Regional Planning

Devel­op an appre­ci­a­tion for region­al plans built upon com­mon inter­est and endur­ing polit­i­cal rela­tion­ships. Exam­ine the his­to­ry, why region­al plan­ning has been intro­duced, the process for devel­op­ing and imple­ment­ing region­al plan­ning, the­o­ries and prac­tices, and how it is defined in var­i­ous con­texts with­in North Amer­i­ca. Oth­er top­ics include vary­ing struc­tures and chal­lenges that these approach­es have between juris­dic­tion­al bound­aries. Focus will be on Alber­ta and Cana­da through dif­fer­ent leg­is­la­tion such as the Alber­ta Land Use Frame­work and Bill 36 The Alber­ta Land Stewardship.

Course at a glance
  • Fully online asynchronous course, accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
  • May be recognized for Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) credits by the Alberta Professional Planners Institute (APPI) for holders of the Registered Professional Planner designation.
  • Aimed at professionals in the areas of municipal government planning, development, and bylaw enforcement. Students range from development officers, planning technicians, land use, environmental, and community planners, to resources managers, government officials, consultants, developers, lawyers, zoning administrators, administrators in smaller municipalities, and others involved in planning processes.
What you will learn

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Review and apply the key features of regionalism, including the nature of regions, based on the models, theories, and concepts from a number of divergent disciplines.
  • Identify and discuss the specific range of issues, challenges and/or opportunities that led to the introduction of “regional planning” in practice in different regional contexts.
  • Identify how regional planning operates differently in metropolitan areas, rural regions, and emergent city-regions.
  • Discuss the governance challenges that exist at the regional level and how the planner must operate given the institutional context of regional agencies.
  • Describe how regional planning in the Canadian and Albertan contexts has contributed to or hindered the development of communities.
  • Discuss the reasons why regional planning continues to be seen as necessary given its successes and despite its failures.
  • Compare and analyze regional planning models and regional plans as they relate to different planning principles and practices.
  • Examine why some subdivisions fail and what can be done about it.
  • Reflect upon new directions and innovation in suburban neighbourhood design.
This course has no prerequisites

Students from all educational backgrounds welcome. You can register for this course without applying and enrolling in a program.

Take note:

  • A textbook is required for this course; details will be provided in the course syllabus.
  • Additional learning materials are provided through eClass.
  • Assessment may include discussion postings and essay assignments.
  • Refer to the course syllabus for the schedule of activities and due dates of assignments.
Currently counts towards

We recommend that you apply to the program as soon as possible to lock in your course requirements as they are subject to change.

*If you are already enroled in this program, please refer to your specific program requirements as outlined at the time of your admission: Bear Tracks > Academic Advisement.

You can register for and take a course without applying and enrolling into the program.

Email

michelle.zolner@ualberta.ca

When will
this course be offered?

New course schedules are released each June and November.

Course not yet scheduled

This course is not currently scheduled, but may be offered in an upcoming term.

New course schedules are announced each June and November.

Sign up for updates

Interested in future offerings of this course? We can let you know when this course becomes available.