Planning Histories and Practice: Frameworks, Opportunities and Dilemmas

Topics

• The course Introduces students to city and regional planning ideas, history and practices and how they have shaped and responded to urban development. As histories of city planning are rooted in the quest for spatial order, the course seeks to enable students to have a deeper understanding of how space functions in tandem with history, practice and policy implementation. We will discuss the power and limits of planning, planning and social change, the multiple roles in which planners find themselves, and the relationship between planning and built and natural environments. We will consider views of key stakeholders and members of the public from across the political spectrum. We will examine current pressing planning and policy issues in the context of their historical underpinnings. The course introduces students to key paradigms of planning thought. The course is organized around the principle that histories of city planning are also about theories of planning. The course will provide instruction on writing - professional quality deliverables for master’s students and scholarly level text and orientation for doctoral students. In addition to writing instruction, the course provides an opportunity for further professional development through students conducting interviews for their core paper assignment and drafting a resume and professional development plan outlining their academic and career goals. Students also will be exposed to practitioners in planning and related fields through guest speakers in class during the second half of the course on contemporary topics.

Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes