Environmental Planning and Design Master of Planning - MPlan

Environmental Planning and Design exposes the wide-ranging challenges affecting urban and rural communities today, and the sustainable and successful solutions that planners are helping to bring forward in response. These solutions vary in their scope and by their geography but include preparing plans and policy, engaging and collaborating with key stakeholders, including the public, and supporting the promotion, appraisal and implementation of projects on the ground. The global demand for planners is high. Not only do planners have an important role in the delivery of homes, jobs and necessary infrastructure, they are also well-placed to address social inequalities and improve mental and physical health. Planners also have important environmental responsibilities too, from helping to protect and restore biodiversity, enhance protected sites and landscapes, and facilitate climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our programme explores the nature of these interventions in a creative and interactive way, highlighting how effective planning and design can help to forge win-win solutions for the benefit of people, place, and the natural world. Students will experience the power of planning through a learning experience that involves real-life project briefs, field work and wide-ranging guest speakers, including practising planners. They will engage with key planning processes, such as place analysis, visioning, and impact assessment, and will also be able to develop, and practise, important skills, including those associated with design and visual communication, and in the collection and analysis of data. Importantly, the programme provides opportunities for gaining experience across the planning and design sector, from short-term internships to year-long placements. This four-year programme blends bachelor and postgraduate study together to help equip students with the necessary competencies for becoming an aspiring, professional planner.