The Department of Urban Planning offers a variety of international study opportunities, including summer programs (Geneva), internships (China and India), international/comparative planning workshops, and international exchange agreements (Sciences Po, University of Marne-La-Valle, FIPSE, Hertie School of Governance).

SUMMER WORKSHOPS:

INTERNSHIPS

CHINA

China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD).   Since 2007 the Department of Urban Planning has had a research exchange agreement with China’s leading urban planning agency, the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD). Under this agreement the Department of Urban Planning hosts managers and senior staff from CAUPD each year to attend courses on physical planning and urban design.

In addition the CAUPD provides scholarships for Urban Planning MURP students to work in China. Students are selected to work in Beijing with the staff of the CAUPD for up to three months between June and December and they may travel elsewhere in China depending on the projects they work on. Projects may be in developed or undeveloped regions of China, in a metropolis or small town, including rural areas. The country has about 100 cities with populations over a million, all growing and transforming rapidly. The students may earn independent study course credit and room and board is provided by the CAUPD.

Urban Planning students who have participated in this program include:

• Lara Regus, Ava Bromberg, Sara Slovin, Matthew Dresden, and Quinn Tang (summer 2006)
• Peter Capone-Newton, Kennetha Gaines, Guillermo Jaimes and Andrea Osgood (summer 2007)
• Christopher Gladora, Rebecca Choi, Deborah Helt, and Georgia Sheridan (summer 2008)
• Jeremy Cogan, Chanda Singh and Richard France (summer 2009)
• Garett Ballard-Rosa, Alex Rixey, and Shannon Ryan (summer 2010)
• Lars Carlson, Jason Hyde, Remy Monteko-Sherman (summer 2011)
• Zachary Rhem, Zachary Zabel (summer 2012)

Chengdu Institute of Planning and Design   An exchange agreement was initiated with Chengdu Institute of Planning and Design in 2010.  CIPD sends mid-career planning professionals to visit UCLA to attend and complete the requirements for up to 3 courses each term as well as participate in a weekly one hour seminar to discuss comparative China/U.S. urban and regional planning issues.

UCLA sends two to four interns to visit CIPD during the summer. The CIPD assigns each intern to be part of a planning project work team with an English speaking supervisor to work 300 to 500 hours on CIPD planning projects.  Interns are responsible for paying their own air transportation and incidental expenses.  The CIPD provides each intern with workspace, room and board and covers all work related travel expenses in China.

INDIA

Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT).  In 2011 the Department of Urban Planning  established a student/faculty exchange agreement with CEPT in Ahmedabad, India.  Ahmedabad is a dynamic, rapidly growing region, and CEPT is home to one of the premier planning programs in India.

CEPT faculty, alumni, and students frequently collaborate on applied planning programs and projects in Ahmedabad region; this work typically involves both research and implementation.  These programs and projects are usually conducted through one of  ten CEPT research centers:

• Centre for Sustainable Environment & Energy
• Centre for Excellence in Urban Transport (supported by Govt. of India)
• Centre for Industrial Area Planning & Management (supported by GIDC)
• Centre for Urban Equity
• Centre for Communication & Holistic Development
• Centre for Training & Development
• Centre for Climate Change
• Centre for Rural Studies
• Centre for Conservation Studies
• Centre for Development Economics and Public Policy

CEPT hosts up to four UCLA students during the summer to work on applied planning projects.  Because of the focus on implementation in these projects, UCLA students selected for a summer internship at CEPT will receive internship credit toward their MURP degree.  Further, CEPT has agreed to waive all summer program fees and will pay the students interns ~$450/month to cover accommodations and living expenses in Ahmedabad (the cost of living there is dramatically lower than in Los Angeles).  Student interns will otherwise be responsible for paying their travel and immigration fees.  The timing and duration of the internship is subject to negotiation between the CEPT project faculty member and the student intern.

Urban Planning students who have participated in this program include:

• Erin Coleman, Huma Husain, Ryan Johnson (summer 2011)
• Cheryl Deutsch, Wenchong Lai, Henry McCann, Justin Resnick, Robert Rich (summer 2012)

INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE PLANNING WORKSHOPS

Since 2001 students have organized international/comparative planning workshops.  These workshops usually take place during the summer or spring break.  Students may receive academic credit for these workshops through course 212.  The courses have a faculty sponsor and generally meet for half a quarter of instruction with a syllabus, assigned readings and assignments prior to the field trip.  Students are required to submit a term paper and do a presentation.

June 30 - July 31, 2008
TOKYO, JAPAN: UP 212 International/Comparative Planning Workshop
Professor Evelyn Blumenberg

With a population of 12.58 million, Tokyo is the most populous city in the world and one of the most densely developed. During spring break 2008, students from the Department of Urban Planning traveled to Tokyo as part of UP212 International and Comparative Planning Workshop. The purpose of the course was to help students develop a comparative understanding of transportation and urban development issues in global cities. Specifically, the students  focused on the relationship between density and myriad planning issues including transit and port planning, sustainable development, disaster planning, and transit-oriented development.  Based on the course readings as well as interviews with Tokyo-based planners, students  developed presentations highlighting the lessons that can be learned from Tokyo and their potential application to Los Angeles.

Course requirements:
To complete the course, students were required to (a) read background literature on each of the topics (b) set up two appointments with professional planners in Tokyo (c) complete the trip and attend each of the scheduled meetings and (d) during spring quarter, develop and present a polished PowerPoint presentation.

March 2007
BRAZIL and CUBA: UP 212 International and Comparative Planning: Sustainability and Development in Brazil and Cuba
Professor Leobardo Estrada
Quicktime Movie

The legacy of colonialism has left an indelible mark throughout most of the world -- probably most pronounced in Latin America. Urban Planning graduate students visited Brazil and Cuba in Spring 2007 to explore how two Latin American countries have sought to achieve stability through different means: Brazil through capitalism and Cuba through Communism. The students witnessed first hand the issues and the individuals that shape policy in these diverse economies.

In Brazil groups of students looked at Urban Design and the Built Environment (transportation, infrastructure and the public transportation system) and Spatial Justice and Participatory Planning (the landless workers movement, the roofless workers movement, participatory budgeting, development of the Rio de Janeiro Favela and Favela youth and hip hop).

In Cuba they looked at housing policies and practice; environmentalism under socialist policy; energy consumption and Havana's urban agriculture.

March 2006
CAIRO: International and Comparative Planning: Sustainability and Development in Cairo, Egypt
Professor Randall Crane

This course will helped students develop a critical and comparative understanding of urban development issues in a global context.   It focused on how sustainable development practices, in housing, environmental management, economic development and transportation impact access and livelihoods of low-income people.

March 2005
Mexico City, Mexico
Professor Leo Estrada

In Spring 2005, Professor Leo Estrada led a student-organized field learning trip to Mexico City, Mexico. Students met with nearly ten organizations representing social services, government planning, transportation, community development and the environment. In addition, students experienced cultural sites, bonded with classmates, made professional contacts, and built greater confidence around speaking Spanish and maneuvering in one of the world’s largest cities.

March 2003
INDIA: Housing, Land Use and Transportation in Bombay
Professor Vinit Mukhija

This field-based course examined the structure, implementation, and impact of various urban development strategies on access opportunities in international cities. Topics covered included urban governance, land use planning, transportation and infrastructure planning, housing development, and industrial location policy. The course focused on how physical planning strategies impact access opportunities for low-income groups.

In Mumbai, the class spent a week meeting planners and policymakers, activists and nonprofits' representatives, researchers and academics to develop a grounded understanding of urban development and planning issues in the city. Workshop participants wrote a term paper on the basis of their field-study and independent research.

Spring 2002
BERLIN: Comparative Urban Transportation Policy
Professor Brian Taylor
Slide show

Professor Brian Taylor and a group of Urban Planning students spent spring break in Berlin meeting with planners, activists, and transportation officials as part of a comparative urban transportation policy course. The course which compared and contrasted transportation policy and planning issues in two world cities: Berlin and Los Angeles, focused on the role of transportation policy and planning in facilitating access to such things as employment, housing and culture. Students teams planned the trip and took the lead in arranging each day's field activities.

Spring 2002
BRAZIL: Community Development in Brazil
Professor Abel Valenzuela

Professor Abel Valenzuela and a group of students went to Brazil during the spring break to study community development and built environment strategies in Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro. Students met with planning officials, community economic development scholars, practitioners and activists to learn first-hand about community development issues facing Brazilians. They also examined housing, the role of community based organizations, transportation, and environmental and sustainable development strategies.

Spring 2001
LONDON: Comparative Urban Transportation Policy
Professor Brian Taylor
Slide Show

Professor Brian Taylor and a group of Urban Planning students spent spring break in London meeting with planners, activists, and transportation officials as part of a comparative urban transportation policy course. The course which compared and contrasted transportation policy and planning issues in two world cities: London and Los Angeles, focused on the role of transportation policy and planning in facilitating access to such things as employment, housing and culture. Students teams planned the trip and took the lead in arranging each day's field activities.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS

La Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques and l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)
This agreement includes: