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Planning by Example: A Conversation With Our Planner in Residence Elizabeth Abernethy Elizabeth “Liz” Abernethy first came to the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning back in 1990. Back then, things looked a little different. Earl Starnes, the department’s first director, had just stepped down one year earlier, and the program was […]

For Nigeria native Oluwasegun James, life is busy. The University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning student is pursuing dual master’s degrees in urban and regional planning and integrated sustainable development, putting him on the path to improving affordable housing in Florida. Read the full article from UF News.

Celebrating 50 Years of Florida Planning: Annual Bartley Lecture Reflects on the Past and Looks Ahead to the Future View the lecture recording. The University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning recently hosted the 2025 Bartley Lecture, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: 50 Years of Florida Planning” at the Cade Museum in Gainesville. The

UF Urban and Regional Planning Attends 2025 Florida APA Conference In September, faculty and students from the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning traveled to Daytona Beach to attend the 2025 Florida APA Conference. This annual conference brings together planners from across the state to share research and innovations in the planning

MURP Students Victoria Fountain and Edgar Medero Receive 2025 American Planning Association (APA) Foundation Diversity Scholarship Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning students Victoria Fountain and Edgar Medero are the latest recipients of the $5,000 APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship.  This scholarship is awarded to students who are dedicated to promoting the advancement of social equity

Meet Our 2025-2026 MURP Mentors Our 2025-2026 MURP Mentorship Program is in full swing! We’ve paired accomplished planning professionals with students in the final year of their MURP program as they prepare to graduate and begin their careers. These mentors serve to guide students in this final stage of their education, providing them with tools

Dr. Yan Wang Featured in Topos Magazine Dr. Yan Wang, Associate Professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning, was recently featured in Topos Magazine, a leading international and interdisciplinary review for landscape architecture, urban design and urban development. Read more below.

Dr. Kathryn Frank Publishes JAPA article on Rural Planning and Community Development Dr. Kathryn Frank’s recent article “What Can Rural Planning Learn from Community Development? Some Lessons Moving Forward” was published in the Journal of the American Planning Association this month.  The article outlines the relationship between rural planning and rural community development. It analyzes

Director’s Interdisciplinary Innovation Grant Awards Spark New Research at the University of Florida’s School of Landscape Architecture and Planning Four research teams from the University of Florida’s School of Landscape Architecture and Planning (SLA&P) recently received funding through the Director’s Innovation Grant Awards, an initiative designed to fund cross-disciplinary collaboration.  Faculty from both the Department

Finding a Path in Planning: How UF’s Online MURP Program Helped One Alumna Find Her Calling Melissa Ruth, AICP, at her graduation in 2022 Melissa Ruth, AICP, never saw herself entering the planning field. Driven by a childhood passion for the environment and the great outdoors, she began her undergraduate studies in Marine Biology at