uwloo

PLAN 202Transportation and Housing: A Systems Approach

Units
0.50
Faculty
Environment
Subject
Planning

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course presents cities and regions as systems of systems, with a focus on complexity of land use, transportation, and housing. Students will develop an understanding of how the integration of land use, transportation, and housing contributes to the overall development and function of cities and regions. Students will explore how planning interventions can be used to address urban sprawl, influence citizen mobility, and improve job accessibility while gaining an appreciation of how a systems approach to planning balances issues of equity, affordability, economic development, and the environment. Students will learn to use and interpret simple models of city and regional systems to understand complexity, integration, and the system-wide impact of planning interventions.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • ENVS178 - Environmental Applications of Data Management and Statistics (0.50)
      • PLAN100 - Urbanization Today: Introduction to Cities and Regions (0.50)
    • Students must be in level 2A or higher

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 0015828187 / 240T 12:30–14:20
TUT 101582928 / 30W 18:30–19:50
TUT 102583018 / 30Th 18:30–19:50
TUT 103583128 / 30W 08:30–09:50
TUT 10458329 / 30F 08:30–09:50
TUT 105583330 / 30W 17:30–18:50
TUT 106583430 / 30T 16:00–17:20
TUT 107811930 / 30T 14:30–15:50
TUT 108812014 / 30W 08:30–09:50

Reviewed on UW Flow

14% liked it80% easy50% useful

From 7 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Most people who disliked this class didn't bother to put in the work to actually learn the concepts. Systems thinking is pretty simple, and the entire course is literally just applying the same simple concept to different housing/transportation contexts. If you don't understand the basic concept of the course, obviously you won't understand the course itself. Most of these reviews are complaining about lack of understanding, but in reality this is because most students in this cohort just didn't want to learn new things. The point of university is to learn so obviously you wont come into the class understanding it and knowing what its about. The issue is that students start the class like…

    Jan 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This is a very easy class, but it is extremely confusing. You can do well grade wise without really understanding what you are doing. By the end of the course, the only topics that felt clear to me were transportation and housing.
    The TAs try their best and are genuinely helpful, which is a positive. The assignments are very easy, and the midterm was also straightforward. However, the instructions, readings, and overall expectations are difficult to understand. The lectures are confusing and largely skippable, especially since they are delivered online. You can stay home, watch them, or attend in person and still do fine.
    Overall, it is an elementary class, but it is also extremely…

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course is the reason I made a UW Flow account. I don't even know where to begin. TLDR at the end.
    I think it says a lot about a course and its professor when, by the end of the term, you can count the number of students in the lecture hall on your fingers (and we're talking a normal human with normal fingers, NOT a mutant, NOT a centipede). When I was on the phone with my mom after the first lecture, she asked me what the course was about. I couldn't give her an answer. Now, after writing two papers and a midterm for PLAN 202, I still don't know.
    From what I could gather, PLAN 202 was supposed to be about the interactions between transportation and housing in planning, seemingly a…

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I don't know what to say. Horrifically stressful given that the work and assignments are easy. You wont get a good mark but you'll be told you understand it well. Wdym you changed the assignment so many times AFTER I submitted it a few days before the original due date? I am confused and lost. Seems lessons were learned while teaching us as the last few lectures slowed down to our pace and made sense. Hopefully a better class for future years.

    Nov 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar