Site and Infrastructure Systems Planning
MIT's graduate studio course walks through a client-based land analysis and site planning project, with the case study rotating each year; this iteration centers on Japan's New Towns. Students inventory and analyze land parcels, then plan the infrastructure systems that serve them, covering spatial organization of uses, parcelization, roadway design, grading, utility systems, stormwater runoff, parking, and traffic and off-site impacts, along with landscaping. Lectures cover analytical techniques and real examples of good site-planning practice, and coursework includes a series of assignments culminating in a client-based project. Materials are published through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, free to access, with no certificate offered. The course suits students who want hands-on experience translating land analysis into a buildable infrastructure plan rather than abstract planning theory.