Planning

About the Department

The Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University provides a dynamic, rigorous, and supportive context to address the most urgent planning questions of our time.

Our faculty and students plan for a sustainable future through work on climate adaptation, sustainable transportation and infrastructure systems, affordable housing, economic development, and environmental justice. We challenge inequality by embedding justice and equity in plans, policies, and processes that shape governance and institutions. We transform the built environment through urban design, historic preservation, and reuse. We map, model, and analyze cities using GIS, urban data analytics, spatial and statistical analysis, qualitative methods, and storytelling. We engage communities through ethical and accountable collaborative partnerships and participatory research and teaching.

At CRP, the next generation of planners and urbanists are equipped to work across multiple scales, inspired by global practice, and make local impact to shape cities and regions, now and in the future.

Puerto Rico.

New York City.

Our Approach

Group of people look at a mural on a brick wall that says — **Global Practice, Local Impact**

Two people look at a map on a table and the map has written notes on it. — **Global Practice, Local Impact**

CRP Faculty Collaborate with

95

Universities and Research Institutes Around the World
80

Non-profits and NGOs
54

Policymaking Agencies
38

Institutes and Programs Across Cornell
31

Cities and Municipalities
12

Companies

Mar 20

Frank E. Tolbert: Planning in Practice — Subregional Transportation Planning and Professional Skills in Contemporary Urban Planning

Attend a lecture examining how subregional planning functions as a critical bridge between municipal needs, regional policy frameworks, and state and federal transportation objectives.

Lecture
Apr 7

AAP Launchpad: Spring 2026

Join us for a special event showcasing recent books written and edited by Cornell AAP faculty.

Function
Apr 10

Noel Didla and Ed Fields: As Goes The South

A lecture on a 45-minute film that reframes Birmingham through the people, culture, and civic creativity shaping its future beyond outdated narratives.

Lecture
Apr 16

Colin Rowe and Urban Design: A Continuing Conversation

Attend a panel discussion celebrating Colin Rowe’s contributions to urban design and a recent publication which pays tribute to that work.

Lecture
Apr 17

Nikhil Anand: Amphibious City: Stormwater Drains and the Making of Gray Futures

Attend this lecture by Nikhil Anand discussing Mumbai, a city staged in the amphibious volumes of its land-seas, and how experts and residents infrastructure and inhabit its increasingly uncertain terrain.

Lecture

In the Media Iran’s Capital Is Moving. The Reason Is an Ecological Catastrophe

Scientific American — CRP Associate Professor Linda Shi comments on the political motivations behind relocating Iran’s capital, noting that Tehran’s severe water shortages stem not only from drought but also from decades of mismanagement and land subsidence, which the government is now using to justify moving the capital to the Makran coast.

In the Media How Robert Moses Transformed NYC

Urbanist — CRP Professor Thomas J. Campanella, who teaches the course Robert Moses’s New York: The Legend and The Legacy, speaks with documentarian Ariel Viera about his influence on the city.

Stories Alum Leads Urban Design Collective that Preserves Black Community

Cornellians profiles Emma Osore (B.S. URS ’09) cofounder and executive director of BlackSpace, a collective of planners, architects, artists, and designers who work to protect, elevate, and create Black spaces.