Urban Planning: The Political Environment of Development
PLAN A6354: Summer 2024
I. Course Overview
This course provides an intensive, twice-weekly introduction to the political and planning issues that characterize the environment in which development occurs across the world. Successful development projects must be framed within a range of government regulations, powers and incentives, including those associated with the environment, land use, historic preservation, sustainability and resilience, social equity and community development. Developers must be sensitive to the range of impacts their projects might have on existing communities, advocacy groups and public infrastructure and must be familiar with the processes that exist locally to evaluate these considerations prior to project initiation.
As a high-level introduction to urban planning, the course will use New York and other large global cities as the primary lens through which to explore these issues; students will also be asked to reflect on the political environment in their home country or city. Lectures will be accompanied by required readings and weekly student assignments, undertaken individually or in groups. A final exam will be used to assess student learning, and will form a significant part of the final grade.
I. Course Requirements
This is an intensive three-credit course being taught in a half-semester, which means that students are expected to attend class twice a week and do approximately 12 hours of work outside of class weekly. This includes time spent completing assigned readings or podcasts, preparing homework assignments, participating in group work, studying for the final exam, and completing other course-related tasks.
Students will be expected to attend all classes, including lectures, classrooms discussions and presentations, and to participate as appropriate. Absence requests must be submitted by email to the TA for approval by the professor in advance of class.
The class will be assigned readings on a weekly basis over the course of the semester; all will be either readily available on the internet or posted by the TA on Courseworks. Mandatory weekly assignments will also be posted on Courseworks, and must be submitted by the specified deadline. Late assignments will lose points at the instructor’s discretion.
Course grading criteria are as follows:
● attendance: 20%
● assignments: 30%
● final exam: 50%
III. Learning Outcomes
By the end of this semester, students should be able to understand the basic issues framing urban development today, including affordable housing, sustainability and resilience, changes in work and consumption patterns, transit and other physical infrastructure, historic preservation and social equity. They will be familiar with the planning tools and conventions used in the United States and conversant in those deployed in certain other major real estate markets.
Specific concepts that students should expect to understand by the end of the course, among others, include:
● Land use regulation, including zoning, eminent domain and condemnation
● Affordable housing and other methods used to incentivize housing production
● Public-private development and infrastructure partnerships
● Gentrification and trends in downtown development
● Discriminatory development practices and environmental justice
● Community perspectives on development
● Historic preservation and adaptive reuse
● Public realm and space issues and incentives
● Environmental resilience and sustainability
IV. Disability Accommodations and Writing Assistance
Requests for academic accommodations must be made during the first two weeks of the course. Students must register with Office of Disability Services
http://www.health.columbia.edu/docs/services/ods/index.html (or call (212) 854-2388) for disability verification and determination of reasonable academic accommodation. If you are already registered with Columbia Disability Services, please use its online system to notify me of your accommodations and discuss your needs as early in the semester as possible.
Students are encouraged to contact the Columbia University Writing Center for writing assistance.
V. Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is expected of every Columbia University student. Plagiarism is defined as the use of work or concepts developed by other individuals without proper attribution or citation.
Unique ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged in academic work to be graded. Examples of sources expected to be referenced include (but are not limited to): text; graphic elements; mathematical or scientific data; or concepts or material derived from the work of another.
The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (A I) or machine learning tools (such as ChatGPT) to complete an assignment, exam or deliverable (in whole or in part) is strictly prohibited unless prior approval is given by the instructor. The unauthorized use of such tools shall be treated similarly to unauthorized assistance and/or plagiarism.
Any academic integrity misconduct will be handled per Columbia University’s academic policy.
VI. Syllabus Overview
The class will be composed of 10 two-hour classes, including an hour-long final exam on the last day of class (July 2). Each class will typically consist of a one-hour lecture, with the second hour spent discussing reading assignments, homework, or the lecture content.
Class 1 (May 30): Introducing Urban Planning
● definitions and roles
● planning in history
● planning today
● institutional frameworks
● methods of government control
Readings for 6/4: TBD
Assignment for 6/4: TBD
Class 2 (June 4): Understanding National Planning
● evolution of American planning
● colonialism and urban planning
● national planning frameworks today
● case studies
Readings for 6/6: TBD
Assignment for 6/6: TBD
Class 3 (June 6): Land Use and Zoning
● property ownership and the foundations of government control
● land use frameworks around the world: restrictions and incentives
● form-based vs Euclidean zoning
● U.S. development typologies: cluster, PUDs, other
Readings for 6/11: TBD
Assignment for 6/11: TBD
Class 4 (June 11): Housing – Planning for Affordability
● housing typologies
● building codes for housing
● housing affordability: concepts and programs
● public and social housing
Readings for 6/13: TBD
Assignment for 6/13: TBD
Class 5 (June 13): Community and Economic Development
● gentrification and affordability
● community/economic development corporations
● land trusts and land banks
● environmental justice
● community-based planning and CBAs
Readings for 6/18: TBD
Assignment for 6/18: TBD
Class 6, June 18: Historic Preservation
● landmarking and other regulations
● tax credits and other incentives
● adaptive reuse
● embodied energy and the circular economy
Readings for 6/20: TBD
Assignment for 6/20: TBD
Class 7 (June 20): Parks and Open Space
● historical overview
● POPs and BIDs
● civic places: pocket parks, plazas etc.
● parks, land value and equity
Readings for 6/25: TBD
Assignment for 6/25: TBD
Class 8 (June 25): Infrastructure and Mobility
● funding for infrastructure
● energy and water
● transportation: freight and passenger
● private-public partnerships
● “complete streets”
Readings for 6/27: TBD
Assignment for 6/27: TBD
Class 9 (June 27): Resilience and Climate Change
● building sustainability: energy and other
● ESG and real estate
● coastal and waterfront regulations
● sustainability and global equity issues
● alternative development strategies
Class 10 (July 2): Urban Planning Trends for the Future/FINAL EXAM
● micro-mobility and mobility
● mixed-use zoning
● “smart” cities
● materiality and carbon regulation
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