Environmental Design Teaching Assistant Professor John Hersey recently presented two lectures for Planetizen Courses, an online planning-education resource with classes approved to maintain the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) professional credential. Students, practitioners and community members interested in better understanding the influences that shape their places may subscribe to Planetizen Courses for access to classes in land-use regulation, multimodal transportation, planning law and policy, housing, and myriad other subjects and learn graphic-design software like the Adobe Creative Suite and Trimble SketchUp.
Specializing in transit-oriented development (TOD) since his undergraduate studies, Hersey was well prepared to present an introduction to the sustainable growth model as well as a deeper dive into TOD’s interaction with affordable housing. The latter course, Equitable Transit-Oriented Development, was among Planetizen Courses’ most popular classes of 2022. Hersey is grateful for the opportunity to reach so many subscribers through Planetizen Courses and feels encouraged by the substantial interest in a subject that promises to deliver economic resilience, community benefit, and greenhouse gas reduction.
Teaching sustainable planning and urban design studios at Environmental Design (ENVD), Hersey encourages students to recognize and leverage a site’s transit, biking, and walking assets to promote healthy, vibrant, and inclusive neighborhoods. In particular, he enjoys helping students wrestle with related subjects like zoning, gentrification, and parking to appreciate the value of transit-oriented development as a sustainable-growth strategy. Outside of ENVD, he has participated with members of the CU and Boulder communities in the Climate Across the Curriculum faculty training and recently promoted and attended the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit.
Hersey looks forward to students practicing lessons of transit-oriented development to inform sustainable development for generations to come.