Unlike in most other countries, US architecture students will graduate with no coursework in urbanism and urban design.
That’s a problem for the places we live.
Although the architecture profession went through a crisis of theory and practice in the Urban Renewal era of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, architecture students in the US today know little about this history or the knowledge about cities that has developed since then. They are not required to. Take a look at the national educational standards for accredited architecture (and also landscape architecture) programs and you will find that US architecture students can complete their architecture education with no required coursework in urbanism or urban design.
At the Urbanism Project, we think it is time for this to change. Unlike past arguments to improve architecture's relationship to the city, our proposal is not a debate about architectural styles. We believe that as places of the greatest cultural diversity, cities are also the places where architecture of all kinds is imagined and built. And for the benefit of people’s daily lives in both cities and suburbs, we believe that architecture students of all esthetic inclinations should learn more than they do to contribute to the design of healthy and enjoyable places to live.
In the following pages, you'll learn more about the history of the architecture profession's engagement with cities, current educational standards, and our proposals for change.
Some history
The architecture profession has a curious and sometimes troubled relationship to the city. How did we get here?
architectural education
Architectural students are required to know little about cities, urban design, or urbanism. What are they learning now?