Download pdf - Course Overview and Objectives seminar examines urban shrinkage – population loss, obsolescence, disinvestment, and abandonment. While some cities thrive and struggle to house the

UP470:ShrinkingCities Spring2018 SyllabusVersion1.0(1.8.2018)

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TuesdaysandThursdays Professor:AndrewGreenlee11:00AM–12:20PM [email protected] 217-333-9069(Office)OfficeHours: ByappointmentonTuesdaysandThursdays M210TBH;pleaseemailatleast48hoursinadvance

CourseOverviewandObjectives Thisseminarexaminesurbanshrinkage–populationloss,obsolescence,disinvestment,andabandonment.Whilesomecitiesthriveandstruggletohousetheglobalurbanmajority,othercitiesandfaceshrinkageanddecline.Inthiscourse,wewillexplorethesocial,economic,andphysicalphenomenaassociatedwithshrinkage,andwillthinkabouthowplanningandpolicycanhelptoenvisionandenactaviablefutureforshrinkingcities.Thisseminardrawsuponliteraturefromplanning,economics,sociology,andotherareastoexamineurbandeclineassetofsocial,economic,political,andspatialphenomena.Throughoutthesemester,wewillquestionhowcitiesandcommunitieshaverespondedtourbandecline,andwewillcriticallyassesstheeffectivenessoftheseresponses.Wewillengagewiththegloballiteratureonshrinkage,however,ourfocuswillbeonexploringthedynamicsofshrinkageinU.S.cities.Canweenvisioncitiesinwhichnogrowthisexpectedorplannedfor?Amidstscarceresources,shouldsomecitiesbeallowedto“die”?Practically,howdocommunitiesthatarenotgrowingadapttoandplanfortheserealities?Bytheendofthiscourse,wewill:

1) Developanunderstandingoftherolethatassumptionsregardinggrowthplaywithincityplansandurbanpolitics;

2) Establishaworkingknowledgeofstrategiesformeasuring,describing,andanalyzingurbanchangephenomena,particularlythoseassociatedwithurbanshrinkage;

3) Gainhands-onexperienceengagingwiththesequestionsinacityofyourchoice.Theformatforthiscourseisaseminar–thismeansthatreadingsandstudent-facilitateddiscussionsarecentraltoourlearningtogether.Tofacilitateoursharedlearning,Iwillprovidebrieflecturestoaddcontexttoourdiscussions.Wewillalsospendtimeinclassthinkingabouthowtoanalyzedemographic,social,andeconomicchangephenomenaassociatedwithurbanshrinkage.Inordertodevelopyouranalyticalskillset,wewilldevoteaportionofourseminarscheduleto“lab”sessionsinwhichwelearnaboutanalyticalmethodsfordescribingandanalyzingurbanshrinkage.IwillintroduceanalysisstrategiesusingR/RStudiowhichisopensourcesoftwarethatcontainspowerfuldataanalysisandvisualizationcapabilities.Foryourassignments,youarewelcometodoyourownanalysisusinganytoolsorsoftwareyouwish.Bytheendofthesemester,youwilldevelopanatlasofshrinkageforacityofyourchoiceaswellasanaccompanyingvisionandpolicyinterventionstoworktowardthatvision.


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PrerequisitesUP470:ShrinkingCitieshasnoprerequisitesasidefromupper-levelundergraduateorgraduate-levelstanding.Studentswillbenefitfromsomepriorknowledgeofurbanplanningtheories,concepts,andanalyticaltechniques,althoughthesearenotarequiredprerequisite.Pleaseseemeifyouhaveanyquestionsregardingwhetherthiscourseisrightforyou.

ScheduleandReadingsThesequenceofcoursesessionsisdesignedtohelpyouquicklydevelopaworkingknowledgeofimportantconceptsandtheoriesrelatedtourbanshrinkage.Aswelearnmoreaboutthesetheoriesandconcepts,youwillbegintoexaminethemwithinareal-worldcontext.

Wewillspendsubstantialtimeinclassandone-on-oneengagingwithanalysisandtools.Foraportionofthesemester,wewillcomplimentreadingsessions(Tuesdays)within-class“lab”sessions(Thursdays)whichmaybedevotedtofurtherdiscussionofreadings,instructionondatacollectionandanalysis,andworkshoppingyourassignments.Wewillworktogetherasaclasstodecidehowwewilluseourlabtime.SomesessionsmayinvolvecontinueddiscussionandextensionofreadingsfromourTuesdaysession,andothersessionsmayinvolvetheintroductionofdatasources,analyticaltools,oranalyticaltechniques.Thebenefitfromtheselabsessionswilldependlargelyuponyourfeedback-letmeknowwhatyouareinterestedindoingorfollowingupon,andwe’llseeifwecanincorporateitintoalabsession!

Someclasssessionswillalsobedevotedtoindividualworkoradvisingonyourindividualassignments.Youwillberesponsibleformanaginghowyouusethistime,however,pleasenotethatmyexpectationisthatyouuseitasanopportunitytoinvestinyourworkproducts.

Assignments,Grading,andAttendanceThiscourserequiresyourengagementbothwithinandoutsideoftheclassroom.Gradingcriteriaincludecontributiontothecourseenvironment,qualityofwriting,anddepthofanalysis.Yourworkwillbegradedona100-pointscale:

A 90–100points OutstandingworkB 80–89points Goodwork,needsminorrevisionC 70–79points WorkneedssomerevisionD 60-69points WorkneedssignificantrevisionF 0–59points Workdoesnotmeetminimumstandards

Consistentcontributionsinclass,thoughtfulengagementwithcoursematerial,andotherachievementsmayleadtooveralladjustmentsinyourcoursegrade.Yourcoursegradewillconsistofthefollowingassignments:


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10Percent DiscussionFacilitation

Youwill facilitateadiscussionaroundassignedreadings foraparticularday inclass.Youwillneedtocomepreparedwithaseriesofdiscussionquestionsandaplanforengagingfellowstudentsa30-minutediscussionaroundcoursematerial.

12Percent ReflectionsonanIntersection

Youwillwritea shortanalyticalpiece inwhichyoudescribeonedimensionofurbanshrinkageandthenexaminetheintersectionbetweenthatphenomenonandathemeofyourchoice.Youwillalsopresentonyourintersectiontotheclass.(DueMondayFebruary12,2018at5:00pm).

30Percent PreliminaryPlaceDescriptionBuildinguponyourIntersectionAssignment,drawfromhistorical,demographic,social, and economic data to construct a preliminary place description for ashrinking city of your choice.We will devote time in class to presenting andworkshoppingeachofyourplaceanalyses.(DueMondayMarch26,2018at5:00pm).

40Percent FinalAtlasandPolicyProposal

BuildinguponyourIntersectionAssignment,PreliminaryPlaceDescription,andStoryline,presentafinalizedassessmentofissueswithinyourchosenshrinkingcity, and then propose a series of policy interventions focused on addressingthese issues. In addition to yourwritten analysis andpolicyproposal, youwillpresentyourproposaltotheclassattheendofthesemester.DueFridayMay11,2018at5:00pm).

AllassignmentsshouldbesubmittedintheappropriateCOMPASS2gassignmentdropboxasaPDFfile(unless otherwisenoted in the assignment). Lateworkwill be automatically gradeddownby 5 gradepoints per 24-hour period your assignment is late, and will only be accepted if you have madearrangementswithmepriortotheassignmentduedate.The learning environment in this seminar depends upon your presence and participation. Fullparticipationisexpectedforallcoursesessions(whicharelistedwithinthecourseschedulebelow).Foreachcoursesessionthatyouareabsentfrom(excludingexcusedabsences),2percentwillbedeductedfromyour final course grade. Excused absenceswill be grantedon a case-by-case basis, butmust beapprovedbymepriortothecoursesessionwhichyouareabsentfrom.

HonorCodeandLearningEnvironmentThe Illinois Student Code states: “It is the responsibility of the student to refrain from infractions ofacademicintegrity,fromconductthatmayleadtosuspicionofsuchinfractions,andfromconductthataidsothersinsuchinfractions.”NotethatyouaresubjecttotheHonorCode,aswellasproceduresforaddressingviolationstotheCode,regardlessofwhetheryouhavereaditandunderstandit.AccordingtotheCode,“ignoranceisnoexcuse.”


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Tomeetthisstandardinthiscourse,notethefollowing:inwrittenwork,allideas(aswellasdataorotherinformation)thatarenotyourownmustbecited.Notethatideasthatrequirecitationmaynothavebeenpublished or written down anywhere. While you are free—and indeed encouraged—to discussassignmentswithyourpeers,allofyouranalysis,andwritingshouldbeyourown.Allofyourworkwillautomatically be checked for originality upon submission via Compass 2G’s SafeAssign software. Theconsequence for violating these expectations may include receiving no credit for the assignment inquestion,andatthediscretionoftheinstructor,mayincludeautomaticfailureofthecourse.The Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) is committed to maintaining a learningenvironmentthatisrootedinthegoalsandresponsibilitiesofprofessionalplanners.Byenrollinginaclassoffered by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, students agree to be responsible formaintaininganatmosphereofmutualrespectinallDURPactivities,includinglectures,discussions,labs,projects,andextracurricularprograms.SeeStudentCodeArticle1-StudentRightsandResponsibilities,Part1.StudentRights:§1-102.CounselingCenterandStudentAssistance:Throughoutthesemester,youmayneedassistancecopingwithemotional,interpersonal,oracademicconcerns.TheCounselingCenterprovidesbothshort-termandlonger-termcounselingtostudentswhomayneedassistance.Pleasedonothesitatetoreachoutorrequestassistance.

CourseScheduleTherearenorequiredtextsforthisclass.AllreadingswillbeprovidedonlineviathecourseCOMPASS2Gwebsite.Asummaryofeachcoursesessionisprovidedbelow:Session1 1/16/2018 Tuesday CourseIntroduction Session2 1/18/2018 Thursday HowcanweDefineUrbanShrinkage?

Session3 1/23/2018 Tuesday PerspectivesonUrbanDecline–Part1

Session4 1/25/2018 Thursday PerspectivesonUrbanDecline–Part2

Session5 1/30/2018 Tuesday CanPlanningManageDecline?

Session6 2/1/2018 Thursday RestructuringUrbanSpaces

Session7 2/6/2018 Tuesday TheoriesofDisinvestment,Abandonment,andObsolescence


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Session8 2/8/2018 Thursday Lab:MeasuringPopulationChange IntersectionAssignmentDueMonday2/12/2018by5:00pm

Session9 2/13/2018 Tuesday IntersectionAssignmentPresentations

Session10 2/15/2018 Thursday IntersectionAssignmentPresentations

Session11 2/20/2018 Tuesday LandUseand“SmartGrowth”

Session12 2/22/2018 Thursday Lab:NarrativeAnalysis ThematicProposalDueMonday2/26/2018by5:00pm

Session13 2/27/2018 Tuesday NoClass:IndependentWorkDay Session14 3/1/2018 Thursday Lab:AnalysisofEmploymentTrends

Session15 3/6/2018 Tuesday LaborandEconomicDevelopmentImpacts

Session16 3/8/2018 Thursday TBD

Session17 3/13/2018 Tuesday Race

Session18 3/15/2018 Thursday Lab:AnalysisofResidentialSegregation

Session19 3/20/2018 Tuesday NoClass-SpringBreak Session20 3/22/2018 Thursday NoClass-SpringBreak PreliminaryAnalysisDue

Monday3/26/2018by5:00pm

Session21 3/27/2018 Tuesday PreliminaryAnalysisPresentations

Session22 3/29/2018 Thursday PreliminaryAnalysisPresentations

Session23 4/3/2018 Tuesday NoClass:IndependentWorkDay Session24 4/5/2018 Thursday NoClass:IndependentWorkDay

Session25 4/10/2018 Tuesday Housing


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Session26 4/12/2018 Thursday Environment

Session27 4/17/2018 Tuesday TheState,Governance Session28 4/19/2018 Thursday Arts,Culture,andIdentity

Session29 4/24/2018 Tuesday FinalPresentations Session30 4/26/2018 Thursday FinalPresentations

Session31 5/1/2018 Tuesday CourseWrap-Up FinalAssignmentDueFriday5/11/2018by5:00pm