A degree in urban and regional planning will enable you to play a key role in managing and developing the places we live in to make them safer, more sustainable, and healthier. To be well-equipped for this role, you’ll need to have gained significant knowledge as an undergraduate through the study of theories, methods and techniques for planning, designing and managing land use activities and environment.
Your undergraduate degree is also expected to expose you to varied practical experiences of realistic planning problems and encourage the development of interest in particular planning skills and research methods. Now, this is where your final year project plays a huge role. It provides you a great opportunity to develop strategic thinking and analytical research skills, amongst others, in your area of interest. However, it can be quite challenging to choose a project topic from an array of subject areas. To make your project topic search easier, I have compiled great project ideas in urban and regional planning that’d inspire you to make the right choice.
So, let’s dive right into it. Here are great project ideas for urban and regional planning final year students in 2022.
Table of Contents
Project Ideas for Urban and Regional Planning Final Year Students in 2022
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The Implications of Air Pollution on Human Health
This is one highly relevant project topic you can explore, particularly in the light of the severe environmental health hazard that air pollution poses globally. Following the global industrial revolution, the socio-economic and industrial activities of man have caused tremendous environmental degradation and untold negative consequences for human health. Through this research, you’ll critically investigate the implications of continued air pollution on human health.
This study will answer questions such as ‘is air pollution the cause of the poor health status of the people?’, ‘To what extent do fumes contribute to environmental health problems?’, etc. To limit the scope of this study, you may choose a major city in your country of residence as your study area, particularly one with significant commercial, industrial, and transportation activities. Using questionnaires, you’ll get data from the city’s residents about the negative impacts of air pollution on their health. The research outcomes from this study will be valuable in developing strategies to solve environmental health problems and provide a basis for further research studies.
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The Effects of Rural-Urban Migration on Public Utilities
The world is shaped by human migration. Every day, people decide to leave their hometowns or countries and move elsewhere to work, study, retire or reunite with their families. Rural-urban migration, which is the movement of people from countryside to urban centres, is not a new feature, nor is it limited to certain countries of the world. However, experiences in developing and developed countries have shown that the rate of rural-urban migration has ceaselessly outweighed the rate of job creation and places an immense burden on the social and infrastructural amenities available in the urban areas.
It is to deeply understand these issues that this study is necessary. Through this research, you’ll be able to determine the reasons people migrate to urban areas and what result from such migration on public utilities in your study area? Using a selected urban city or community as your study area, you’ll get data using questionnaires from the residents in the area. The significance of this study cannot be over-emphasized, as it will provide useful information to policymakers and planners to formulate and implement population redistribution or migration policy, amongst other benefits.
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Evaluating the Problems of Solid Waste Management
This is one exciting and highly relevant project topic you can explore, particularly if you live in a developing country where major urban centers are continuously working to clear mounting heaps of solid waste from their environments. Urban areas are being overtaken by the messy nature of overflowing dumps and unattended heaps of solid wastes emanating from domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities. Hence, the problem of solid waste generation and disposal is a pressing environmental and public health concern in developing countries around the globe.
Through this research work, you’ll evaluate the problems of solid waste management in your country; examine the consequences and identify strategies that have been adopted to combat the issues. This study will help to educate the public, stakeholders in environmental management, government and policymakers on the problems of solid waste management with a view of identifying management strategies to combat the crisis.
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Evaluating the Benefits of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry on Socio-economic Development
If you’re interested in the hospitality and tourism industry, you’ll find this project topic interesting and the research easy to carry out. The tourism industry has become one of the largest in the world and contributes tremendously to the socio-economic and political development of destination countries. Tourism is also a catalyst for enhancing employment opportunities, foreign exchange and infrastructural facilities. Unfortunately, many developing countries like Nigeria are yet to fully leverage on the benefits of the hospitality and tourism industry for their economic development.
To carry out this study, you’ll need to select a study area in your country with significant tourist attractions. Using questionnaires and interviews, you’ll explore the tourism potentials in the area, examine the challenges facing the hospitality and tourism industry within the location, and assess the socio-economic impact of the tourism industry in the study area. This project is a great foundation for student researchers who would like to undertake further postgraduate studies on the subject.
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The Role of Transport System in Rural Development
The transport system in most rural communities globally is dominated by untarred/seasonal roads and foot tracks. Lack of good roads in rural areas has significant negative impacts on the socio-economic activities and development of these areas. This study intends to address the problems which affect transportation systems and rural development.
For this project, you may choose a geopolitical region in your country comprising a number or rural communities/villages. Using questionnaires, you’ll focus on examining the various means of transport in the area, the major problems of road transport, the role of transport system in the area’s development, and proffer lasting solutions to the problems of transportation.
Having considered the above project topic ideas, I believe you find them to be inspiring. You may choose any of them or further tailor the topic to your specific area of interest. Regardless of your choice, remember that your project topic should be one that motivates you to carry out the research and can be completed within the required time frame. You can also read this article to find out how to prepare for your project defense. All the best!