Case Study for Planning Education: Lessons from Incorporating an Interdisciplinary Teaching Approach and APA Trend Reports in Capstone Planning Studios

Hye Yeon Park (), Danilo Palazzo and Leah Hollstein
Additional contact information
Hye Yeon Park: School of Planning, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Danilo Palazzo: School of Planning, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Leah Hollstein: School of Planning, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Planning education has a responsibility to provide students with theoretical and practical training to address real-world issues. This study explores studio teaching as an engaged pedagogy, incorporating interdisciplinary approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) and themes from the American Planning Association’s (APA) Future Trend reports. Focusing on two senior capstone projects at the University of Cincinnati involving 34 students, the study emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary methods and APA trend integration in fostering critical thinking and higher-order reasoning. Capstone projects show students’ active engagement with innovative planning concepts (e.g., climate migration, innovative ways of goods’ delivery, and expanding third place’s concept). Such active and innovative learning outcomes not only deepen students’ understanding of urban planning but also equip them with critical cognitive and professional skills, which are necessary as professional planners as well as forward thinkers. The experiences and findings presented can help other programs articulate the benefits of studio-based courses. The findings offer experience-based guidance for similar initiatives in planning studios globally and support the ongoing transformation of sustainability education to prepare students for complex, real-world problem-solving.

Keywords: urban planning; pedagogy; planning education; studio teaching; education for sustainable development; interdisciplinary teaching approach; case study; APA future trends report; utopian; curriculum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1294/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1294/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1294-:d:1584232

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().