College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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  • Community Design Minor

Contact the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Email:
sbs.dean​@nau.edu
Call:
928-523-2672
Get application information
For more information on minors in geography and planning, please visit the Geography, Planning and Recreation website.


Urban Planning and Design, Minor

The field of community and urban design gives you the skills to help redesign poorly functioning places or to create fresh designs for more livable and sustainable neighborhoods and cities. With this minor you learn about the environmental, political, and social aspects of places and how to improve community designs through 2-D and 3-D modeling tools. Classes include a mixture of academic and theoretical perspectives, coupled with applied, real-world projects that challenge you to design better places in Flagstaff and beyond.

Urban areas and communities have evolved in adaptation to environments, geography, political pressures, food production, and population sprawl. This minor provides a useful foundation for those interested in land-use planning, historic preservation, as well as the legal and ethical components of contemporary community design.

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Requirements Accordion Open

University Requirements

  • A minor is earned in conjunction with a bachelor's degree.

    To receive a minor (18 to 24 units) at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject matter areas with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0. At least 12 units of the minor must be unique to that minor and not applied to any other minor.

Overview Accordion Closed

Overview

In addition to University Requirements:

  • Complete individual plan requirements.

Please note that students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

No more than 50% of the units used to satisfy minor requirements may be used to satisfy major requirements.

Minimum Units for Completion18
Major GPAC

Purpose Statement

This minor provides an urban planning and design background for those in the fields of civil engineering, historic preservation, community advocacy and sustainability, and public administration. The minor in urban planning and design prepares students to plan and design poorly functioning places and spaces for more livable and sustainable neighborhoods and cities and to communicate with the public. With this minor you learn about the environmental, political, and social aspects of places and how to improve community design. You will understand legal, ethical and process aspects to community and urban design projects, work on solving problems related to the built environment, create community designs and gain skills in public participation and facilitation.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to: 

  • Relate urban economic, social, political, built environment and legal considerations to past, present and future land use patterns
  • Understand the issues of design, sustainability and livability in regard to human and physical landscapes
  • Apply critical thinking skills to design or redesign areas or spaces using various visual technologies, research and justification

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Details

Minor Requirements
  • Take the following 18 units with a Grade of "C" or better in each course:

    • GSP 201, GSP 303, GSP 371 (9 units)
    • Select from the following courses: GSP 401, GSP 402, GSP 421, GSP 432, GSP 501, GSP 514, GSP 543 (9 units)
  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also take. For prerequisite information click on the course or see your advisor.
     

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Campus Availability

  • Flagstaff

directory photo
Rebecca Dawn Hawley
Professor
Geography, Planning and Recreation
D.Hawley@nau.edu
+1 928 523-2383
Social Behavioral Sciences (West) , room 254
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Location
Room 200 Building 65
Raul H. Castro Building
5 East McConnell Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Mailing Address
PO Box 15700
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Contact Form
Email
sbs.dean@nau.edu
Phone
928-523-2672
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