INSTRUCTOR:
 

Dr. Chuck Ziehr	(pronounced "Z-ear"), Professor of Geography
Office:	Seminary Hall 353
Office Hours:	8:00-10:00 a.m. MWF, 8:00-9:00 a.m. TTh, or by appointment (I'm around a lot)
Phone:	(918) 456-5511 ext. 3525
Fax:	(918) 458-2390
E-Mail:	ziehr@nsuok.edu
WWW:	http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/

 

COURSE TITLE AND NUMBER:	CLASS TIME & DAYS & PLACE:
GEOG 4823 - Urban & Regional Planning	9:30 - 10:45 a.m. TTh, Seminary Hall 205

PREREQUISITES:

Completion of GEOG 2243, Fundamentals of Geography, is recommended prior to taking this course.
 

CATALOG DESCRIPTION OF COURSE:

An analysis of the concepts and philosophy of planning. The course examines a variety of urban, rural, and environmental problems together with their solutions.
 

COURSE PURPOSE:

The course provides an introduction to the planning process in the public sector. Fundamental planning concepts, historical overview of planning, and planning methods comprise the first part of the course. These basic ideas will be followed by application of these principles to problem-solving in urban and regional contexts. Specific topics include the legal basis for planning, land use planning and zoning, transportation planning, economic development, and environmental planning. In additional to conceptual considerations and applications, attention will be given to the day-to-day activities involved in the public planning process.
 

EXPECTED COURSE OUTCOMES:

Each student will be expected to:

• Know and be able to use the basic terminology of urban and regional planning.
 
• Understand the general planning process.


• Acquire an overview of the history of public planning in the United States.
 
• Develop the ability to design a comprehensive city plan.
 
• Be able to acquire and analyze the essential data used in urban and regional planning.
 
• Be able to understand and evaluate subdivision regulations and zoning ordinances.
 
• Employ the building blocks of economic development planning.
 
• Apply planning principles and processes to problems in land use planning, environmental planning, and economic development.
        

• The Small Town Planning Handbook, 2^nd edition. T. L. Daniels, J.W. Keller, and M. B. Lapping. Chicago, IL: American Planning Association, 1995.  This book is available in the NSU bookstore.
  
 
• Several readings will also be required from the following book on reserve in the John Vaughan Library: The Practice of Local Government Planning, 2nd edition. Edited by Frank S. So and Judith Getzels. Washington, DC: International City Management Association, 1988.
  
  
• Some readings will probably be assigned from the following book that will be on reserve in the John Vaughan Library: 
  ArcGIS and the Digital City: A hands-on approach for local government.  By William E. Huxhold, Eric M. Fowler, and Brian Parr.  ESRI Press, 2004.
 
• There will also be a limited number of readings from journal articles and/or chapters of books which will be on reserve in the library and from material on the worldwide web (WWW).

The pedagogic strategies employed in the course include in-class lecture and discussion; assigned readings in the textbook; brief, reflective writing exercises; data gathering and analysis using the WWW; in-class, group problem-solving; and interactive analysis modules on the WWW. A major component of the course will be participation in a group exercise to address a specific planning problem for a local organization. Students will also be required to attend two public meetings of planning-related organizations.

Students are encouraged to contact the instructor for personal assistance as needed. Students are also encouraged to work and study in pairs and groups outside of class.

This course can be categorized as "web-enhanced." A significant amount of supporting material has been developed and placed on the worldwide web (WWW). Students MUST use some of this web-based material in completing this course. The WWW address (URL) of the homepage for this course is: <http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/courses/geog4823/>.
 

Course Outline: Urban & Regional Planning

The readings listed below are in the Daniels, Keller and Lapping text (denoted by DKL) and in the So and Getzels text (denoted by SG).  These are the "foundational" readings for the course; there will be a few other readings assigned throughout the course (with ample lead time) from books and/or articles on reserve in the library or from online documents.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES: (Attendance/Punctuality)

Class attendance and participation are essential to your success in this course. I will endeavor to make the class as discussion-oriented and as participatory as I can with an introductory class. We will cover many things, especially case studies and practical applications of concepts, in class that simply are not in any of the readings. Please feel free to ask questions and make comments in class; our small class size should be conducive to an informal atmosphere. In order to promote active learning a brief, reflective writing exercise will be employed in class on ten random days. On about half of those days students will be given five minutes to summarize a concept that was covered in the class that day. On the other five (approximately) random days a short written item will be based on an in-class individual or group exercise. Each of these ten written summaries will be worth five (5) points. If absent, these attendance summaries cannot be specifically "made up," but there are three extra credit opportunities that may be completed to offset any lost points (see "Extra Credit Opportunities" on the WWW site for this class for details). If you miss a class, borrow a classmate's notes and ask the instructor for clarification of anything that is unclear in the notes.
 

ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES and OTHER IMPORTANT DATES: 

• E-mail Assignment; submit student information via e-mail (see WWW for details); Monday, August 29 by 5 p.m.
  
  
• LABOR DAY, September 5, No class.
  
 
• Worldwide Web exercise; explore the WWW for planning information; Friday, September 16.


• Midterm Exam (take-home); made available online Monday, October 10; due at beginning of class Monday, October 17.
  
  
• FALL BREAK, October 20-21, No class.
  

• First Planning Meeting Report; attend planning meeting and write report by Friday, October 28, 5 p.m.
  
  
• SWAAG Meeting, November 10; try to attend the meeting in Fayetteville, AR; No class.
  
 
• Second Planning Meeting Report; attend planning meeting and write report by Wednesday, December 7, 5 p.m.  (Revised on Nov. 1)
  
  
• THANKSGIVING BREAK, November 23-27, No class.
  

• Class Project; written summary due by Tuesday, November 29, 5 p.m.     (Revised on Nov. 1)


• Class Project; in-class, synthesis discussion on Tuesday, November 29 and Thursday, December 1.       (Revised on Nov. 1)
  
  
• Class Project; written proposal for modern planning statutes for Oklahoma by Tuesday, December 13, 5:00 p.m.     (Revised on Nov. 1)
 
• Final Exam; covering all material since midterm exam; Thursday, December 15, 9:00-10:50 a.m.

STUDENT EVALUATION:

Evaluations Instruments:There will be two exams (a midterm and final, which is not comprehensive), a short e-mail assignment, a World Wide Web exploration exercise, two meeting reports, and a group, planning project. The midterm exam will be a take-home exam, and the final exam will be in-class, short-answer questions (one or two-paragraph answers). The exams will cover material from class lecture/discussion and the reading assignments. You will be required to attend two public meetings of a planning-related body (city council, tribal council, planning and zoning commission, county commissioners, board of adjustments, subdivision review board, industrial authority, etc.), and to write a brief report summarizing the meeting (1-2 pages, typewritten). The group project will require you to work independently and as a group on a component of a specific planning problem. Each student will present a brief written report (4-5 pages) of some aspect of the project, and will participate in an oral briefing to the class regarding the project. 

Grades: Exams are worth 100 points each. The e-mail assignment is worth 15 points. The World Wide Web exercise and the meeting reports are worth 25 points each, each reflective written summary is worth five (5) points, and the group project is worth 100 points (85 points for the written report and 15 points for the oral briefing). This gives a total of 440 points possible for the course. Your grade on the two exams will be "scaled" according to the highest score in the class on each exam (but in no case will the scale be based on a score lower than 85). For example, if you scored 72 on an exam and the highest score was 90, then 72/90 = 80 would be the number of points you would earn on that exam. There will be no "scale or curve" on any assignments other than the two exams. The extra credit opportunities (optional) are worth ten points each.

Grading Scale: 90-100% = A, 80-89.99% = B, 70-79.99% = C, 60-69.99% = D, 0-59.99% = F. No adjustments will be made to anyone's grade after the final exam has been taken. The grading scale is rigid and will be used for everyone. You must meet these standards.

ADA COMPLIANCE:

If any member of the class feels that he/she has a disability and needs special accommodations, please advise the instructor of such disability at the first class attended.
 

INCLEMENT WEATHER / DISASTER POLICY:

The following are basic premises for the inclement weather policy at NSU:

1. Classes are expected to be held if at all possible.
2. It is the student's responsibility to receive the information when weather is questionable.
3. Neither students nor faculty are expected to risk life or limb.
4. Faculty members are obligated to hold classes if the University is not closed, unless the faculty member is unable to get to campus.

The following media will be notified regarding closing of the campus:

The automated attendant message on 918-456-5511 will be modified to include information concerning campus operations during inclement weather.