Introduction to Urban Design and Development
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this introductory course on how cities, suburbs, and metropolitan regions take physical shape over time. Lectures and readings use Boston and other American cities as case studies, tracing how economic pressures, political decisions, social patterns, and physical geography interact to produce the built environment. Topics include the history of urban form, zoning and land use regulation, real estate development processes, and the roles of planners, architects, and developers in shaping neighborhoods and downtowns. The course includes lecture notes, readings, and assignments from MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, freely available for self-study with no certificate offered. It suits anyone wanting a grounded, historically informed introduction to how American cities actually get built and rebuilt, rather than an abstract theory of urban design.