Housing Design & Community Planning
Housing is more than units.
It is how communities are born.
Move beyond floor plans and learn to shape neighbourhoods people love living in. Gain the thinking that turns housing briefs into thriving, connected communities and career-defining work.
Communities will live better because you planned them.
- Plan whole neighbourhoods — not just buildings, thinking in streets, shared space, and belonging.
- Balance density with dignity — so every home feels generous whatever its footprint.
- Understand how people live — and translate real daily routines into stronger design decisions.
- Turn constraints into character — making tight budgets and difficult sites work in your favour.
- Design for community life — creating places where neighbours actually meet and stay.
- Lead housing conversations — with clients, officials, and communities from a position of clarity.
Built by one of the most-read architecture platforms in the world.
RTF | Rethinking The Future has spent over a decade publishing the ideas, projects and voices shaping architecture — and now brings that depth to learning. Every course is researched, written and produced by the RTF team.
Great housing changes lives. Learn to design it.
A clear path. Eight steps.
Everything unlocks instantly with membership · learn at your own pace
If you see yourself here, start today.
A few hours from now, you could already see differently.
My housing layouts optimized units and forgot people. The community planning lens here changed how I think about shared space, density and daily life. Feedback from residents on my latest scheme was the best I have received.
Simple by design.
Watch
Short, focused video lessons — each one a single idea, clearly explained.
Apply
End every lesson with a small task that pushes your real project forward.
Transform
Watch your work develop a point of view that is unmistakably yours.
Answered simply.
Does this cover affordable and social housing, or just private residential work?
Both. It spans market housing, affordable models and community-scale planning, so you can move between typologies with confidence.
I've designed houses before — is this too basic for me?
Individual houses and housing are different disciplines. This course tackles density, community dynamics, unit planning and policy realities that single-home experience rarely touches.
Is the content relevant outside big metropolitan markets?
Yes. The principles of density, livability and community planning scale from small towns to major cities, and the course keeps returning to context-driven decisions.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Every course starts from where you are and builds up step by step, in plain language.
Is this software training?
No — software changes yearly. The thinking you learn here lasts a career.
How does it work?
Short video lessons with a small practice task after each. Any device, your pace.
What does membership include?
One membership unlocks every course on RTF Academy — all 450+, nothing sold separately. And you stay in control: cancel anytime in one click, and you will never be charged again.
Ready to see your work change?
Your next project could be the one that feels truly yours.
- 8 Sections
- 25 Lessons
- 4 Hours
- Introduction to Housing and Communities3
- Residential Planning Principles3
- Human-Centered Housing Design3
- Sustainable Housing Strategies3
- Community Planning and Public Spaces3
- Affordable and Future Housing3
- Housing Design Tools and Documentation3
- Housing Design Studio4
Reviews
Online and at your own pace.
Get access to all learning content
and every RTF Academy course with RTF Academy Pro
My housing layouts optimized units and forgot people. The community planning lens here changed how I think about shared space, density and daily life. Feedback from residents on my latest scheme was the best I have received.
You might be interested in
-
0 Students
-
25 Lessons
-
0 Students
-
25 Lessons
-
0 Students
-
25 Lessons
-
0 Students
-
25 Lessons
Sign up to receive our latest updates
Explore Courses
Policy
- © 2026 RTF Academy | Rethinking The Future. All Rights Reserved
- Connect with us