Course Offerings
Courses offered in the current academic year listed by time, date, and faculty can be found on the Metropolitan College website.
The course offerings in the master’s programs in City Planning and Urban Affairs, consist of required core courses and a wide range of electives that help students gain valuable insight into a wide variety of issues and concerns related to planning for urban and regional development. By engaging in real-world case studies and integrated analyses of present-day and historical urban issues and data, students develop the skills and knowledge to confront the social, economic, and geographic challenges facing urban policymakers and planners today.
In addition to the graduate degrees in City Planning (MCP) and Urban Affairs (MUA), incoming degree and non-degree seeking students have the option of completing graduate certificates in the areas of Applied Sustainability, Applied Urban Informatics and Urban Policy and Planning, by completing four courses in the focus area. Courses cover a wide range of topics, including environmental sustainability, urban development, transportation, climate change, architectural history, policy, law analytics, urban design, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Key:
Core Requirement for MCP/MUA Degrees
Graduate Certificate in Urban Policy and Planning
Graduate Certificate in Applied Urban Informatics
Graduate Certificate in Applied Sustainability
MET UA 503 Housing and Community Development Fall
UPP Elective
Surveys the factors affecting supply and price of urban housing. Examines federal, state, and municipal programs, as well as future policy options, from the standpoint of housing quality and community development goals. Analysis of selected international comparative experience.
Instructor: Haegi Kwon, PhD
MET UA 508 Real Estate Development Fall
UPP Elective
Various factors affecting location, construction, financing, and marketing of real estate in metropolitan areas. Studies the relationship of public policy to the activities of the private sector, market analysis techniques, evaluation of development projects, and problems of real estate investment.
Instructor: TBD
MET UA 509 Public Finance and Urban Infrastructure Spring
UPP Elective
With rising infrastructure challenges facing cities, decision-makers increasingly require the foundational knowledge and skills in public finance to understand and address key issues at the center of planning for urban infrastructure investment. The course covers key areas of practical public finance considerations that can inform urban management strategies and begins with an overview of the magnitude and scope of the infrastructure challenge facing cities in the United States, and globally. By framing the investment in public infrastructure assets as one of the most pressing issues of current urban transformation facing urban planning, the course will lay the foundation for the importance of cross-disciplinary decision-making (informed by public finance and planning disciplines) to meet this challenge.
Instructors: Sarah Stanton, MPA and Adam Chapdelaine, MBA
MET UA 510 Special Topics: New Trends in Transportation
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Transportation is changing faster than ever before. New vehicle technologies, including electric vehicles and automated vehicles, have the potential to transform longstanding paradigms of vehicle ownership and use. New transportation services such as ride-hailing, bikeshare, and electric scooters, enabled by information and communication technologies, offer new travel choices and also new business models.
This course will apply principles of micro-economics (e.g., marginal utility, price elasticity, demand functions) along with information on macro-level factors such as changing demographics, to develop a framework for understanding transportation trends. We will use the framework to explore likely trends in electric vehicles, automated vehicles, “micro-mobility” modes, and mobility-as-a-service, and their impacts on travel behavior. In addition, we will explore the likely future of traditional public transportation within the emerging transportation ecosystem. Guest speakers from private industry and government will share their perspectives on emerging transportation business models, public policy challenges, and analytical techniques. Assignments will emphasize employing the principles learned in class to assess real-world transportation questions.
Instructor: Joshua Hassol, PhD
MET UA 510 Special Topics: Public Health and the Built Environment Summer 1
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Since the mid-1800s, scientists and researchers have continuously shown how public policies significantly impact the health of individuals now and in the future. Through readings, case studies, guest lectures, and in-class exercises, students learn about the lasting impacts of many of these policies. Students are also introduced to a variety of strategies used to design interventions that target urban problems and to the role of evidence in the policymaking process. This course is well suited for curious students with an introductory background in planning, public health, and related fields.
Instructor: Felix Zemel, MCP, MPH, DrPH, CBO, DAAS
MET UA 510 Special Topics: Global Cities Summer 1
UPP Elective
The course provides a framework for understanding the global network of cities and how particular cities occupy niches within that network. The course uses Boston and Massachusetts “Gateway Cities” to explore the long-term forces shaping global economic activity and urban development, including transportation, telecommunications, international trade, immigration, innovation, higher education, and cultural exchange. The course uses the United Nations Habitat III Conference and other international urban organizations to examine strategies for sustainable urban development in cities around the world.
Instructor: James O’Connell, PhD
MET UA 511 Introduction to Urban Informatics Spring
UPP Elective/AS Elective/AUI Required
Data is everyone’s responsibility now. City planners and urban professionals do not need to have the words “data” or “analyst” in their job title to be immersed in data. They are expected to use them regularly as the trend towards evidence-based decision making continues. Government agencies, foundations, nonprofits, and planning firms all recognize the importance of leveraging data to create effective policy decisions and urban plans. However, planners and urban professionals grapple with how to analyze large and complex datasets. In this class, students will learn about the applied dimensions of the emerging field of urban informatics which is used to understand cities and to inform urban planning practice and policymaking.
Instructor: Yesim Sungu-Eryilmaz, PhD
MET UA 515 History, Theory and Planning Practice Fall
Core Requirement (*this course is a pre-requisite for UA 805)
History, concepts, and methods of contemporary urban and regional planning practice. Governmental, nonprofit, and private settings of professional planning; plans, research, and policy development; uses and implementation of planning. Political analysis of planning issues, such as comprehensiveness, public interest, advocacy, negotiation, and future orientation. Case materials are drawn from redevelopment, growth management, land use conflicts, and service delivery.
Instructor: Luis Santiago, PhD
Video Introduction Course Posters:
MET UA 521 Environmental Law, Policy and Justice Summer 2
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Principles and status of environmental law for pollution control and environmental improvement. Impact statements, resource conservation and protection, growth management. Emphasis on air, water, land, and hazardous waste issues. Environmental, economic, and other policy relationships. Case materials and court decisions are reviewed.
Instructor: Kwabena Kyei-Aboagye, JD
MET UA 526 Multi-modal Transportation Planning and Design Spring
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Using a blended seminar and design studio format, this course equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in transportation planning processes and to develop conceptual designs for multimodal transportation networks. Students learn the history, theories, principles, and design standards of multimodal transportation planning, developing and practicing design skills during studio sessions. Readings include academic literature; government plans and reports; news articles; construction plans; as well as design manuals and guidelines for designing pedestrian, bicycle, micromobility, and transit infrastructure, and for integrating different types of transportation into urban environments. Class sessions are supplemented with site visits, guest presentations, and case studies drawn from the local, state, and national level.
Instructor: Doug Johnson, MCP
MET UA 527 Feeding the City: Urban Food Summer 2
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Examines historical and contemporary issues involved in providing food to cities and metropolitan areas. Tracing the routes that food takes into the city and the major sources of food, the course looks closely at the accessibility of food, especially in poorer urban neighborhoods. Among topics covered are obesigenic neighborhoods, food deserts, gentrification and foodie culture, public school food nutrition, attempts to minimize food waste, and immigrants and ethnic foods in the city. The course also considers recent attempts at food production in cities, including urban agriculture, vertical farming, and craft production of food products. After closely looking at the history and current status of food programs, the course concludes with a consideration of urban food policies.
Instructor: Walter F. Carroll, PhD
MET UA 591 Applied Analytical Methods Fall (on-campus), Spring 2 (online), Summer 2 (online)
AUI Required
Data is everyone’s responsibility now. City planners and urban professionals don’t need to have the words “data” or “analyst” in their job title to be immersed in data. They are expected to use them regularly as the trend towards evidence-based decision making continues. Government agencies, foundations, nonprofits, and planning firms all recognize the importance of leveraging data to create effective policy decisions and urban plans. However, planners and urban professionals grapple with how to analyze large and complex datasets. In this class, students will learn about the applied dimensions of the emerging field of urban informatics which is used to understand cities and to inform urban planning practice and policymaking.
On-campus Instructor: Luis Santiago, PhD
MET UA 604 Urban Political Decision-Making: Citizen Participation in the Planning Process Spring
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Case studies of political decision-making roles in urban conflict management and resource allocation. Community power distribution, factors influencing change, leadership styles, and relationships to administrators and planners. Selected policy issues, such as redevelopment, education, crime, and service delivery.
Instructor: Karin Brandt, MCP
MET UA 610 Environmental Urban Issues
AS Elective
Presents a comprehensive approach to urban environmental issues by integrating environmental planning and policy. Intended for students with and without a planning background. Provides a broad view and discussion of natural resources planning relating to issues affecting urban watershed management. This approach includes water policy, sustainability of water resources, freshwater planning (lakes and rivers), coastal waters, open space protection, storm water management, Clean Water Act, wetland protection, low impact development, and stakeholder involvement with a focus on the means and techniques available to local governments to plan and protect watersheds. Case studies are used to demonstrate the potential to address a full range of urban watershed issues, including water supply planning, water quality restoration and protection, open space planning, habitat protection and ecological conservation, and enhancement and regulatory activities.
Instructor: Kwabena Kyei-Aboagye, JD
MET UA 613 Urban Design and Development Fall
UPP Elective/AS Elective
Course explores the role of urban design in the community development process. Students examine human behavior, aesthetic foundations of design methods, citizen/client participation, and public policy issues. Students conduct analysis of actual community spaces and redesign public spaces.
Instructor: Andrew Grace, MCP
MET UA 617 Actionable Sustainability Fall
AS Required
Sustainability generally refers to the ability of “systems” to be maintained such that they remain viable over long periods of time. As much as achieving the perfect sustainable equilibrium may be the ideal, it is important to recognize that there will be competing and conflicting interests, especially within complex hierarchical social, economic and ecological systems, particularly in light of ongoing climatic change. This field intensive course draws on the practices and theories of sustainability and climate change to understand what sustainability can mean in different contexts, and, more important, how nuanced, sustainable solutions can be achieved under varying conditions and in different systems. With an emphasis on the urban environment, the course will consist of projects in which students will identify, analyze, and develop practical proposals to real world issues. This course is intended for a wider audience from a range of disciplines.
Instructor: John Bolduc, MA
MET UA 619 Urban Transportation, Policy and Planning Fall
UPP Elective/AS Elective
The course provides an introduction to important concepts and policy issues in transportation, principally at an urban and metropolitan level. The course will explore various methods planning practitioners can use to analyze transportation problems and propose solutions.
Co-Instructors: Terrance J. Regan, MPA & Joshua Hassol, PhD
MET UA 627 Smart Green Cities Spring
AS Required
Examines the theoretical elements of “sustainability” and their applicability in guiding development, particularly at the city level. Through a comparative study of a wide range of sustainable practices in important subfields of planning, such as transportation, land use, and housing, students will learn about the constraints and opportunities different cities face, and how to effectively address them. Special attention will be given to the preparation of environmental impact statements and assessment of urban environmental quality. This is a project-based course and includes lectures, discussions, workshops, case studies, selected guest speakers, and a final project.
Instructor: Luis Santiago, PhD
MET UA 654 Geographic Information Systems for Planners Spring (on-campus), Fall 2 (online), Summer 2 (online)
UPP Elective/AS Elective/AUI Required
Course provides an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), specifically with a focus on applications in urban planning. The role of spatial analysis in local, state, and regional planning has increased with the infusion of GIS software such as ESRI ArcGIS.
Instructor: Yesim Sungu-Eryilmaz, PhD
MET UA 664 Planning and the Development Process Fall
Core Requirement/UPP Required
This course specifically explores the area where the private and public sectors meet so that the student can develop an awareness of the complexity of dealing with these often competing interests. The objective of the course is to give the student an understanding of the motivations of the private sector in the way they go about creating their products and projects and to leave the student with the tools and knowledge to successfully negotiate the Public Interest with the Private Needs.
Instructor: Jonathan Greeley, MA, AICP
MET UA 701 Urban Problems and Policy Responses Spring
UPP Required
Major problems confronting urban areas and the process of policy formulation and implementation. Emphasis on problem interdependence and systems characteristics. Analysis of problem definitions (housing, crime, poverty, etc.), goals, public/private responsibilities, existing programs, and policy options. Analysis of selected, comparative international experience.
Instructor: Walter F. Carroll, PhD
MET UA 703 Urban Research Methods Fall
Core Requirement (*this course is a pre-requisite for UA 805)
Mixed-Methods Design for Urban Research is intended to develop skills in the evaluation and utilization of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches to scholarship in social-science research. The course will explore survey, experimental, observational, interview, ethnographic, and case-study research methods in depth, and students will learn how to collect, organize, and evaluate data in various forms. Students will create a fully developed research proposal drawing upon mixed-methods techniques to investigate a topic of interest.
Instructor: Yesim Sungu-Eryilmaz, PhD
MET UA 704 Urban Economics Spring
Core Requirement
Course explores basic economic concepts and techniques of analysis necessary for urban public policy development. Analysis of the economic bases of urban problems and corresponding policy solutions will be investigated.
Instructor: Luis Santiago, PhD
MET UA 715 Planning and Land Use Law Spring
Core Requirement or UA 664
Planning, zoning, subdivisions, eminent domain, exactions, impact fees, and other land use controls: what are they, how do they operate, what are the limitations on their use? In this course, we will explore the use of those tools for planning and development and read and understand the important U.S. Supreme Court and state court decisions that have shaped and continue to influence planning and land use throughout the country. We will see the connection between land use controls and court decisions and how each has evolved to meet changing conditions and goals. We will also review the structure of the U.S. legal system and create a framework for understanding constitutional requirements on eminent domain, due process, and equal protection from a planner’s perspective.
Instructor: Kwabena Kyei-Aboagye, JD
MET UA 805 Urban Studies Capstone Spring
Core Requirement (*UA 515 and UA 703 are pre-requisites to take this course)
The capstone course integrates the principles and applications of the major area of study of City Planning, Urban Affairs, and Public Policy. During the course of the semester, students are required to work in groups to complete a comprehensive project, which serves as an evaluative tool for student achievement for the major learning goals of the Programs. The course is primarily student driven, and is aimed to foster interdisciplinary partnerships and help cultivate industry alliances and cooperation. Recognizing the unique and diverse characteristics of the Boston urban environment, the capstone projects will be drawn from a range of topical issues that are currently ongoing in the greater Boston metropolitan area. The project-based course emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of city planning and urban affairs and provides students the direct opportunity to gain experience with real-world projects and stakeholders.
Instructor: Luis Santiago, PhD
MET UA 801 Graduate Directed Study Fall/Spring/Summer
Elective
Limited to a maximum of 8 credits toward the degree requirements. Approval by program director required prior to registration. Study of urban and public affairs and planning individually arranged between student and instructor to provide training opportunities not available elsewhere.
MET UA 804 Supervised Fieldwork Fall/Spring/Summer
Elective
Limited to a maximum of four credits toward the degree requirements. Approval by program director required prior to registration. Students spend a minimum of 5 hours per week working with public agencies, community groups, or private organizations, during the semester.
Students may take elective courses offered in other programs across Boston University, or through the BU consortium, upon consultation with their academic advisor. Additional courses may also be offered through the City Planning and Urban Affairs programs from time to time.
For questions, please contact the CPUA Academic Program Manager, Kelly Adams, at kadams2@bu.edu.
