community development
specialization
Students focus on asset-based approaches
to strengthening healthy places and
revitalizing distressed ones. They
learn how to regulate land use with
neighborhood quality of life in mind;
how to develop affordable housing; how
to strengthen businesses and retain jobs;
and how to enhance urban environments
through design and amenities. Students
are urged to conduct directed research
or take an internship in connection with
civic and community-based organizations
in all five boroughs.
physical planning
specialization
Students develop an understanding of the
interplay among physical, social, cultural,
and economic considerations in creating
viable physical development patterns for
diverse neighborhoods and contexts. The
emphasis is on experience of place and
programming, more than on pure design.
Leading practitioners from the region
serve as Urban Design Fellows—resource
people for all of the program’s studios.
Students are also able to take fifth year
Undergraduate Architecture seminars,
providing a wealth of electives.
environmental planning
specialization
Students learn how to promote the
preservation and development of
sustainable communities; address the
urban problems of air, water, noise,
and brownfields; test the impact
of infrastructure projects and develop-
ment; and promote the principles
of environmental justice. The PSPD
alliance of programs provides a wealth
of elective options for these students.
(Also refer to the later description
of the Urban Environmental Systems
Management program.)
preservation planning
specialization
Students learn to integrate historic
preservation in the wider context of
urbanism, real estate development,
and sustainability. The PSPD alliance
of programs provides a wealth of
elective options for these students. The
Preservation Planning concentration
is recognized by the National Council
for Preservation Education. (Also refer
to the later description of the Historic
Preservation program.)
facilities management
specialization
Students learn how to assume executive
leadership responsibilities in the
management of real estate, all manner of
facilities, apartment buildings, projects,
and “green” development. The PSPD
alliance of programs provides a wealth
of elective options for these students.
(Also refer to the later description of the
Facilities Management program, as well
as the Urban Environmental Systems
Management program.)
joint degree in law
Pratt Institute and Brooklyn Law School
sponsor a program leading to the degrees
of Master of Science in City and Regional
Planning and Juris Doctor (J.D.). By
taking full advantage of the PSPD’s
alliance of programs, all PSPD students
can further specialize in community
development, environmental policy,
preservation, or real estate. (Refer to the
earlier PSPD section for more details.)
Left: International courses and studios run in
Copenhagen, Sao Paolo, Tokyo, and India.
“I use a lot of the concepts
of design, construction,
and development I learned
at Pratt, to work with
architects and developers.”
—Mitchell Silver,
B.Arch. ’87,
Raleigh, North Carolina,
Chief Planning and Economic
Development Officer;
President, American
Planning Association
school of architecture 53