Spring Urban Planning Course Descriptions

This course introduces students to the art of negotiations. Planners spend much of their time negotiating; yet generally devote little time thinking about how to negotiate. They tend to focus only on the outcomes achieved in bargaining, and fail to explore how the processes or tactics on which they relied could have been varied to attain even better results. Our goal is to explore both the theoretical and practical aspects of negotiations. In this seminar, we shall review the literature dealing with negotiating, engage in negotiations in a variety of settings and study the negotiating process.

Urban sprawl, smart growth, traffic congestion and green cities are ideas that share a common policy linkage: integrated transportation and land use planning. This course is an overview of land use and transportation policy and planning drawing primarily on the United States experience with autos and transit. By introducing principles of urban planning, civil engineering, economics and public policy, students will learn about how to use planning tools, polices and other infrastructure investments to help develop effective places and networks. By the end of this course students will be able to think critically about the transportation and land use implications of accessibility, environmental and urban design policies. In addition, students will understand the mutually reinforcing incentives of transportation and land use systems at local, regional and national scales.

The course focuses on understanding planning and policy oriented work on cities and urban development. It explores the relationship between urban development, modernity, and cultural politics, especially in South and Southeast Asia. The course includes international perspectives on sustainable urban development and the cultural and historical understanding of cities, urban development, and politics.

Public Financing of Urban Development will be an introduction to how public entities (cities, states, public benefit corporations) finance urban development by issuing public securities. We will start with an examination of how public entities leverage limited capital resources through the issuance of debt, including a review of statutory and political considerations as well as limitations put on such debt. We will explore the limitations of tax exempt financing and the kinds of development that can qualify for such financing. By examining different kinds of development financing, including mass transit, health care facilities, schools, public utilities, airports and housing, the class will see the major forms of tax exempt financing that are available. The class will also delve into rating agency requirements, security disclosure rules, market dynamics and the mechanics of offering bonds for public sale.

This course will provide background to debates on urban planning for climate change. The questions the course will address include: What is an urban ecosystem? How do we analyze the opportunities and challenges to climate change for urban ecosystems? What are the GHG emission concentrations and sources from urban ecosystems? What are the GHG sinks within urban ecosystems? What are some effective mitigation strategies to reduce GHG emissions from urban ecosystems? How can urban ecosystems adapt to climate change? The course is divided into 4 sections: Introduction to the issues, urban ecosystem analyses: Urban areas as sources and sinks for GHGs; Mitigation and adaptation strategies.

This course will explore the key procedural elements of NEPA, SEQRA, and CEQR; the key analytic techniques used in impact assessment; and investigate how application of environmental impact assessment affects project outcome. Lectures will introduce students to the statutory requirements of the laws, important judicial decisions interpreting the laws, and standard methodologies for conducting environmental assessments. Case studies will be used to illustrate the effect of the environmental impact assessment on design and implementation of projects or governmental actions. Practical assignments will give students an introduction to the state of practice and the range of analytic techniques used in environmental impact assessment.

The course has two parts: cost benefit analysis and economic development. Cost benefit analysis deals with the taxpayer as a consumer while economic development, which is fast emerging as an important function of government, deals with the taxpayer as a worker in need of employment and with businesses as a source of tax revenues.

The purpose of this course is to familiarize the student with the processes by which governments, private investors, and residents transform the uses, social composition, physical appearance, and market value of previously-developed, urban sites.  We will focus on the history, rationales, financing, implementation, and social impacts of these initiatives.  To begin, we will review the history of government-subsidized redevelopment and explore the types of government incentives (e.g., tax abatements) available to developers. We will also delve into the key actors and the politics of redevelopment and investigate large, high-density, mixed-use (HDMU) projects in New York City and elsewhere.  In addition, the course will explore the current policy concern with distressed neighborhoods in such shrinking cities such as Flint (MI), Detroit, and Philadelphia.

(Theory - Spring 2012 History - Spring 2013) Each doctoral student is required to complete successfully a minimum of three courses in the history and theory of planning. Two of the three courses (PLA 8930 and PLA 8931) are advanced seminars in history and theory. Among the topics covered are the genesis and structure of planning thought and methods; economic, political, and social factors influencing the development of planning theories and policies; the theory and development of urban structures; theories of the state; and the history of cities and regions.

The second semester of a six-credit two-semester thesis is an essential part of the planning curriculum. It is an individual study or investigation of the student's own choice, but it is closely supervised by a full-time faculty member of the Urban Planning Program. The thesis demonstrates the student's ability to structure an argument surrounding an issue or problem significant to planning practice, planning theory, and/or the profession itself.