Geography, Planning and Sustainability

Study within the Department of Geography, Planning and Sustainability leads to a B.S. degree in Urban and Regional Planning. This professional undergraduate degree prepares students for the vital work of designing livable, equitable, and sustainable communities, with a focus on implementing positive change through participatory data-driven approaches. As a field, Urban and Regional Planning is engaged in understanding, evaluating, and improving the human-built environment, while maintaining and enhancing the health of natural systems. Planners tackle critical issues such as neighborhood revitatlization, affordable housing, economic development, multi-modal transportation, historic preservation, green space and infrastructure, alternative energy, disaster mitigation, healthy food systems, and more.

Urban and Regional Planning majors develop a robust foundation in planning theory, methods, and practice, gaining expertise in policy analysis, community engagement, and spatial data analysis while exploring the values and ethical dimensions of human/environment interactions. At its heart, planning is an interdisciplinary problem-solving profession and students study the wide variety of forces that shape urban and regional development including the historical, social, economic, cultural, legal, political, ecological, and aesthetic. Our coursework integrates theory and methods with real-world applications through case studies, fieldwork, site visitis, and a strong internship program. Hallmarks of our program include the faculty’s deep commitment to student success and active involvement in applied research and community-based projects. Technical proficiency is central to modern planning, and our students graduate with in-demand skills in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), site planning, environmental assessment, and effective communication strategies.

Graduates of our program are in high demand across municipal, state, and federal government offices and agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector engineering, architectural, and real estate firms specializing in land use planning, environmental consulting, transportation planning, and local and regional economic development. In addition, the skills of planners are sought within the growing sector of non-governmental organizations, especially ones dealing with issues of land conservation and sustainable development. Many students pursue dual majors in fields such as Environmental Science, Political Science, Public Health, Criminal Justice, and History, while others continue to graduate programs in planning and related disciplines.

The department also offers minors in Geography, Urban and Regional Planning, Sustainability Studies, and GIS. Our GIS Technology and Applications Center (GIST) serves as a hub for research, training, and collaboration, and our state-of-the-art weather station provides valuable real-time environmental data for faculty and student research. In addition, several GPS courses are included in Westfield’s Integrative Student Experience (WISE), reinforcing the university’s commitment to civic education and preparing students to navigate the complexities of an urbanized, globally connected world.

Mission

Through a combination of coursework, internships, community-based projects, and research, the degree program prepares students to work as professional planners in public, non-profit, and private sector positions. In addition, non-majors gain a spatial understanding of social and environmental issues, and engagement with urban and regional planning as a civic activity.

Programs

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Minor

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Geography, Planning and Sustainability

Catalog

WHAT PATH WILL YOU TAKE?

Westfield State University

Geography, Planning and Sustainability

Mission

Programs

Courses