THE ROLE OF THE PLANNER: MAKING A DIFFERENCE JGI 454 H1F JPG 1514 H1F Instructor: Paul J. Bedford Office: Geography Dept. 5th Floor Class Times: Tuesday 9-11, September 10-December 3, 2013 Special 4 hour class Tuesday November 19 for TEAM PRESENTATIONS ON VISION AND ACTION PLAN Office Hours: After class and by appointment E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 416 432-7567 Description: This course is intended to shake the conventional planning tree. Its purpose is to help develop future leaders in the urban planning profession who truly want to make a difference by breaking out of the conventional mindset of North American Planning. Frequent guest lecturers and stakeholders will be invited to highlight certain matters that will give students an opportunity to focus on current issues confronting urban planners. Prerequisite: As this is a course specifically focused at students who plan to become professional planners, it is strongly recommended for students to have completed both GGR 124 Urbanization and JGI 346 Urban Planning Process. The course is structured around the following three basic themes. The Vocation of Planning (September 10, 17, 24 and October 1) Weeks 1-4 are up front and provocative. The introductory session will be followed by an all day (9am-5pm) transit and walking tour on Saturday September 21. The tour will cover key sites, areas and hot spots that demonstrate the themes of the course. The lectures test the inner motivations for becoming a planner. In this section of the course we shall ask: What motivates someone to enter the city planning profession? What values do you believe are important? What principles have traditionally governed the planning of cities like Toronto in the past? How might the planner be more relevant? This period is designed to expose planning students to a wide range of soul searching issues, challenges and practices which have produced our current environment and why the next generation 1 of planners must do better. Using Toronto's Official Plan, we shall also examine the political realities and ethics of planning in working in a big city planning department. Planning for Changing Societies: Towards a Vision and Action Plan (October 8, 15 and 22) Weeks 5, 6 and 7 examine the changing nature of our City and the community. We shall ask: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the community? How does the redevelopment of shopping malls help to achieve city and community objectives? How can planning find common ground among the diverse stakeholders to make a real difference? Do we need to invent a totally new type of community plan in order to make things happen? Moving Minds: Passion, Perseverance and Presence (October 29 and November 5) The final weeks will be devoted to the role of a Chief Planner in turning ideas into action with many references to the highs and lows over my 8 years in that position. We shall ask: Why is leadership so critical to drive change and get things done? What are the essential ingredients of a good leader? How can you lead while not alienating your political masters? What does it take to move minds? Team Consultations with me on November 12. No class will be held on this date. UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE TEAM PRESENTATIONS will be made on at a special extended 4 hour class on Tuesday November 19 on A Vision and Action Plan For Humbertown Plaza. The exercise is designed to illustrate the importance of developing leadership, team work, innovative public consultation strategies and creative group thinking. Readings, case studies, guest lectures and class discussions will bring the course to life with a focus on student creativity, observations and originality. FINAL EXAM/FINAL TERM PAPER A final exam for undergraduates based on the entire course content and a final term paper for graduate students will be required. EVALUATION OF STUDENTS: The proposed work schedule and percentage of total course grade is as follows. ASSIGNMENT ONE: Short Paper: What do you think the primary role of an urban planner should be in 2013 and beyond? Discuss the rationale for your views and outline changes that you think are needed in the urban planning profession to realize your perspective in a 5 page double spaced paper. 2 Due October 1, 2013 and returned by October 8, 2013 Worth 15% of course grade * Composition of Teams will be determined after Assignment One is graded ASSIGNMENT TWO: Short Paper: What are the critical gaps in planning for rapidly changing societies? What do you think are the most challenging problems to address in stimulating re-investment in outdated shopping malls and plazas? 5 pages double spaced Due October 22, 2013 and returned by October 29, 2013 Worth 15% of course grade ASSIGNMENT THREE: Graduate and Undergraduate Team Presentations including a written VISION AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF HUMBERSIDE PLAZA 4-6 students per team depending on total class size Emphasis on Team product with Team Presentations on special 4 hour class Tuesday November 19. Worth 35% of course grade (25% on content and 10% on presentation) A Final Exam for undergraduates on the full course content will be scheduled within the December exam period. A Final Term Paper not exceeding 15 double spaced pages for graduate students will be due on December 6. A choice of three topics will be announced early in the course with students also able to work on a specific topic of their choosing pending my approval. Worth 35% of course grade Late Penalty A late penalty of 5% per day will be assigned to all students Code of Behaviour Matters: It shall be an offence for a student knowingly to represent one's own idea or expression of an idea or work of another in any academic examination or paper or in connection with any other form of academic work is to commit plagiarism. Wherever in the Code an offence is described as depending on "knowing", the offense shall likewise be deemed to have been committed if the person ought reasonably to have known. READINGS There is no text book for this course, however, a very extensive list of readings has been assembled that consist of professional journals, planning reports, media articles and selected documents that directly relate to each week's lecture. They include material from both a historical perspective and current planning issues that are being publicly debated 3 in 2013. Readings for all students are available for purchase and consist of two binders. The binders can be obtained at the University of Toronto Bookstore. A copy will be deposited with the Geography Department Secretary, 5thfloor office for students to review. Additional readings that are relevant to the week will be handed out as they appear. EXPECTATION OF STUDENTS: This class is unique with a mix of undergraduate and graduate students so I will call on graduate students to help share the work load and lead the class discussions. However, each week students will be given specific responsibility for the assigned readings. You will get out of this course what you put into it. I will expect commitment, energy, creativity, passion and involvement. If you want to do well, you will have to work hard and be fully engaged. If you are shopping courses and are looking for one that you can coast through then do not take this course! SCHEDULE: Sept. 10 Introduction Course Description and schedule Student feedback from last year Expectations of graduate and undergraduate students Assignments and grading Team composition and formation process Brief Student Questionnaire re: bio, interest and prerequisite courses Setting the stage for Week 2 and Toronto walking and transit tour Sept. 17 On Being a Planner Personal life long insights and observations: Why do you want to be a planner? What are your core principles, beliefs and values? Does the public sector have the capacity to address society’s challenges? or is the private sector better able to respond to society’s needs? Do you have the passion to sustain a lifelong mission to nurture the city and live it in your soul? Can you be in tune with the prevailing values of society yet also be ahead of the curve to anticipate and direct positive change? Do you honestly want to make a difference or just go with the flow? Do you really believe that it is your job to shake the tree by standing up for beliefs that may not be popular among politicians or communities? 4 American Planning Association, “Planning in America: Perceptions and Priorities”, 2012 National Poll Beasley,L. "Moving Forward in Canadian Communities: Soliloquy of an Urbanist", Plan Canada, Volume 44, Number 4, Winter 2004 Bedford, Paul, "Go Bold or Go Home", The Ontario Planning Journal, Volume 23, No. 3, 2008 Bedford, Paul, "What is Planning in 2010"? The Ontario Planning Journal, Volume 25, No. 4 Cadman, David and Davoudi, Simin. "Is There a Role for the Planner?", Online Planning Journal, April, 1997 Cox, Wendell, "Planners Denying Reality", Toronto Star, September 1, 2007 Forsyth, Ann, "Deciding if You Want to be a Planner", Planetizen, April 5, 2009 Glenn, S. "The Learning Curve", Plan Canada, Volume 44, Number 4, Winter 2004 Grant, J. "Rethinking the Public Interest as a Planning Concept", Plan Canada, Volume 45, Number 2, Summer 2005 Gratz, Roberta. "A Conversation with Jane Jacobs", Tikkun, Volume 16, No. 3, New York Hsiao, Alesia, “Three Lasting Impressions form the First-Time APA National Conference Attendee”, Planetizen, May 3, 2012 Jacobs, Allan, "The State of City Planning Today and Its Relation to City Planning Education" Lewyn, Michael, “Planning is not Necessary”, Planetizen, May 19, 2013 Lorinc, John and Agrell Siri, “Canadian Cities trying to define what it means To be an urban planner”, The Globe and Mail, July 6, 2012 Manshel, Andrew, "Enough with Jane Jacobs Already", The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2010 Myers, Dowell,"Toward Greater Heights for Planning: Reconciling the Differences between Professional, Practice and Academic Field", American 5 Planning Association, Journal of the American Planning Association, Chicago: Spring 2005, Vol.