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.

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

May 24

AAP Commencement

Join us as we celebrate the AAP class of 2026!

Function
Jun 6–Sep 4

AAP Summer Exhibition 2026

Visit AAP this summer for a cross-departmental exhibition featuring student work from the 2025–26 academic year that showcases the college’s creative and critical practices.

Exhibition
Jun 6

Reunion 2026

Mark your calendars and celebrate with old and new friends at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning during Cornell Reunion Weekend.

Function
Jun 26–Aug 14

Undergraduate Admissions Summer Events 2026

Register for an in-person information session at Cornell AAP or drop in for a casual conversation with an admissions officer.

Admissions
Oct 22–25

CRPConnect! A Celebration of Research, Practice, and Community

Join us on the Ithaca campus October 22–25, 2026, to connect with faculty and former classmates, share your work, find a mentor, present your research, network with colleagues, find internship candidates, visit downtown Ithaca, and more!

Symposium

Stories How Two Alums Transformed the Landscape in NYC and Beyond

On the left: a book cover with a dark blue background. On the right: a smiling bald man with round glasses and a beard, wearing a purple button-down shirt and suit jacket, and a purple and orange striped bowtie.

An article in Cornellians highlights CRP Professor Thomas J. Campanella’s (M.L.A. ’91) latest book, Designing the American Century, which explores Cornell alums Gilmore Clarke (1913) and Michael Rapuano (1927) as the “unsung giants” of American landscape architecture.

In the Media As New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani Faces $7 Billion Budget Hole, Free Parking May Be History

CNBC — CRP Associate Professor Nicholas Klein weighs in on eliminating free parking to generate a revenue stream for New York City.

Paper Rights of Nature and the Need for Multi-Level Governance

A special issue in the Journal of Integrated Global STEM by CRP Professor Mildred Warner and Andrés Martínez-Moscoso presents cases where the courts and civil society have attempted to link ecological, social, and political approaches to environmental protection through a new, eco-centric paradigm of rights of nature.

Stories Alum Leads Urban Design Collective that Preserves Black Community

Woman standing in front of table showcasing books and sculptures.

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.

Stories

Practice, Place, and Purpose: Preparing Future Planners for a Rapidly Changing World

CRP Associate Professor Linda Shi discusses the importance of planning careers and preparing students to work with communities to address common challenges, including climate change, aging populations, and growing inequity.

Stories Two Doctoral Students Selected as Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows

On the left: a man with short dark hair and a beard, wearing a button down white shirt and standing with crossed arms. On the right: a woman with long dark hair and a nose ring, wearing a magenta and white shirt and standing in front of a wall.

Manoel Pereira Neto and Gauri Nagpal (both Ph.D. CRP ’31) have been selected for this fellowship which provides funding for doctoral students pursuing innovative approaches to dissertation research.

Announcements Explore Fall ’26 Classes for Non-Majors at AAP

Aerial view of Sibley Hall and the southern end of Cayuga Lake

Expand your disciplinary boundaries and enroll in courses that cultivate connection and catalyze actionable research. Options range from fundamentals to deep dives across architecture, art, city and regional planning, real estate, and design technology.

Announcements Cornell Atkinson Research Grants Support Future Sustainability Leaders

Gauri Nagpal (Ph.D. CRP ’31) is among the forty students awarded funding by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability for their 2026 grant cycle.

Stories Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures Names 2026 Faculty Fellows

The Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures at Cornell University has named five faculty fellows from across three colleges to its inaugural cohort, including City and Regional Planning Assistant Professor Jocelyn Poe.

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.

Paper The Missing Urban Dimension in China’s Global Initiatives

A paper in Nature Cities by CRP Assistant Professor Ding Fei examines China’s ambiguous engagement with urban development, and how a framework of cooperation could turn today’s fragmented effects into more coordinated, accountable, and sustainable urban partnerships.