The Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program at AUS is in the business of equipping professionals with the knowledge, skills, experience and passion to work with policy makers, corporations, philanthropies and grassroots citizens in order to make cities livable, sustainable, sociable, affordable and equitable.

Cities are deemed to be among the greatest, if not the greatest, “inventions” of all time. They are places where the past, the present and the future converge.  They harbor natural, human, economic and physical resources necessary for innovation, entrepreneurship and prosperity. As a result, they are perpetual magnets for people of all aspirations, and their population continues to grow quantumly.

Cities are also enabling and competitive spaces. In light of this, the critical functions of government must include calibrating and managing resources and opportunities on one hand, and people’s needs and aspirations on the other. Urban planning is one of the foremost mechanisms by which governments seek to make cities an enabling environment for all people.

Cities have a long and rich history, and their present and future conditions are influenced by factors that cannot be completely tamed by humans. It is in the face of these factors that planners, as technocrats, must collaborate with all other societal stakeholders to formulate feasible plans to make cities livable for all.

The MUP program at CAAD is an exemplary program for educating urban planners in the region. Its graduates now permeate key public and corporate agencies shaping urban policies and plans in the region.  In line with the broad trajectory of AUS, the MUP program views current and future cities in the region to be laden with opportunities and prospects for its graduates to contribute to the advancement of the health of the environment, and the wellbeing of current and future generations.