Teaching integrated land use-transportation planning topics, readings, and strategies

Planning pedagogy is increasingly focused on teaching interdisciplinary topics in an integrated and synergistic manner. The intersection of land use and transportation is that of two topics that have risen to be front and center for the planning profession. This article focuses on the manner in which planning programs and, in particular, specific courses address land use and transportation planning. After describing the context in which such courses exist, this article analyzes syllabi from fifteen courses in North American planning programs in two respects. The first examines the list of topics covered within each course by discussing the nature of primary, secondary, and peripheral topics. Second, the analysis uncovers the frequency with which specific readings are employed in each course. The article closes by discussing the nature of a land use-transportation course from the University of Minnesota in which there is a lecture and laboratory component.