Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy

Program Mission

The mission of the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy (UEPP) and its programs is to contribute to a more just and sustainable society by cultivating ethical, knowledgeable, and technically capable future planning and policy leaders. The Department’s mission affirms and works within the broader mission of the College of the Environment to integrate outstanding urban planning and policy programs through faculty-student collaboration, applied research, and professional and community service that foster positive outcomes in communities.

Program Vision

The UEPP Department programs envision advancing a society where individuals and groups can fully participate in the planning and development of their communities such that basic needs of food, safety, shelter, meaningful and self-supporting livelihoods, and opportunities for self-realization are met for all. Community aspirations, as understood by diverse segments of the community, are discussed freely and form the foundation for working toward a more sustainable future, with special consideration for those who are most marginalized and for the protection of ecological systems that sustain and inspire us.

The Department of Urban and Environmental Planning & Policy trains future professionals to address urban, environmental, and community problem solving through planning and policy practice. The Departments strategic mission is fulfilled with curriculum that addresses three core values: Collaboration, Application, and Problem Orientation:

Collaboration: We collaborate within the College, with other University units, and with the larger community because addressing environmental and community challenges requires comprehensive and inclusive engagement.
Application: We apply our teaching and learning to the real world and seek to make meaningful contributions to sustainable development across the state, region, and world.
Problem Orientation: We engage students, faculty, the professional community, and the public meaningfully in the analysis of solutions to pressing environmental and community development problems.

Our curriculum is designed to help students make intellectual connections and gain the practical skills necessary for building socially and environmentally sustainable communities. Through the integration of urban and environmental planning and policy and the natural sciences, social sciences, and allied fields, the Department’s programs endeavor to educate problem solvers who can meet the environmental challenges of our times. Our graduates meet statewide workforce demands for professionalfields; this is especially pertinent in Washington State, which has enacted progressive land use, growth management, and environmental protection policies. Many of our graduates go on to professional careers in urban planning and environmental policy and graduate studies in planning, law, natural resource management, urban design, architecture, and public policy.

The Department’s mission emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to solving complex problems that face communities from the local to the global level. The programs emphasize approaches that promote equity, health, and sustainability in communities for present and future generations. The curriculum combines urban planning theory, history and methods, urban and sustainable design, law, conflict resolution, social and environmental justice, resilience planning, environmental policy, and environmental sciences to provide students with a solid understanding of the linkages between urban and natural systems and the multi-dimensional problems faced in urban development.

Demand for Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy Programs

The Department’s focus on professional programs oriented toward the management of urban and natural environments meets the growing demand for trained professionals in the fields of urban planning, policy, and sustainability. Since 2016, WWU’s BA in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development (UPSD) has been nationally accreditedby the Planning Accreditation Board, making it one of only sixteen accredited undergraduate programs in the nation, and one of only two in Washington State. Accreditation requires the program to adhere to strict curricular and academic self-governance standards and to prepare self-study reports to maintain accreditation. Accreditation makes graduates more competitive in the job market and enables them to become certified planners more quickly.

General Contact Information

Department of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy
Nabil Kamel, Department Chair
Ingrid Patrick, Administrative Services Manager
Main Office: Arntzen Hall 217
College of the Environment
Western Washington University
516 High Street - MS 9085
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-650-7773 (Office)
cenv.wwu.edu/uepp

Interactive map: Arntzen Hall, College of the Environment, WWU; wwu.edu/map/index.html
Driving directions to Arntzen Hall

Still have questions? Get in touch with one of the College of the Environment advisors at cenv.wwu.edu/academic-advising.

Faculty

NABIL KAMEL (2014) Chair and Professor, (Urban Studies and Planning). Ph.D. in urban and regional planning, University of California Los Angeles.
TROY ABEL (2006) Professor, (Environmental Policy). PhD Public Policy, George Mason University; Master of Public Administration, George Mason University; BS Public Health, Indiana University.
GIGI BERARDI (1995) Professor, (Sustainability Studies). PhD Natural Resources, Policy and Planning and MS Natural Resources Conservation, Cornell University; MA, World Arts & Culture, UCLA; BA Biology, University of California, San Diego.
STEVE HOLLENHORST (2012) Professor, (Land Use Policy and Management). PhD, The Ohio State University; MS, University of Oregon; BS, University of Oregon
TAMMI LANINGA (2015) Associate Professor, AICP (Urban Planning). B.S. Environmental Policy, Western Washington University; M.A. Geography and Ph.D., University of Colorado.
JAMES MILLER (2020) Assistant Professor, (Comparative Indigenous Studies and Planning). Ph.D in Architecture, University of Oregon; Master of Architecture, University of Oregon; Bachelor of Architecture, University of Notre Dame.
DARRIN MAGEE (2023) Director and Professor. BS (mathematics), BA (French), Louisiana State University; MA (China studies), University of Washington; PhD (geography), University of Washington.
PAUL STANGL (2007) Associate Professor, (Urban Planning). PhD Geography, University of Texas at Austin; MCRP City and Regional Planning, Rutgers University; BS Liberal Arts, Kansas State University.
GRACE WANG (2002) Professor, Sustainability Studies, (Environmental Policy). PhD and MS Forestry, University of Minnesota; BS Political Economy of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley.
NICHOLAS C. ZAFERATOS (1999) Professor, AICP (Urban Planning). PhD Urban Design & Planning, University of Washington; MS Urban, Regional and Environmental Planning, Western Washington University; BA Geography, State University of New York at Buffalo.

Emeritus Faculty

JEAN MELIOUS (1996) Professor, (Law and Environmental Policy). JD Harvard Law School; MPhil Urban Design and Regional Planning, University of Edinburgh; BA Government & Environmental Studies, St. Lawrence University.

Affiliated Faculty

ZANDER ALBERTSON NTT Senior Instructor
LINDSEY MACDONALD Associate Director, Office of Sustainability
JILL MACINTYRE WITT NTT Senior Instructor
ARUNAS OSLAPAS Professor, Engineering Technology
DEBRA J. SALAZAR Professor, Department of Political Science

Programs

Undergraduate Major

Undergraduate Extension

Natural Resource Management (Extension), BA

Undergraduate Minor

Graduate

Urban Planning and Environmental Sustainability, MA

Courses

Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy

Courses numbered X37; X97; 300, 400 are described in the University Academic Policies section of this catalog.