overall thoughtfulness/creativity of your ideas

COMPETITION

Second Place Entry 2017–18

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 110 Architecture Building 608 East Lorado Taft Drive Champaign, IL 61820

w urban.illinois.edu w faa.illinois.edu w admissions.illinois.edu/apply Questions? urbplan@illinois.edu