Urban
and Regional Planning
GEO 321 Spring 2010
Syllabus
9:45-11:00
A.M. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Professor:
Dr. Michael Longan
About Urban and Regional Planning
Urban and Regional Planning explores the purpose, practice, and theories of modern community planning for the promotion of social and economic well-being. The course provides a foundation to build upon for those who wish to pursue a career in planning, to study planning or related disciplines (including geography, law, political science) at the graduate level, or to serve as a member of a citizen planning board. Planning is an interdisciplinary field of study and practice. Therefore the course will also be of direct relevance for those interested in geography, history, environmental studies, social work, civil engineering, political science, sociology, education, and urban studies among others. Regardless of one’s choice of career, the class aims to provide students with knowledge that they can use as active citizens in their communities.
Course Goals
At the conclusion of the course successful students will…
- Know about and understand the important elements in the history of planning, its legal basis, planning tools and practices, types of planning, theories of planning, planning at the regional and national level, and planning in other countries.
- Understand a variety of significant contemporary issues in planning including planning for small towns, suburban development and new urbanism, public and alternative transportation, disaster recovery and rebuilding, and issues of public space and public participation.
- Understand how to read, analyze, and evaluate urban planning documents and legal documents related to planning.
- Manage a research project including topic selection, bibliography construction, outlining, and writing a final product.
- Be able to observe, analyze and evaluate the built environment of a city.
- Be prepared to identify the interaction between urban and regional planning and other subfields of human geography (including urban geography, economic geography, cultural geography, population geography, environmental geography, etc.) or their own majors and vocational aspirations.
- Understand the impact that planning decisions have on the lives of people affected by them.
- Understand the value of citizen participation in planning.
- Care more about how cities are planned and the quality of the built environment.
- Become more self-directed as a learner and be interested in learning more about planning issues.
Course Structure
The course is designed in two major parts. The first third of the course consists of a broad but intense overview of planning. This section of the course will be taught using a combination of lecture and tutorial style discussion. Many of the topics that students read about will not be discussed in-depth in class; therefore students need to take responsibility for learning much of the material on their own. The second two thirds of the course will follow a seminar format consisting of in-depth studies of specific topics in planning including planning in small towns (like Valparaiso), planning in suburbia, and public space and the politics of planning. This section of the course will be taught using a seminar style format with very few if any lectures. This course structure allows for a class that covers the breadth of planning but also offers an opportunity to study a few important issues in depth.
Texts There are three required texts for the course
- Levy, John M. 2006. Contemporary Urban Planning Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Duany, Andres, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. 2000. Suburban Nation: the Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. New York: North Point Press.
- Mitchell, Don. 2003. The Right to the City: Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space.
Additional readings will be available online, via the library (see the course web site for links), or will be placed on reserve. You should do the assigned readings before coming to class and be prepared to answer and ask questions about what you have read. Contemporary Urban Planning is a classic text that will provide us with a broad survey of some of the major issues in planning. Written for a general readership, Suburban Nation offers a scathing critique of the contemporary urban landscape in the United States and offers up solutions derived from the New Urbanist movement. The Right to the City offers important ideas about cities and the public that planners will need to think about as they plan the cities of the 21st century. Finally a variety of readings from the professional literature will provide us with a window into current planning practices and theories.
These readings will provide the basis for our discussions. It is essential that you not only do the assigned reading before you come to class, but that you also take some time to digest and reflect upon your reading. Please come to class with some questions, ideas, or insights prompted by the readings. Our goal is to have tutorials and seminar discussions where everyone is able to actively participate.
Assignments
Tutorial and Seminar Discussions The first third of the semester will consist of tutorial style discussions over the material found in Levy’s Contemporary Urban Planning. Unlike discussion classes you may be familiar with, the purpose of a tutorial discussion is review the material in the text in order to help you learn it. At this point in the semester we will not be as concerned with helping you to apply the material or with your assessment of the material. That will come later. Instead you should come to class with questions about the material in the text and be prepared to answer questions over what you have read. The second two-thirds of the class will consist or more seminar style discussions where we not only review the material in order to learn it but also raise and discuss critical questions. You will be graded on your participation in tutorial and seminar discussions. Because of the small size of this course all members of the class will need to participate in order to make the course a success. If you have difficulty speaking up in class, come see me and we can find some strategies to make you more comfortable. I will do my best to provide a comfortable and welcoming environment for discussion. You should strive to speak up at least once every class period.
Reading Journal Your reading journal is designed to help you keep track of the flood of new information that you will be learning in this class and to help you prepare for discussions and exams. Just like you would take notes during class, you need to take notes while reading in this class. You may keep your journal in a format that is convenient for you; in a spiral notebook, on a computer, or on loose leaf paper that is compiled into a binder for example. Whatever format you use, you should be able to bring your journal to class. You will hand in your journal for a grade twice during the semester.
Create an entry for each reading assignment that you do throughout the semester and complete it as you read. You may not always have time to fully complete an entry. If that happens, take a few moments to finish your entry at a later date. Your reading entries should follow the structure set out in the Reading Entry Template (see below). It will not be necessary for you to take detailed notes that summarize what you are reading (though you may do so if you wish). Instead note new vocabulary, technical terms, references to significant authors or texts, and questions that occur to you while reading. Underline significant passages in the book itself rather than writing them down in your notes. When you complete the reading you will need to write a one sentence summary of the reading. If you wish you may also write a short abstract and do some freewriting in response to the reading. Your reading journal will be checked twice during the semester.
Urban Plan Analysis. For this assignment you will need to write a 4-5 page (double spaced) analysis of a comprehensive plan or other similar planning document. You will locate the plan from a city of your choosing (except for Valparaiso) on the Internet and analyze its content as described below. It might be helpful for you to choose a city that you are at least somewhat familiar with. Your analysis will need to accomplish the following:
1. Identify the location and type of plan selected and summarizes the “occasion” for the plan (what necessitated the plan).
2. Identify what specific problems the plan addresses and does not address.
3. Briefly discusses the elements that are included in the plan. How is the plan structured? What elements are included and why?
4. Derive from the plan a general summary of what the practice of planning involves.
New Urbanism Analytical Brief You will be asked to write a 4-5 page analytical brief that what you have read in Suburban Nation. The first part of the brief is a short summary (no more than a page) of the main arguments of the book. The meat of your brief will be the second part where you raise a question (or a series of questions) about the text and discuss the question.
Field Work We will use the urban landscapes of Valparaiso, Northwest Indiana, and Chicago as living laboratories for the course. In addition to the two graded field exercises, listed below, there may be additional non-graded field work exercises including a walkability assessment.
Field Exercise 1: Urban Design of Lincolnway Corridor During the class period you will work individually and in groups to evaluate the urban design of the Lincolnway corridor near campus. More details will be provided at the time of the assignment.
Field Exercise 2: Chicago Much of the early history of the planning profession lives on in the historic landscape of Chicago; therefore we will take an all day trip to Chicago via the South Shore and the CTA on Sunday April 11. We will likely visit the Pullman neighborhood. Please do not plan anything else for that day or evening (except for early church services). Students who have school activities on that day will be given an alternative assignment. Those who normally work that day should arrange for the day off as soon as possible. Total cost, including meals, should not exceed more than $35. After the trip you will need to write a 3 page reflection paper connecting what you saw in Chicago with what you have learned this semester. More details will be provided at the time of the assignment.
For many students these field excursions are the highlight of the course because they offer an opportunity to see and experience what we have learned in the classroom in the “real world.” We take public transportation and walk around the city because it will allow you to see the city in a way that you might not have seen it before. Please do not expect that these trips will be like tours that you take on vacation. Instead of having expert point things out to you, it will be your job to apply the knowledge that you have gained to interpret what you see. For example, should we experience a delay in the public transportation system (an inevitability in these days of funding cut backs), your first reaction should not be to claim that the field trip was badly planned because in fact it was planned precisely so that you are likely to experience such inconveniences. Rather you should think about how such delays might affect someone living in the city. What does the flaw that you’ve experienced in the transportation say about the city itself? If you don’t like what you see or you felt that the experience was miserable, boring, or otherwise disagreeable then think about what caused this reaction. Is it a quality of the city itself? Is it because of your own pre-existing assumptions about the city? Is it because you weren’t actively observing and thinking about what you were seeing?
Research Paper The final major assignment for the course is a 10-15 page research paper. Research skills are essential for anyone pursuing a career in planning. Writing the paper will provide you with an opportunity to explore a topic of relevance to your own interests or career goals. You have two options for this paper:
Option 1: Write case study of an interesting planning project or planning problem in a specific city or region. Your case study may focus on any neighborhood, city, or region you like. For instance you could do a study of a particular issue in Valparaiso, Gary or Chicago. You might study an issue in your home town or even in another country. The paper should use the literature discussed in class as well as additional literature from academic journals, studies, or books to interpret the particular case that you have chosen. For this option you will need to collect planning documents, maps, newspaper articles, census information, informal interviews and other primary sources of data to build your case. You will find this type of information in local libraries, on the Internet, in historical society archives, and at city hall among other places.
Option 2: Research the literature on a particular topic or debate in planning. For instance you may want to explore a planning paradigm (comprehensive planning, incremental planning, advocacy planning, equity planning, new urbanism, communicative planning, etc.), a specific field of planning (transportation, urban design, environmental, economic development, etc.), or a contemporary or historical controversy in planning (the “taking” issue, urban renewal, smart growth, public transportation, etc.) In contrast to Option 1 your primary goal will be to review the planning literature.
The library’s full text databases provide us with excellent access to a number of academic journals concerning planning. In addition there is a good selection of books on planning in the library though the collection is not as up to date as it should be. You will likely need to use interlibrary loan to obtain books and articles that our library does not have so please locate critical resources early in the semester. A series of assignments throughout the semester will help you choose a site and/or topic and figure out how to approach the project. You should consult with the professor regularly throughout the semester on your paper.
Exams There will be two exams in the course. The first exam will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions and will allow you to demonstrate your mastery of the content discussed in the first third of the course and in the Contemporary Urban Planning text. This is the major exam for the course and is one that you will need to study extensively for. The final exam will be a comprehensive essay test. It will be an opportunity for you to demonstrate the extent to which you are able to situate the specific topics we discuss and that you have researched within the larger context of urban planning.
Attendance
You should achieve on-time attendance for all class sessions
unless you are ill, you are required to attend a university event, you
have a family emergency, or you have made prior arrangements with me.
If you must miss class for these reasons please provide me with a written
note or an e-mail so that I can excuse your absence in my records. If
you send me e-mail please place the words “GEO321 Absence” in the subject
line to help me in my record keeping. Absences for any other reason
will lower your grade. Please be on time to class. Coming in late distracts
your professor and your fellow students and often some of the most important
ideas are presented at the beginning of class. You may be counted as
absent if you are late and will lose attendance points if you are consistently
late.
Anticipated Grading
The assignments and grade distribution listed below are subject to change should opportunities for a planning project (see above) arise, or should it be impossible to complete a field exercise due to weather or logistics.
|
Reading Journal |
5% |
25 |
|
Urban Plan Analysis |
10% |
50 |
|
Field 1: Lincolnway Corridor |
10% |
50 |
|
Field 2: Chicago |
5% |
25 |
|
New Urbanism Brief |
10% |
50 |
|
Research Paper |
30% |
150 |
|
Participation and Attendance |
5% |
25 |
|
Exam 1 |
15% |
75 |
|
Final Exam |
10% |
50 |
|
Total |
100.00% |
500 points |
The following point percentages will be used to determine your grade (unless an unusual grade distribution occurs).
|
A |
93-100% |
B |
83-86% |
C |
73-76% |
D |
63-66% |
|
A- |
90-92% |
B- |
80-82% |
C- |
70-72% |
D- |
60-62% |
|
B+ |
87-89% |
C+ |
77-79% |
D+ |
67-69% |
F |
0-59 |
Course Policies
The Student’s Responsibility for Learning Course Content It is the student’s responsibility to learn the content of the course (theories, concepts, ideas, etc.) by doing the reading assigned for the day, thinking about it before class, and talking to the professor about gaps in understanding. Many courses that you take rely upon lecture to deliver the content that you are expected to learn. In this course your readings are the primary means by which you will learn the content of the course. In other words, I expect that you will attend class having already learned at a basic level the major concepts and ideas to be discussed each day. Our class sessions will be devoted to reviewing the material you have read in order to solidify your understanding, answering questions prompted by the reading, introducing new material where appropriate, applying what you have learned to understand specific cases, and critically analyzing the material you have read. You should expect to do two to three hours of work outside of class for every hour in class. Please manage your time appropriately.
Policy on Late Assignments You must hand in all of your assignments on time. If because of circumstances beyond your control you need more time to complete an assignment please see me ahead of time (a day in advance) to ask for an extension. Extensions may or may not be granted depending upon the circumstances. If you must turn in an assignment late and you did not ask for an extension, include a written explanation of the reason for its tardiness along with the assignment. If the explanation is judged to be inadequate the assignment will not be accepted or will be accepted for reduced credit.
Accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know during the first week of class so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. All discussions will remain confidential.
Authorized Aid and the Honor Code The Honor Code will be upheld in this course. Authorized aid in this class will be limited to your own personal knowledge during exams and your own work on all written exercises. You may discuss readings with classmates but your writing should be your own. You are encouraged to use the services of the writing center and you should have someone else proofread or offer suggestions on your written assignments before handing them in.
You must use quotation marks for direct quotes, cite your sources, and include a list of works cited on your briefs. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and may be considered unauthorized aid because you are essentially representing someone else’s work as your own. Many first year students mistakenly believe that it is OK to cut and paste text from web sites into their papers without providing both quotation marks and a proper citation. Web sites are no different from any other source and need to be cited fully. Please refer to a writing guide for details on proper methods of citation (you should have bought one for your freshman core class). Please ask if you do not understand methods of citation since not citing or improperly citing your sources can lead to Honor Code violations. Finally sharing your papers written for this class with others on the Internet without notifying the professor first or downloading papers written by others to hand in (either in part or in their entirety) constitutes unauthorized aid.
Standards for Written Work This course is intended to introduce you to the profession of planning; therefore all of your work should be professionally presented. You should present your work as if you are handing it in to your supervisor in your first planning job. While failure to do so will not get you fired, it will reduce your grade. This means that your written work should conform to the following standards: