Which law course did you take for your MUP/MCP?

[amivita]

Hi, I'm a current MUP student. It seems that most MUP/MCP programs have this law course requirement and have a wide range of courses for students to choose from. I am wondering which law course you guys think is most useful for someone concentrated in transportation planning?

My interest is in transportation economics/planning/engineering, especially in urban mass transit and (high-speed) rail planning. I hope to get a job in consulting when I graduate. It could be a planning/economics/engineering consulting firm.. Some examples would be AECOM, PB, and boutique firms like EcoNorthwest, Bay Area Economics, etc.

Would business law and real estate law be appropriate? Or should I take land use law? Thank you!

[Blide]

My school only offered a single law class for planners and that was land use. That's the bread and butter for planners so I wouldn't take anything else. Business law isn't particularly relevant and what you'll need from real estate law should be covered in land use law anyway.

[Hink]

Land use law would be the most common. If you plan to go private real estate law or business law might be appropriate. I took Planning law. It went into detail of the pertinent planning law history and where we are today. It touched on land use law, touched on regulatory bodies and everything in between.

[hilldweller]

I would think a Land Use Law course is required by the Planning Accreditation Board. Even to the most peripheral areas of planning, land use is more pertinent than the other areas of law IMO.

[reimaginethis]

Like everyone else, my MCRP program required Land Use Controls.

I would point out that some universities with law schools allow graduate students from other programs to take elective courses at the law school.

[JNA]

I would think a Land Use Law course is required by the Planning Accreditation Board. Even to the most peripheral areas of planning, land use is more pertinent than the other areas of law IMO.

From the Planning Accreditation Board (“PAB”).

4.2.1. (d) legal studies including knowledge about constitutional rights and
principles, state and local government law, administrative rules and
regulations, especially those focusing on the use and taxation of land.

The Accreditation Document