Extensive, hands-on studio work, projects and applied scholarship are defining traits of the CalPoly, San Luis Obispo City and Regional Planning (CRP) undergraduate and graduate programs. Our project and studio courses serve a diverse group of California communities who contract with us to fund these learning opportunities. This provides students the opportunity to engage in real-world problem solving, evaluating the fabric of cities at different scales -- from the project site, to city-wide, to the region. The CRP project-based perspective is consistent with the CalPoly 'learn by doing' philosophy. It gives CRP students a cross-sectional set of experiences in dealing with planning issues throughout the state. Our projects have been recognized many awards, including state and national awards from the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute. This success, as well as the quality of our projects in meeting the needs of diverse client-communities, is an indication that our students are well prepared to address the increasingly complex problems that are present in villages, towns and cities across the globe.