Faculty:
C.N.E. Corbin, Megan Horst (other faculty also do environmental-related research and planning)
Summary:
The field focuses on the interactions between human and biophysical systems, including natural resource management, environmental protection, and ecosystem services. This includes the roles of institutions (both government and nongovernment), individuals, regulations, the market, and scientific uncertainty.
Environmental planning intersects with other fields in planning (e.g. transportation) and outside of planning (including advocacy and public policy). Environmental planners might practice as Planners, meaning in jobs where that is their job title, or in the general realm of environmental planning, policy, community organizing, and advocacy, which is much broader. Environmental planning is strongly influenced by policies and power, including by the historical and current federal and state government context, as well as local context. Environment planners often focus on implementing policy and planning as shaped by federal and state policy, e.g. in terms of wetland planning and waste management. Environmental planners are leading climate action and resilience planning, and prioritizing environmental and climate justice in planning.
Where environmental planners work:
| Organization Type | Examples of Agencies and Organizations |
| Local public planning organizations | City of Portland
Bureau of Environmental Services: Watershed Management Division
City of Gresham: Waste Management and Recycling Program
Oregon DLCD and DEQ, Port of Portland |
| Regional government agencies | Metro
Thurston (WA) Regional Planning Council
Columbia Gorge Commission |
| Private consulting firms conducting environmental impact assessment | Parametrix
Fregonese and Associates
CH2M
SWCA |
| Non-profit organizations focused on environmental quality and environmental justice | Climate Trust
EcoTrust
Friends of Trees
OPAL Environmental Justice
Upstream Public Health |
Places to look for environmental planning-related internships and jobs (beyond specific organizations mentioned above and beyond more general planning-related resources like Planetizen, APA and general job-related resources like IdeaList, Indeed and LinkedIn):
APA Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Division Career Video
Citizens’ Climate Lobby/Citizens’ Climate Education (CCL)
National Association of CLimate Resilience Planners
Oregon Nonprofit Job Board
PSU Career Services: Careers in Sustainability
PSU Institute for Sustainable Solutions
Urban Sustainability Directors Network
Foundational knowledge and skills:
| Capabilities | Course | Type |
| Advanced knowledge of human settlements and the dependence on natural resources | USP 512 Environmental Planning Methods | Theory, Skill |
| Knowledge of the national and local policies affecting environmental planning actions | USP 571 Environmental Policy | Policy |
| Understanding of the history of the Environmental Justice movement and come of the major environmental justice issues in cities across the United States | USP 571 Environmental Policy | Policy, Theory |
| Identify, comprehensively, the environmental impacts of planning decisions, including the social and environmental justice impacts | USP 512 Environmental Planning Methods | Skill |
| Examines various ways of understanding urban "nature" and dominant ecological frameworks, and implications of each for research, practice, and politics. | USP 589 Theorizing Urban Nature | Theory |
Recommended course sequencing:
| | Fall | Winter | Spring |
| Year 1 | - | USP 589 (or 2nd year) | USP 571 |
| Year 2 | USP 512 | USP 589 (or 1st year) | - |
Pathways in environmental planning:
| Pathway | Suggested Courses |
| Policy: institutions, systems of governance, politics | USP 517: Urban Economic Development Policy
PA 575: Foundations of Collaborative Governance |
| Analytics: data exploration and discovery -- quantitative, qualitative, spatial -- with an emphasis combining analysis and synthesis | USP 592: GIS II or other advanced GIS courses
USP 683: Qualitative Analysis
USP Data Analysis (I & II); and other data analytics courses. |
| Community-based environmental planning and environmental justice: coalition building, engagement and participatory planning | PA 575: Foundations of Collaborative Governance
USP 528: Concepts of Community Development; and other community-based courses.
USP 530: Building Community Resilience
USP 560: Climate Resiliency Planning
USP 576: Feeding the City |
| Design: land use and urban form | USP 513 Public Space
USP 524 Site Planning
USP 534 Green Buildings
ARCH 531 Contemporary Urban Design
ARCH 532 History and Theory of Urban Design and other design-oriented courses. |
| Markets: ecosystem services, environmental accounting, political economy, technology management | USP 518: Energy and Society
USP 551: Community Economic Development;
and other market-related courses.
USP 579: State and Local Finance
USP 588: Sustainable Development Practices
USP 590: Green Economics and Sustainable Development
|
| Other possible options: work with your advisor to identify suitable courses. Here we identify a few. | Consider learning about indigenous planning/possible overlap with the Graduate Certificate in Gender, Race and Nations
Look at Graduate Certificate in Sustainability classes. USP 510 Urban Rural Ambassadors
USP 510: Science Fiction and the City
|