Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the major approaches and key ideas of the professions of urban governance; urban planning and urban policy. Through a focus on contemporary theory, process-based understanding, and specific issues and examples, the course examines key trends and interventions and promotes critical reflection on urban development.

COURSE DETAILS:

This is an INTERSESSION course. That means that the course load value is twice the units because, in the shorter session, classes must meet twice as often or for longer periods to equal the regular term. You can find more information here: https://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2023/summer/fees-and-regulations/enrolment/enrolment-definitions.html#course-loads.

Course Details

Many of our most pressing environmental, social, and economic problems manifest themselves in cities.  The urban scale is where local governments design and implement plans and policies that address these problems.  Things like poverty, infrastructure, sustainability, shelter, basic services, and economic development are all subject to the priorities and plans of city governments.  This course adopts a critical approach that focuses on the intellectual history of urban planning and policy by placing it within theories of power, decolonization, economic geography, racial capitalism, place, and governance.  Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies in Vancouver, this course uses a place-based approach to explore policy issues in urban planning using ideas about sustainability, equity, accountability, and the right to the city.

Intersession 2023 note: Students will be working closely with the ‘Renovate the Public Hearing Project’, which seeks a better way to engage in land-use decision-making through law reform, public engagement, and considering alignment with Indigenous governance.  Through a partnership with Amina Yasin, Director of the project with the SFU Wosk Centre for Dialogue and a Canadian Institute of Planning award-winning urban planner, students will learn about the history of public hearings, observe and analyze public hearings in a variety of municipalities, and work in teams to propose solutions and inclusive pathways forward.  This iteration of GEOG363 promises to be experiential, engaged, and enriching for Summer 2023 students.

There will be no tutorials in the first week of class.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Learning Outcomes

The course aims to provide you with the skills to become a more discerning and engaged citizen with respect to urban planning and policy.  It offers a wide range of theoretical perspectives, analytical tools, and ideological inclinations within the interdisciplinary terrain of urban planning.  The form of the course is designed to develop and refine undergraduate level writing and critical reading skills in the social sciences.  You will learn to read effectively by identifying core arguments and premises of each reading.  You will learn to synthesize analytical insights across the various required theoretical readings as well as apply them to non-academic insights or ‘case study material’ drawn from the media and real-world case studies.  Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

• Have formulated sufficient levels of understanding about the history, legal basis, traditions, ethical considerations, and major theories of planning
• Have applied course knowledge to real-world case studies
• Have the tools and critical thinking skills necessary for reflecting upon, and engaging with, urban planning and policy
• Be able to examine and understand actual city plans and policies

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

REQUIRED READING NOTES: