City Planning Resources
Last modified: 06.27.08
Libraries and Archives
Computing Resources
Studios
Academic Advising
Student Mentoring
Career Services
Student Activities
Student Planning Association
Student Life
Libraries & Archives
The University of Pennsylvania library system includes the National Historic Landmark Jerome and Anne Fisher Fine Arts Library, designed by Frank Furness. The library contains collections covering architecture, city planning, art history, landscape architecture, fine arts, historic preservation, and urban design. The Fine Arts Library also offers access to online
databases and catalogs.
The Fine Arts Library also houses the Perkins Rare Book Collection, which contains about 2,000 rare architectural titles, and the Slide Collection, which is available for classroom presentations.
Other collections at the University of Pennsylvania Library System frequently used by city planning students and faculty include the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, which specializes in social sciences and humanities, and the Lippincott Library of the Wharton School.
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Computing
The PennDesign Computer Center supports the school's mission to offer students a rich interdisciplinary program in fine arts, design, planning and historic preservation. Every PennDesign student is assigned a network account that allows access to state-of-the-art software, electronic mail, and the Internet. Two computer labs and a variety of input and output devices, including large-format plotters, color printers, projection units, and slide and flat-bed scanners are available to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the academic year. A growing number of students bring their own computers to school. Student space in the studio provides a network connection to enable student-owned computers connection to the PennDesign network.
At the Cartographic
Modeling Laboratory, students use geographic information systems
(GIS) for tasks ranging from site analysis and simulation to plan
development and environment assessment. The lab supports research
on the nature and use of GIS. Recent projects have included studies
of housing abandonment, brownfields, and the locations and predictors
of crime. The laboratory is also the locus of the Philadelphia
Data Consortium, an effort to make available all geographic coded
data for the Philadelphia region.
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Student Resources:
Studio
Space
For studio classes in the spring semester, second year students
have access to dedicated space equipped with drafting tables and
computers. First year workshop students use the Louis Kahn studio
in the Fisher Fine Arts Library.
Academic Advising
Students are matched with an academic advisor from the Department of City and Regional Planning faculty. Advisors guide students through the process of selecting classes and designing an academic program around their concentration. Advisors may also help students find internships and do career planning.
Student Mentoring
Incoming M.C.P. students are matched with second-year student mentors. As mentors, experienced students are available to new students to answer questions and to offer advice. Mentors help new students become oriented to the Department of City and Regional Planning, the University of Pennsylvania, and the City of Philadelphia.
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Career Services
Resources at the Career
Services Center include the PennDesign Employer Database as
well as opportunities to attend career programs and to meet with
PennDesign Career Counselors. Students can also receive assistance
in developing their resumé writing, interviewing, and job-hunting
skills.
Representative Alumni Employment
Private Sector (51%)
Wallace, Roberts & Todd, Philadelphia, PA
Robert Charles Lessor,Washington, D.C.
Mathau/Roche Design Group, Mill Valley, CA
Development Strategies, Inc., Manchester, MO
Sasaki Associates, Watertown, MA
Public Sector (32%)
Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development,
Boston, MA
Department of Transportation, Madison, WI
City of San Francisco Planning Department, San Francisco, CA
Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City,
NY
Nonprofit Sector (17%)
Congress for the New Urbanism, San Francisco, CA
Avenue of the Arts, Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Providence Plan, Providence, RI
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Student Activities
Penn's planning students participate in a host of activities and lead many important department projects. Students write and edit their own publications. For example, they produce Panorama, a nationally recognized planning journal containing cutting-edge articles on the profession submitted by faculty, alumni, and students;and The Link, a semi-annual newsletter of departmental activities, alumni information, and other news.
Student Planning Association
The Student Planning Association (SPA) attracts outstanding lecturers, sponsors field trips, and organizes the annual Career Fair, Fall Picnic, and Student/Faculty Dinner. The SPA seeks ways to enhance networking and communication and to help the program adapt to the ever-changing requirements of the planning profession. Close student/faculty relationships that underlie all SPA initiatives are a special feature of Penn's program.
Student Life
Students at Penn take advantage of Philadelphia's renowned cultural, historical, and recreational assets. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the Philadelphia Orchestra are near the campus. The city's small scale makes it possible to explore many of its neighborhoods by foot, bicycle, or public transit. Its restaurants, shops, and entertainment opportunities of Rittenhouse Square, Old City, South Street, the Italian Market, Chinatown, and University City are easily accessible. Fairmount Park is a recreational haven, with hiking and cycling trails, ball fields, and picnic areas. Paths along the Schuylkill River link the park to Center City with a scenic view of downtown. The University sponsors a rich array of lectures and other activities and has superb athletic facilities.
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