Amir Hajrasouliha, Ph.D.
Michael R. Boswell, Ph.D., AICP
Kelly Main, Ph.D.
Cornelius Nuworsoo, Ph.D., AICP
Chris Clark, JD
Janet Murrieta, Realtor®
Melanni Wiedrich, M.S.Extensive, hands-on studio work, projects and applied scholarship are defining traits of the CalPoly, San Luis Obispo City and Regional Planning (CRP) undergraduate and graduate programs. Our project and studio courses serve a diverse group of California communities who contract with us to fund these learning opportunities. This provides students the opportunity to engage in real-world problem solving, evaluating the fabric of cities at different scales -- from the project site, to city-wide, to the region. The CRP project-based perspective is consistent with the CalPoly 'learn by doing' philosophy. It gives CRP students a cross-sectional set of experiences in dealing with planning issues throughout the state. Our projects have been recognized many awards, including state and national awards from the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute. This success, as well as the quality of our projects in meeting the needs of diverse client-communities, is an indication that our students are well prepared to address the increasingly complex problems that are present in villages, towns and cities across the globe. To view projects, click here.
About Us
About City & Regional Planning (CRP)
Our Mission
The City and Regional Planning Department (CRP) promotes sustainable and diverse communities within cultural and human systems. We provide an interdisciplinary professional planning education based on a learn-by-doing approach, community outreach, and applied research to help communities aspire for better, livable places.
Our History
City & Regional Planning (CRP) at Cal Poly is an integral part of the nationally recognized five department College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The CRP program began in 1968 and has nearly 1,500 graduates (Bachelors and Masters level). The program evolved in the College where the planning laboratory (studio) has been the core of the curriculum. We are proud of the program's strengths in urban design, transportation, land use and environmental planning, and community sustainability.
What is Planning?
Planning has its roots in engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, law, social welfare and government reform. The practice of city and regional planning is both science and art. It involves technical competence, creativity, hard-headed pragmatism and the ability to develop a vision of the future and to build on that vision. Planners today combine design, quantitative and people-skills to assist communities and society.
What Do Planners Do?
The profession of city and regional planning is primarily involved in helping people and communities manage growth and change in their physical, social and economic environments. The focus is on understanding how cities and towns (human settlements) function and how to make them better places for people to live and to prosper.
Practicing planners work in public agencies and private consulting firms, preparing comprehensive plans for projects, neighborhoods, cities, and entire regions. They deal with the use of land, housing, transportation, public facilities, and open space. In addition, they are responsible for finding the means to make their plans become a reality by budgeting for public projects and programs and by reviewing and regulating private development.
The CRP Program
The program prepares students for professional careers in the design of human settlements in harmony with the natural environment and the needs of society.
Students often use the phrase "get an education, get a job, make a difference" when talking about being at Cal Poly.
Get "Real World" Planning Experience
The strength of the Cal Poly City & Regional Planning department is its focus on community-based studios that provide students a “real world” planning experience and an opportunity to make a difference in California communities. CRP partners with communities to develop and deliver consultant-quality plans and designs. This planning and design work usually includes meeting with local government staff, conducting workshops with the public, presenting to elected officials, and gathering and analyzing community data. Recent community partners include: San Luis Obispo County, City of Ventura, City of Grover Beach, City of Ventura, and the City of San Francisco.
Faculty
Amir Hajrasouliha, Ph.D.
Department Head, Associate Professor. B.Arch, Shahid Beheshti University; MS City Planning and Design, University of Tehran; MS Urban Design, University of Michigan; Ph.D. Urban Planning and Design, University of Utah.
Areas of Interest: urban design, campus planning and design, health-oriented planning and design, placemaking, and placemarketing.
Office: Building 5, Room 313
Email: ahajraso@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-1592
Winter 2025 Office Hours:Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: 11:00 - 2:00 via Zoom.
Dave Amos, Ph.D., AICP
Assistant professor. BS, Urban and Regional Studies, Cornell University; M.Arch, University of Oregon; MCRP, University of Oregon; Ph.D. City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley
Areas of Interest: Land use planning, urban design, active transportation, public planning education
Office: Building 21, Room 21-117C
Email: daveamos@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-6317
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Wednesdays and Fridays: 9:00-11:30
Click here to make an appointment
Michael R. Boswell, Ph.D., AICP
Professor. BA Political Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando; MSP and Ph.D. Urban & Regional Planning, Florida State University.
Areas of Interest: Environmental and natural resource planning, sustainable development, climate action planning, planning theory, natural hazards policy.
Office: Building 21, Room 117B
Email: mboswell@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-1315
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Wednesdays: 1:00-2:30 and Thursdays: 9:30-11:00 or by appointment
Hemalata C. Dandekar, Ph.D.
Professor. B.Arch. University of Bombay; M.Arch. University of Michigan; Ph. D. Urban and Regional Planning University of California Los Angeles; Post Doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Licensed Architect California.
Areas of Interest: International development planning, planning methods, gender and environment, housing, vernacular architecture.
Office: Building 186, Room A314
Email: hdandeka@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-7553
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 4:15-5:15
Adrienne Greve, Ph.D.
Professor. BS, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University; MS Bioresource Engineering, Colorado State University; Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Program in Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington.
Areas of Interest: Climate change, urban ecology, urban hydrology.
Master's Program Coordinator
Office: Building 21, Room 116C
Email: agreve@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-1474
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Kelly Main, Ph.D.
Associate Professor. BA, University of California, Davis; MA Brown University; Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles.
Areas of Interest: Planning in diverse communities, community participation and development, public health and the built environment.
Office: Building 21, Room 116B
Email: kdmain@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-2285
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Cornelius Nuworsoo, Ph.D., AICP
Professor. BS, University of Science and Technology, Ghana; Master of City Planning; University of California, Berkeley; MS Transportation Studies, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD; Ph.D. Transportation Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
Areas of Interest: Transportation, traffic impact analysis, engineering studies.
Office: Building 21, Room 117A
Email: cnuworso@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-2573
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-4:00 (virtual and by appointment only)
Ryan Sandwick, MSc., AoU
Assistant Professor. BSLA Landscape Architecture, University of California, Davis; MSc City Planning and Regeneration, University of Glasgow.
Areas of Interest: Community engagement, economic development, placemaking, urban design
Office: Building 34, Room 215
Email: rsandwic@calpoly.edu
Phone:
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 2:00-3:00
Chris Clark, JD
Lecturer. BA/MA,University of Oregon; JD, University of New Hampshire School of Law.
Areas of Interest: Land use, regulation, community planning,environmental law, environmental impact assessments, zoning, and international consulting.
Office: Building 21, Room 116A
Email: cclark@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-6605
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Thursdays: 10:30-11:30 (or by appointment)
Beate von Bischopinck, M.E.
Lecturer. ME in International Building Project Management, University of Applied Science, Stuttgart, Germany; Professional Degree in Architecture, University of Applied Science, Biberach, Germany
Office: Building 21, Room 118B
Email: bvonbisc@calpoly.edu
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: 12:10-1:00 (Thursday and Friday by appointment only)
Thandolwenkosi Mthembu (Thando), MSc
Lecturer: MSc Urban Planning for Developing Countries & Transitional Regions, Oxford Brookes University, UK; Postgraduate in Urban Design & Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; BArch, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Areas of Interest: cities of the South (Developing Regions), Informal Economies and Growing Cities, Neighborhood and Community Design, Smart Cities, Transformation and Inclusion
Office: Building 21, Room 118A
Email: tmthembu@calpoly.edu
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Tuesdays 10:00-12:00 and Wednesdays 12:00-2:00
Click here to make an appointment with Thando
Ryan G. Miller, Ph.D.
Lecturer. BA Economics and Geography, California State University, Chico; MUP (Master of Urban Planning), University of Washington; Ph.D. Geography, University of California, Davis.
Areas of Interest: housing policy reform, climate gentrification, natural hazard risk mitigation, sustainable transportation, geospatial analysis.
Office: Building 21, Room 116A
Email: rgmiller@calpoly.edu
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 12:00-2:00
Part-Time Lecturers
Zeljka Pavlovich-Howard
Lecturer: MSc Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL; Dipl.Eng.Arch, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
Areas of Interest: Community Planning, Urban Design, History of Cities, Globalization and Cities
Office: Building 21, Room 118B
Email: zhoward@calpoly.edu
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
N/A
Keith Woodcock, MCRP AICP CEP CUD
Lecturer, BS Environmental Planning and Management, UC Davis; MCRP, California State University, Fresno.
Areas of Interest: Land use and environmental planning, community outreach, healthy eating and active living (H.E.A.L), policy development and the practice of planning.
Email: kwoodcoc@calpoly.edu
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
N/A
John Donahoe
Lecturer: Bachelor of Science, City and Regional Planning, California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo
Areas of Interest: Project feasibility, design, environmental review, project entitlement
Email: jdonahoe@calpoly.edu
Winter 2025 Office Hours:
Tuesdays: 3:00-4:00 by appointment (Zoom meetings available upon request, including the weekends)
Jaime Britz Hill, MCRP
Lecturer: BA in Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley; MCRP California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo
Areas of Interest: Community planning, urban development and healthy communities, and historic preservation
Email: jbritz@calpoly.edu
Staff
Janet Murrieta, Realtor®
Administrative Support Assistant
Janet started working for the City and Regional Planning Department in 2012.
Contact Janet if you need assistance regarding our Accredited Master’s Program, Department Accounting, Student HR, Reimbursements, Domestic or International Travel, Grants, Department Events, Advancement, Alumni Relations, Endowments or Scholarships.
Janet is an active licensed Realtor® and has enjoyed assisting clients to buy and sell real estate on the central coast since 2006.
In her spare time, Janet spends time photographing the beautiful outdoors of the central coast as an amateur photographer. She also enjoys being active by running and exercising with her amazing Golden Retriever, Rusty.
Office: Building 5, Room 313
Email: jmurriet@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-1315
Melanni Wiedrich, M.S.
Administrative Support Coordinator. BS, Management Information Systems; MS Business Management, Minot State University.
Melanni started working for the City and Regional Planning Department in 2014.
Contact Melanni if you need assistance with class scheduling, permission numbers, accreditation reporting, BSCRP program, Faculty HR, or the CRP website.
In her spare time, she enjoys motorcycle riding, camping, and volunteers time with the American Legion Auxiliary as the Santa Maria Unit 56 Treasurer and Membership Chairman and newsletter editor for the motorcycle group, San Luis Obispo County.
Office: Building 5, Room 313
Email: mwiedric@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-1315
| Emeritus Faculty | Service Dates |
|---|---|
| Vicente del Rio | 2001-2025 |
| Linda Dalton | 1983-2016 |
| Zeljka Howard | 1986-2014 |
| William Siembieda | 1997-2020 |
| Paul Wack | 1979-2011 |
| Linda Day | 1993-2004 |
| In Memoriam | service dates |
|---|---|
| Ken Topping | 2004-2014 |
| William (Bill) Howard | 1980-1994 |
| Ken Schwartz | 1952-1988 - helped start the CRP Department in 1968 and served as the first CRP Department Head |
| David Conn | 1999-2014 |
| David Dubbink | 1989-2006 |
| Michael McDougall | 1972-1992 |
| Edward J. Ward | |
| Frank Hendricks | |
| Joe Kourakis | 1970-1997 |
Focus Journal
Focus is an online, open access journal published annually by the Department of City & Regional Planning at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo since 2004. The journal is dedicated to the professional practice of city planning and urban design, publishing peer-reviewed research, case studies, exceptional student projects and opinion and editorial pieces each year. Its key mission is to keep professionals, students, and alumni informed about recent and changing planning issues. Focus has won several awards of excellence since its inception, including recognition from the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute.
Research & Publications
Click here to view faculty research and publications.
Studios & Projects
Public Information
Planning Accreditation Board Criterion 1D Public Information for the 2023-2024 Academic Year
Contact Us
City and Regional Planning
1 Grand Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0283
Phone: 805-756-1315
Fax: 805-756-2765
Email: crp@calpoly.edu
Office: Building 5, Room 313
