Meet the UMass Amherst Regional Planning Studio!

South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) is the leading organization for climate action plans within the New Haven-Milford metro area, including some communities represented by the Naugatuck Regional Council of Governments (NVCOG). SCRCOG has partnered with the University of Massachusetts Amherst Master of Regional Planning (MRP) program to research and draft its Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP). As the only Planning Accreditation Board-accredited regional planning program at a public university within 150 miles of SCRCOG, UMass students bring a fresh and unique perspective to climate action planning.  

Tasked with developing an innovative PCAP, this year's MRP Studio team brings a wide array of skills and knowledge to the project. In the fall of 2023, second-year master's students enrolled in the university's planning studio course began working collectively with SCRCOG as their regional client. Throughout the term, the MRP Studio collaborated with the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which is conducting a greenhouse gas inventory of the region. The partnership between SCRCOG and UMass's MRP program will continue into the 2024-2025 academic year, with the next MRP studio cohort undertaking SCRCOG's CCAP. 

Charged with researching and drafting an ambitious PCAP, this year’s MRP Studio team brings a wide array of skills and knowledge to the project.