Urban planning courses are concerned with the development of land and the revitalization of existing parts of the city. Online Courses on Urban Planning involves a host of different activities, including goal setting, forecasting, data collection and analysis, design, strategic thinking, and public consultation. Urban Planning courses play a major role in fulfilling the goal of sustainable development. Urban planners strive to ensure judicious use of the resources through their developmental plans and thereby maintain a balance between economic growth and the need to protect the environment. Urban Planning is an emerging field that offers a variety of career options.
Also Read: Career as Urban Planner
Mentioned below are the Urban planning courses along with their specifications:
Urban Planning Course | Platform | Cost | Duration |
Global Housing Design | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323 | 6 Weeks(4–5 hours per week) |
Introduction to GIS Mapping | Coursera | Free | Approx. 14 hours |
Smart Cities – Management of Smart Urban Infrastructures | Coursera | Free | Approx. 13 hours |
Rethink the City: New Approaches to Global and Local Urban Challenges | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323 | 7 Weeks(3–4 hours per week) |
Site Planning Online | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323 | 10 Weeks(4–6 hours per week) |
What do Architects and Urban Planners do? | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹3,624 | 3 Weeks(2–3 hours per week) |
Urban Planning Criteria | Alison | Free | 1.5-3 Hours |
Diploma in Geo-Spatial Analysis in Urban Planning | Alison | Free | 10-15 Hours |
Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities | Coursera | Free | Approx. 7 hours |
Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323 | 6 Weeks(4–5 hours per week) |
Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Nature and Innovation | Coursera | Free | Approx. 13 hours |
Management of Urban Infrastructures | Coursera | Free | Approx. 12 hours |
GIS Data Acquisition and Map Design | Coursera | Free | Approx. 20 hours |
Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies | Coursera | Free | Approx. 17 hours |
Urban Design for the Public Good: Dutch Urbanism | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹3,698 | 8 Weeks(4–6 hours per week) |
Landscape Architecture and Site Planning - Introduction to Landscape Design | Alison | Free | 3-4 Hours |
Sustainable Urban Development | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹3,698 | 7 Weeks(4–6 hours per week) |
Leveraging Urban Mobility Disruptions to Create Better Cities | edX | FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323 | 10 Weeks(2–6 hours per week) |
Note: The data has been collected by Careers360. Figures may vary accordingly.
Global Housing Design
This urban planning Certification Course is offered by the Delft University of Technology and is one of the best urban planning courses available online. It aims at teaching you the key design strategies that are required for the development of adequate housing and inclusive dwelling environments for sustainable development. You will learn to identify the social practices which determine the quality of existing dwelling communities, recognizing design approaches that can contribute to the development of adequate housing, and compare the housing schemes designed by different architects. The Online urban planning Courses syllabus includes modules on incrementality, the importance of creating a typological mix in housing settlements, and clustering as a design strategy for creating meaningful communities.
Platform: edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323
Duration: 6 Weeks(4–5 hours per week)
Introduction to GIS Mapping
In this urban planning Certificate Courses, you will learn about Geographic Information System (GIS), Cartography, Esri, Mapping and
Spatial Analysis. The urban planning courses syllabus includes GIS, ArcGIS, Mapping Locations with Coordinate System, and Map Projections, including the Purpose of map projections, etc.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 14 hours
Smart Cities – Management of Smart Urban Infrastructures
This is one of the best online urban planning courses available. It deals with the management of urban infrastructures. In this course, you will get to learn about City Planning, City Management, and managing the transition from legacy infrastructures to smart urban systems. The urban planning Certification Courses Curriculum includes Introduction to Smart Urban Infrastructures and Smart Cities, Smart Urban Energy Systems, Smart Urban Transportation Systems, and Transition of legacy cities to Smart Cities.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 13 hours
Rethink the City: New Approaches to Global and Local Urban Challenges
This urban planning diploma course is offered by the Delft University of Technology and is one of the best courses available to learn urban planning. In this urban planning course, you will learn the various urban challenges faced by developing countries and the application of innovative solutions and analytical tools to contemporary urban challenges. You will learn to develop a critical perspective of your urban environment. The course syllabus includes modules on Spatial Justice, Urban Resilience, Housing Provision, and Management, etc.
Platform:edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323
Duration: 7 Weeks(3–4 hours per week)
Site Planning Online
In this urban planning online course offered by the Massachusetts Institute of technology, you will learn about site planning-creating a program and a plan for a site and choosing site infrastructure. The Online urban planning Courses curriculum includes Site analysis, Site planning methods, Site infrastructure, Site concepts and performance, Residential sites, Places for commerce and work, Cultural sites, college and university planning, and Planning communities.
Platform:edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323
Duration: 10 Weeks(4–6 hours per week)
Also Read: African cities : An Introduction to Urban Planning
What do Architects and Urban Planners do?
This urban planning course offered by Wits University is one of the best urban planning courses online. These online courses on urban planning will teach you how spatial design professionals can make a difference in society. Through the course, you will be able to understand what spatial design professionals, including urban planners, architects, and urban designers, exactly do and the various challenges faced by them. You will also learn about the skills that are required in the creative design process.
Platform: edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹3,624
Duration: 3 Weeks(2–3 hours per week)
Also Read: Career as Architects
Urban Planning Criteria
In this urban planning course offered by NPTEL(National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), you will learn urban planning and the
different aspects and techniques of spatial analysis related to urban planning. You will also learn to explain the impact of landscape composition on ecological assessments, properties of landscape metrics and their application, describing Urban Sprawl Characterisation, what is Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis(MCDA), and the tools used for it.
Platform: Alison
Cost: Free
Duration: 1.5-3 Hours
Diploma in Geo-Spatial Analysis in Urban Planning
The urban planning course has been designed to help you understand the fundamentals of spatial analysis and how to solve various urban planning problems. You will learn the basics of GIS, different types of map projections, how data can be transformed, measuring errors during the process and their rectification, defining topology, and comparing the different types of data analysis techniques. The urban planning Certificate Courses curriculum includes Introduction to GIS and geographic distribution, vector and raster data models, spatial analysis, managing geographical space and spatial analysis, and modeling spatial relationships.
Platform: Alison
Cost: Free
Duration: 10-15 Hours
Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities
This is one of the best sustainable urban planning courses available. It is offered by Lund University. It focuses on shaping urban planning and development for achieving the goal of sustainable development by forming sustainable cities. The course curriculum includes Urban Transformation, Urban Infrastructure, Urban Experimentation, Urban Lifestyles, and Urban Visions.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 7 hours
Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs
This urban planning course is offered by the University of British Columbia. In this course, you will learn about the principles of Ecodesign, strategies to make urban cities more liveable, innovative techniques for implementation of ecodesign. This is one of the best urban design courses available online. The online urban planning courses curriculum includes chapters on How the usual urban growth model operates and the need to change it, Adapting to climate change, Balancing cars and other kinds of transportation, and Making cities more livable and environmentally compatible.
Platform: edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323
Duration: 6 Weeks(4–5 hours per week)
Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Nature and Innovation
This online urban planning course is offered by Lund University. In this course, you will get to learn about nature-based solutions in an urban world and the relationship between cities, nature, and innovation. The course syllabus includes various topics such as an International overview of nature-based solutions, Assessment methods for nature-based solutions, Governance strategies for nature-based solutions, Business models for nature-based solutions, Business models for nature-based solutions, and Innovation pathways for nature-based solutions.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 13 hours
Also Read: Urban Disaster Risk Mitigation & Climate Resilient Development
Management of Urban Infrastructures
Another one of the best urban planning courses, this course will teach you various skills, including Project Management and City Management. You will learn about the basic principles of urban infrastructure management, which play a major role in building efficient, resilient, and sustainable cities. The course syllabus includes Introduction to Urban Infrastructures, Principles of Urban Infrastructure Management, Urban Energy Management, and Urban Transport Management.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 12 hours
GIS Data Acquisition and Map Design
In this online urban planning course offered by the University of Toronto, you will learn about finding GIS data for your projects and creating a well-designed map that effectively represents your perspective. The urban planning course curriculum includes GIS File Types, Data Models, and Topology; Finding data and preparing it for your project, Map Design Principles, Mapping Quantitative Data, Quantitative Map Types and
Making Your Map.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 20 hours
Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies
The urban planning course has been designed to provide you comprehensive knowledge on Urban Planning, Environmental Protection, Engineering Design, and Wastewater Engineering. You will learn urban planning, sanitation planning, and the importance of systems thinking for urban environmental sanitation. The course curriculum includes Introduction to sanitation planning & systems approach, Sanitation systems & technologies, Case studies on Urban sanitation solutions, and Urban sanitation tools.
Platform: Coursera
Cost: Free
Duration: Approx. 17 hours
Urban Design for the Public Good: Dutch Urbanism
This online urban planning course offered by Delft University of technology is one of the best design courses available. You will learn to design landscapes and cities based on a dutch approach. This urban planning certificate course will teach you the basics of Dutch urbanism, drawing maps of the environment and performing urban analysis on them, and how to apply your findings in design activities. The online course for urban planning curriculum includes the concept of "public goods," the role of the natural landscape in any urban environment, Urban Metabolism, data-driven design. This course will aid you in diversifying your knowledge of urban planning and urban design.
Platform: edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹3,698
Duration: 8 Weeks(4–6 hours per week)
Landscape Architecture and Site Planning - Introduction to Landscape Design
This course will teach you everything about landscape architecture and site planning. It aims at helping you understand the fundamentals of landscape design, methods of landscaping, and the difference between landscape design and architectural design. The course curriculum includes the study of landscape design, its categories, scope, and objectives.
Platform: Alison
Cost: Free
Duration:3-4 Hours
Sustainable Urban Development
As the name suggests, this course will take you through the meaning of Sustainable Urban Development and various concepts associated with it. It is one of the best urban development courses available online. You will get to learn about the various challenges faced by metropolitan regions and how to respond to these challenges, and finding out innovative solutions for our urban living environment.
Platform: edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹3,698
Duration: 7 Weeks(4–6 hours per week)
Leveraging Urban Mobility Disruptions to Create Better Cities
This online urban planning course will teach you about land use development, urban economies, transportation pricing and inspection, evaluation, and identification of transportation equity in a variety of global settings. You will also learn about new mobility pricing schemes and understand the difference between various business models. This course will make you ready to transform your cities into sustainable, joyful, and equitable cities.
Platform: edX
Cost: FREE, Add a Verified Certificate for ₹7,323
Duration: 10 Weeks(2–6 hours per week)
Also Read: Sustainable Urban Development
Conclusion
If you are someone who is passionate about societal development and improving the quality of living, then a career in urban planning is best suited for you. With the rising population and the need for urbanization, the demand for urban planning professionals is also increasing. You can become a part of major projects such as transport, cultural sites, public spaces, and finance, etc. You can also work as an urban planner in a government department or international consulting company. Thus, urban planning jobs can provide you both a good salary and various exciting opportunities for growth.
Also read -
You can pursue a bachelor of urban planning course or a PG Diploma in urban planning & development(masters or urban planning) or an MBA in urban planning.
You can pursue a PG diploma in urban planning from Indira Gandhi National Open University.
CEPT University is one of the best universities offering a bachelor of urban design degree.
Yes, many urban planning short courses are available online on various platforms, such as the 'Urban Planning Criteria' course offered by Alison.
Yes, you can enroll in 'Smart Cities – Management of Smart Urban Infrastructures' offered by Coursera to learn about urban management.
Some of the best colleges to do an MBA in urban management are St. Joseph college of business administration, Xavier institute of management, and CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
Some of the urban design courses available online are 'Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs' and 'Urban Design for the Public Good: Dutch Urbanism' courses offered by edX.
'Urban Planning Criteria' course on Alison is one of the best online courses to learn urban planning if you are a beginner.
Some of the best urban planning courses available online are 'What do Architects and Urban Planners do?' by edX and 'Diploma in Geo-Spatial Analysis in Urban Planning' by Alison.
The salary of an urban planner varies according to his rank and level. The salary of an urban planner at the entry-level is about Rs35,000 per month, and an experienced urban planner earns an average salary of about Rs80,000 to Rs90,000 p.m.
Some of the best colleges offering urban planning courses are
Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai
Guru Ram Das School of Planning, Punjab
School of Planning and Architecture Delhi
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi
Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal
Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad
CEPT, Ahmedabad
Application Date:05 September,2024 - 25 November,2024
Application Date:15 October,2024 - 15 January,2025