2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Sustainable Urban and Regional Planning Minor
The sustainable urban and regional planning minor is housed within the department of Geography and Sustainable Planning (gvsu.edu/geography) and focuses on optimal and sustainable land use and development in urban, suburban, and rural areas in the U.S. and worldwide. Planners create better living environments for all by designing smart and integrated land use systems. Our graduates find employment in public, private, and governmental institutions.
Reasons to Study Sustainable Urban and Regional Planning
The minor is a valuable addition to a student's transcript, demonstrating their concentration in the planning field.
Sustainable urban and regional planning students
- gain an understanding of planning terms and concepts, which equips them to enter conversations about local planning and zoning, and qualifies them for internships and jobs;
- build a strong foundation in the history and theory of planning and a depth of understanding that informs their analyses of local issues;
- participate in regional and state planning conferences and are exposed to frequent guest speakers, giving them contact with real-world practitioners in the field of planning; and
- connect with a broad community of alumni in planning related fields, people our undergraduates come to know on a first name basis, offering our graduates a ready-made network for career advice.
Concepts and skills in sustainable urban planning are applicable to a variety of specialties:
- Sustainable urban and regional planning
- Land-use planning
- Urban development and housing
- Transportation planning
- Environmental planning
- Environmental policy and planning law
Requirements
Students who minor in sustainable urban and regional planning are required to complete a minimum of 24 credit hours from the courses that follow. These 24 hours or eight courses are to be completed in two separate groupings. Group one consists of a nine-credit-hour core: GPY 111, GPY/PNH 209 and /PNH 313. Group two consists of 15 hours or five courses. Students are encouraged to meet with their advisor to optimize course selection.
Group One
- GPY 111 - Cities, Towns, and Villages (3 credits)
- GPY/PNH 209 - Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning (3 credits)
- PNH 313 - Land Use Planning (3 credits)
Group Two
Select five courses or 15 credit hours
- GPY 307 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
- PNH 307 - Local Politics and Administration (3 credits)
- GPY 312 - Urban and Regional Environmental Planning (3 credits)
- GPY 314 - Land Use and Planning Law (3 credits)
- GPY 316 - Introduction to Transportation Planning (3 credits)
- GPY/PNH 324 - Urbanization (3 credits)
- GPY/MKT 365 - GIS for Economic and Business Decision-making (3 credits)
- GPY 381/PA 380 - Study Abroad (Summer II in the Netherlands) Credits: 3
- GPY/ECO 385 - GIS in Urban and Regional Analysis (3 credits)
- GPY 410 - Landscape Analysis and Green Infrastructure (3 credits)
- GPY/ENS 412 - Global Climate and Environmental Change (3 credits)
- PNH 495 - Community Analysis (Capstone) (3 credits)
- GPY 496 - Field Research Project (3 credits)