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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.

Registration is now open for the CRPConnect! Symposium Oct. 22–24. Learn more.

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

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

Oct. 22–24

CRPConnect! Celebrating 90 Years of Research, Practice, and Community

Join the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell AAP for a multi-day symposium including keynote remarks, individual presentations, and facilitated workshops with leaders in planning who are changing cities, communities, and the discipline.

Upcoming and Ongoing Events

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  • A view from inside a gallery with a white wall that has photographs, leading into a center portion of the gallery with structures.

    Jun 6–Aug 27

    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

  • Aerial view of campus buildings

    Aug 13–Dec 10

    Graduate Admissions Fall 2026 Events

    Join AAP Graduate Admissions this fall through virtual information sessions and in-person recruitment fairs designed to introduce prospective students to master’s programs offered at AAP.

    Admissions

  • Arts Quad

    Sep 11–Nov 6

    Undergraduate Admissions Fall Events 2026

    Join us for an in-person admissions information session at Cornell AAP! These sessions will cover our three undergraduate programs, the application process, and admission requirements.

    Admissions

  • student photographing wall of post-it notes

    Oct 22–24

    CRPConnect! Symposium

    Registration is now open for the Department of City and Regional Planning’s celebration of 90 years of research, practice, and community.

    Symposium

Latest News and Research

Latest News and Research

Paper The Missing Urban Dimension in China’s Global Initiatives

A hazy city skyline.

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.

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.

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

An illustration of four pillars

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

An Asian man wearing a denim jacket, standing next to a waterfall.

New Book Invites You to Take a Hike (or 50), In and Around Ithaca

Russell Kwong (B.S. URS ’25) created dozens of customs maps for Cornell retiree Myra Shulman’s new guidebook on hiking trails in and around Ithaca.

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

Linda Shi headshot

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.

Stories Merrill Scholars Honor Mentors Who Inspired Them

Headshot of a woman with long dark hair and gold hoop earrings, wearing a black shirt.

Michaela Tsapatsaris (B.S. URS ’26) was one of 31 Merrill Presidential Scholars gathered at the 38th annual luncheon on May 19 to honor the high school teachers and Cornell mentors who contributed most significantly to their education.

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.

In the Media Op-Ed: Ithaca Needs Housing for People Not For Cars

The Ithaca Voice — CRP Associate Professor Nicholas Klein and Stella Connaughton (M.R.P. ’26) argue that the closure of the Seneca Street Garage is a rare opportunity to address Ithaca’s housing crisis.

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.

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