Community Growth and Land Use Planning
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate-level course on managing growth and land use change in the planning profession. The syllabus covers the techniques, processes, and legal frameworks planners use in the United States, including zoning, growth management strategies, and the political and professional skills needed to negotiate land use decisions with communities, developers, and government bodies. Materials include readings, assignments, and case studies drawn from real planning practice, aimed at students who intend to work directly in the field rather than observe it from a distance. The course also considers how planning principles might extend beyond the American context and how the discipline may need to adapt to future pressures on land and growth. As with other MIT OpenCourseWare offerings, all lecture notes, assignments, and materials are freely available online with no certificate offered.