URBN PL M120
Introduction to Cities and Planning
Description: (Formerly numbered 120.) (Same as Public Affairs M109.) Lecture, three hours. Survey of urban history and evolution in U.S., urban social theory, current growth trends, system of cities, urban economy and economic restructuring, traditional and alternative location theories, urban transportation, and residential location and segregation. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
1 of 2
AD
AD
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2025 - I'd say curb your expectations taking M120 with Tam... It's a fine class by all means. It's easy material, they grade generously, and the workload is light. The material was SLIGHTLY unexpected but not at all atypical for a humanities course. I feel like I didn't necessarily learn much about the policies of urban planning but rather the social side. We learned about racism in urban planning, displacement, environmental justice, etc. Enter into the class expecting it to be about marginalized people and underrepresented issues in urban planning. It's not a bad class unless you have really strong opinions about universities pushing an agenda.
Summer 2025 - I'd say curb your expectations taking M120 with Tam... It's a fine class by all means. It's easy material, they grade generously, and the workload is light. The material was SLIGHTLY unexpected but not at all atypical for a humanities course. I feel like I didn't necessarily learn much about the policies of urban planning but rather the social side. We learned about racism in urban planning, displacement, environmental justice, etc. Enter into the class expecting it to be about marginalized people and underrepresented issues in urban planning. It's not a bad class unless you have really strong opinions about universities pushing an agenda.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - As an engineer taking this for a tech breadth, I thought it would be an easy A--but it wasn't the case. The course load is pretty light (2 essay assignments, midterm + final have both multiple essays and MCQ) but the grading was rather harsh, depending on the TA (they were often very picky on citing sources). I found the content to be somewhat boring as well. I was a bit annoyed when my TA modified instructions for an assignment via a canvas announcement and not the actual assignment description itself, thereby marking down my score despite me having followed the assignment instructions correctly. tldr: not the best experience, but it's an okay class I guess.
Fall 2024 - As an engineer taking this for a tech breadth, I thought it would be an easy A--but it wasn't the case. The course load is pretty light (2 essay assignments, midterm + final have both multiple essays and MCQ) but the grading was rather harsh, depending on the TA (they were often very picky on citing sources). I found the content to be somewhat boring as well. I was a bit annoyed when my TA modified instructions for an assignment via a canvas announcement and not the actual assignment description itself, thereby marking down my score despite me having followed the assignment instructions correctly. tldr: not the best experience, but it's an okay class I guess.
1 of 2
