Course

UPCD 620: Analytical Methods for Urban Planning and Community Development

A broad professional preparation course that teaches students how to find, analyze, interpret, and communicate evidence for urban planning and community development practice.

Course orientation

Planning practice is increasingly data-driven, but useful analysis requires more than software skills. Students must know how to frame a question, evaluate evidence, choose appropriate datasets, manipulate messy public data, interpret findings, understand limitations, and communicate results clearly to decision-makers and communities.

This course prepares students to work with demographic, housing, land-use, economic, transportation, environmental, and policy data while developing the professional writing skills needed for analytical reports and memos.

Skills developed

  • Demographic analysis using Census and ACS data.
  • Manipulating, cleaning, and interpreting public datasets.
  • Economic, housing, land-use, environmental, and transportation analysis.
  • Reading and evaluating research publications.
  • Writing analytical memos and professional reports.
  • Translating quantitative and qualitative evidence for planning audiences.

Analytical domains

Students are introduced to a breadth of methods used by urban planners, policy analysts, and community development professionals.

Population and demographics

Census geography, ACS estimates, demographic change, race, age, income, migration, and household structure.

Housing and land use

Housing units, tenure, affordability, cost burden, development patterns, zoning, and neighborhood change.

Transportation and access

Mode share, commuting, accessibility, travel behavior, mobility barriers, and transportation equity indicators.

Economy and environment

Labor markets, fiscal indicators, environmental exposure, climate risk, infrastructure, and community vulnerability.