Human Geography and Planning

Human geography and planning together examine how space, place and environment are understood and organised, and how public policy can shape where people live, how communities develop and what kind of future is possible in cities and regions facing rapid change. Human geography asks broad questions about society and space: how inequality is distributed across places, how migration reshapes communities, how environmental change affects different populations and how globalisation is experienced at the local level. Planning translates similar concerns into professional practice, using spatial analysis, policy frameworks and design thinking to guide land use, housing, transport, regeneration and environmental management.

At Cardiff University, this three-year full-time programme is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (dependent upon modules selected), providing a professionally recognised qualification for those who want to enter the planning profession alongside a geographically grounded intellectual education. You will develop a broad spatial education that combines the problem-solving approaches of planning with the topical insights of contemporary human geography, examining how places are shaped by economic, social and political forces and how planners intervene in those processes. Cardiff's location in a capital city undergoing significant urban development and regeneration gives your studies an immediate and relevant context.

Graduates of this programme go on to careers in urban planning, development management, spatial planning, environmental management, housing, regeneration, transport planning, local and regional government and consultancy. The RTPI accreditation supports the pathway to becoming a Chartered Town Planner. The geography elements also open careers in policy research, housing organisations, international development and the private sector.

Further study at master's level in planning, urban design or a related field is an option for those who want to deepen their professional qualification or move into research.