Planning’s Core Curriculum: Knowledge, Practice, and Implementation
Abstract
We examine the core curricula of the master’s degree programs of thirty planning schools in the United States and Canada and discuss patterns in core requirements. We compare current planning core curricula to those described more than fifteen years ago by John Friedmann and explore several questions surrounding core curricula, planning practice, and the demands of academic legitimacy. The article concludes with a brief case study highlighting the implementation of a new core curriculum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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1.
1. This refers to the institutions that are classified as RU/VH (research institution/very high research activity) under the Basic Classification Categories developed by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
2.
2. Friedmann’s categories include the following: Theory and practice of planning; Urban form and theory; Legal aspects of planning; Economics for planners; Methods of analysis (QM & computers and Planning & policy analysis); Issues in practice; and Core studio projects.
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Article first published online: February 11, 2011
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Published online: February 11, 2011
Issue published: June 2011
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