City and Regional Planning

The City and Regional Planning Section at the Knowlton School empowers students to ask: What would an equitable, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable city look like?

City and Regional Planning

Over the last two decades, the way we think about cities—and how we talk about them—has changed dramatically.

We now focus on the goals of planning first—mobility, resilience, sustainability, inclusion, equity. At the Knowlton School, we talk about where we want to go and then about the planning tools we have, and the new tools we might need, to get there.

In other words, Planning at Knowlton begins by asking: what would an equitable, inclusive, resilient, sustainable city look like?

City and regional planners continue to teach and to learn the subjects of the field of city and regional planning: transportation and infrastructure, land use and zoning, economic and community development, participatory planning, environmental planning, regional economic analysis and all the analytical and design tools of city and regional planning.

But you will see too that when you come to study city and regional planning at Ohio State you’ll find we have an optimistic and aspirational view of what cities and communities are, and what they can be. We see the possibility of sustainable and equitable cities enabled through deliberate, intentional, and inclusive urban planning.

We invite you to learn the tools of urban planning here with us and learn the set of interventions that are unique to the city planning discipline with our nationally and internationally recognized faculty of award-winning teachers and researchers.

We connect your education to the professional field of planning. Through community-based workshop courses, close interaction with planning practitioners, and opportunities for off-campus experiences—including study abroad—students are prepared to join the professional world of planning upon graduation. Students leave with a skill set required to make the change and plan for the future.

The Ohio State University is a 150-year-old Research I University ranked among the top public universities in the country. And at Knowlton, the City and Regional Planning section is more than 60 years old and has more than 2,000 living alumni. Our BSCRP program is one of only 16 accredited undergraduate programs in North America and is now over 10 years old. The City and Regional Planning Section is home to the Journal of Planning Literature and the faculty includes current editors of the Journal of Urban Affairs and Regional Studies.

So whether you are looking to become a professional working in the field of urban planning or embarking on a career as a researcher or professor of city and regional planning, we invite you to join the growing conversation about the future of cities and city planning. Whether you are in one of our undergraduate or graduate programs or simply taking a course with us, we invite you to join the conversation about how we design, build, manage, and maintain the kind of cities and regions we want to live in.

Read the City and Regional Planning Strategic Plan

Read about financial aid and funding opportunities for current and prospective CRP graduate and undergraduate students

The Knowlton School’s City & Regional Planning Section is a registered Certification Maintenance Provider with the American Institute of Certified Planners. The section offers continuing education and professional development opportunities throughout the year.

Learn more

Degree Programs

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Bachelor of Science
As one of only 16 accredited programs in the U.S., the BSCRP enables you to become a professional planner with the necessary technical skills, knowledge, understanding, and compassion to help build just, equitable, and sustainable cities and regions.
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Master's of City and Regional Planning
The MCRP program provides expansive knowledge of the field of planning and detailed understanding in specific focus areas grounded in practice including: community development, economic development, transportation, sustainability, and urban design.
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PhD
Doctoral students join a program with a 35-year legacy tailored to each student’s area of research. Students are advised by a dynamic and award-winning faculty conducting planning research in a variety of subfields both in the U.S. and internationally.
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Minor in City and Regional Planning
The City and Regional Planning section offers two minors, one at the undergraduate level and one at the graduate level. These minors are ideal supplements to studies in geography, landscape architecture, civil engineering, or other related disciplines.

We see the possibility of sustainable and equitable cities enabled through deliberate, intentional, and inclusive urban planning.