Environmental Policy and Planning (EPP)

The Environmental Policy and Planning Group (EPP) focuses on the decision-making tools by which society conserves and manages natural resources and ensures sustainable development. Areas of concern include toxic and hazardous waste management, environmental technology, water and air quality, global climate change, facility siting, environmental justice and brownfield development.

The Environmental Policy and Planning (EPP) group invites talented undergraduate and graduate students with a passion for solving environmental problems to study in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) at MIT. EPP includes a diverse set of faculty and students who share a commitment to sustainable development, environmental justice, and a thoughtful integration of science and values in environmental policymaking and planning.

EPP draws on the expertise of its world-renowned faculty, as well as the extraordinary resources of DUSP and MIT, to train aspiring leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Faculty research and teaching address a range of pressing environmental issues including urban sustainability, pollution prevention, climate mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, environmental justice, and conflict-resolution. In addition, EPP faculty members have been directly involved in environmental planning and policymaking at the local, national, and international levels.

In addition to working closely with faculty on research and planning projects, EPP students sample from the array of courses and resources available at MIT and other Boston-area universities. Many also play critical roles in environmental and sustainability initiatives within the department, across the MIT campus, and in Cambridge, Boston, or other nearby cities. In the process, they gain a deep understanding the scientific, political, and social complexities they will face over the course of their careers