Cornell
AAP
Department of City and Regional Planning

Departments

Search

City and Regional Planning

Department of City and Regional 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.

  • A person points to drawings scattered on a set of stone stairs.
  • An old stone archway frames a group of people looking at a row of yellow buildings.
  • Pavement with a white stripe and an orange chain.
  • Aerial view of a park with a fountain and trees.
  • People gather to look outside of a building window, and the view is of the New York City skyline.
  • A person takes a photo of a wall of sticky notes.
  • Three people converse while two are seated and one stands.

Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico.

New York City.

New York City.

New York City.

It’s an important time to be a planner and urban scholar. We have an imperative to think and work differently, to draw on interdisciplinary approaches, and to engage the crises and creativity that define cities across the world.

CRP Chair Sophie Oldfield

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.
Connecting Multiple Scales
People stand in a garden while looking at industrial building structures.
Justice, Equity, Sustainability
Two people put sticky notes on a wall.
Place-Based Collaborative Research

Degree Programs

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

Upcoming and Ongoing Events

View All

Latest News and Research

Latest News and Research

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 Local Volunteer Powers Rural Resilience with Student Support

Beth Harrington worked with CRP and CALS Professor Mildred Warner’s graduate students to survey her community and address concerns about communication in emergencies.

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.

Stories Cornell AAP to Launch First New York City-based High School Summer Program

A person presents an architectural model on a table while other people watch them.

Cornell AAP recently announced an opportunity for rising high school juniors and seniors to join City Visionaries, the newest addition to the Gensler Family AAP NYC Center’s (AAP NYC) immersive slate of New York City-based programs.

In the Media Amid San Diego’s High Transportation Costs, Some Manage to Find Relief

KPBS — CRP Associate Professor Nicholas Klein comments on cost impacts and the long-term benefits of lowering this burden.

In the Media Trump Plans to Ban Big Investors From Buying Houses. Will That Lower Prices?

New York Magazine — Real Estate and CRP Associate Professor Suzanne Lanyi Charles does not expect it will have a huge impact on prices but notes that it could combat negative effects on tenants.

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.

View All