Welcome to the Masters of Urban Planning, Design and Development Studio

This course, intended for Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development (MUPD) students in their final year of study, focused on retail development in the greater Cleveland region and its implications for sustainable land use practices and community prosperity. Students worked in teams on a project for a client, which in this case was the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. The project serves as an update to NOACA’s Northeast Ohio Regional Retail Analysis, completed in August of 2000. 

Phase I of the project included a general update of major retail development and redevelopment projects within eight geographic regions of Cuyahoga County and the surrounding counties between 1999 and 2006. For each region, an update of socio-economic characteristics, transportation and infrastructure projects, zoning and land use changes and other pertinent data sets was required. Students also developed a trade area analysis. 

Phase II focuses on quantification of impacts on local government, air and water quality, watersheds, existing commercial centers, tax generation and regional development patterns and appropriate policy and planning responses. The analysis includes consideration of alternative land use and management practices. 

 The project seeks to answer the following questions:

• How much retail development has occurred in the seven county region since 1999?

• How does this retail compare with population change and location?

• What have been the consequences to this additional retail in terms of environment, fiscal, economic, built form and transportation systems in the region?

• What policy and planning response is needed?

Students were responsible for organizing team-based work, developing graphics and maps utilizing GIS technology, developing a final report for distribution, and developing a web site for the project. The final report for the project will be presented at the end of the semester to invited guests from greater Cleveland .