School of Policy, Planning, and Development
University of Southern California
PPD 227: Urban Planning & Development
4 Units, Fall 2013
Instructor: Professor Alan Kreditor
Time and Classroom: Mondays & Wednesdays Noon to 1:50 p.m., RGL Room 100
Office Hours: After class until 4 p.m., or by appointment
Contact Info: 213-740-2939,
or Anne Johnson 213-740-4618,
OVERVIEW
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an introduction to urban planning and development. This is a gateway course, required for the BS in Policy, Planning and Development. Today’s metropolitan areas are the result of countless decisions by individuals, companies, interest groups, governments and other organizations that affect the physical environment in which we live. The streets, parks, office complexes, shopping centers, slums, housing tracts, water and sewer systems that make up the urban environment reflect these countless decisions. The city building process is too complex to cover in a one semester course. This course provides a basic introduction. Course objectives include:
- Introduce the concepts, tools and techniques of professional planning, considered from both planning and development perspectives
- Introduce the main subfields of urban planning
- Develop students’ ability to analyze and understand the city building process and the roles of planners and developers in that process
REQUIRED TEXTS AND READINGS
Fulton, W. and P. Shigley (2012) Guide to California Planning,4th Edition. Point Arena, CA: Solano Press Books. ISBN 978-1938166020
Levy, John M. (2013) Contemporary Urban Planning, 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN 978-0205851737
Miles, M., G. Beren, and M. Eppli (eds) (2007) Real Estate Development: Principles and Process, 4th Edition. Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute. ISBN 978-0874209716
The texts will be supplemented with additional readings provided on the Blackboard course site.
COURSE FORMAT
This course is a mix of lectures, discussions and various assignments, with an emphasis on student participation. Our class time will include lectures, discussions and in-class research exercises. Students will be asked to summarize, discuss, and critique class readings, and to develop arguments for or against specific planning and development proposals. Los Angeles will serve as our laboratory; assignments will acquaint you with planning and development “on the ground.”
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
Assignment 1 Due: October 2
Choose any current planning issue – e.g., development approvals for a prominent project, proposed bullet train, airport expansion, etc. Explore the factors affecting the issue. Indicate the way in which the final decision is likely to be made. Do this in 5 pages or less, double-spaced, in 12-point font.
Assignment 2 Due: November 25
Select a planning organization, public or private, and describe its purpose, organization, the authority to which it answers and some indication of their current agenda. Do so in less than 5 pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font.
GRADING
In addition to the mid-term and final exams, as well as class participation, student performance will include two assignments. The first is due on October 2nd and the second on November 25th. These two required assignments will each account for 10% of your total course grade.
The course grade will be calculated as follows:
- Assignment 1 10%
- Assignment 2 10%
- Mid-term exam25%
- Final exam 45%
- Class participation 10%
Assignments are due on the date shown in this course syllabus, are to be submitted via hardcopy. Besure to include your last name on every page and use page numbers.
The mid-term and final exams will be based on all class materials: Readings (whether or not discussed in class), lectures, any quest presentations, and class discussions. No make-up exams will be given, except in the case of documented illness, which requires a signed doctor’s letter. The format may be any combination of short answers, definitions and identifications, multiple choice or essay. The mid-term will cover material through Week 7. The final will cover the entire semester, but will emphasize the second half of the semester.
The class participation grade will be based on class attendance, individual class presentations, and participation in class activities and discussions. As with the assignments and exams, you earn point for effective class participation.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Your future success as a professional will be determined in part by the knowledge and skills you obtain through your classes. Fundamental requirements for professional success are basic courtesy and ethical behavior. Courtesy and ethical behavior is expected at all times in the classroom, in the field, during office hours, and in all communications. Student responsibilities include:
- Arrive in class on time and prepared for discussion
- Attend every class
- Remain for the entire class session. This class has no break, so come prepared. If you must leave class early, you need to inform me before the beginning of that class
- Turn off and stow all mobile devices, e.g. smart phone, cell phone. There will be no e-mailing, texting, phone calls, tweeting, chatting, gaming or web surfing during class. Multi-tasking is both inefficient and distracting. Any mobile device being used during class is subject to confiscation.
- It is expected that you have access to a computer, and some in-class activities will require one. Use your computer only for note taking and directed in-class activities. Other uses noted in the previous bullet will result in loss of computer use during class.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students should maintain strict adherence to standards of academic integrity, as described in SCampus ( In particular, the University recommends strict sanctions for plagiarism defined below:
11.11 Plagiarism
A. The submission of material authored by another person but represented as the student's own work, whether that material is paraphrased or copied in verbatim or near-verbatim form.
B. The submission of material subjected to editorial revision by another person results in substantive changes in content or major alteration of writing style.
C. Improper acknowledgment of sources in essays or papers.
Note: Culpability is not diminished when plagiarism occurs in drafts that are not the final version. If any material is prepared or submitted by another person on the student's behalf, the student is expected to proofread the results and is responsible for all particulars.
AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS
No recording of lectures or discussions are allowed. Neither audio nor video will be permitted without written permission of the instructor.
Distribution or use of notes or recordings based on university classes or lectures without the express permission of the instructor for purposes other than individual or group study. This includes, but is not limited to, providing materials for distribution by services publishing class notes. This restriction on unauthorized use applies to all information distributed or in any way displayed for use in relationship to the class, whether obtained in class, via email, on the Internet or via any other media.
ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the instructor or to a TA as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open early 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Students might have religious or other conflicts during the semester and the instructor will do what he can to accommodate those concerns.
COURSE SCHEDULE & READING ASSIGNMENTS
Supplemental readings will be assigned.
Week 1
8/26, 28The antecedents of urban planning
Week 2
9/4What is urban planning and how are government and private sectors involved in urban development
Reading: Fulton, W. and P. Shigley (2012) Guide to California Planning,4th Edition. Point Arena, CA: Solano Press Books, ISBN 978-1938166020,
Chapter 1
Week 3
9/9, 11Why is public sector important in urban planning and development?
Reading: Fulton & Shigley, Chapters 4 & 19
Week 4
9/16, 18Private production of public good and services; the role of the private sector
Reading: Miles, M., G. Beren, and M. Eppli (eds) (2007) Real Estate Development: Principles and Process, 4th Edition. Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute, ISBN 978-0874209716
Week 5
9/23, 25Public regulation of private development (land use controls)
Reading: Levy, John M. (2013) Contemporary Urban Planning, 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, ISBN 978-0205851737, Chapters 5, 9
Week 6
9/30, Oct. 2Role of transportation
Reading: Levy, Chapter 12, and Fulton & Shigley, Chapter 20
Week 7
10/7Land use planning
Reading: Fulton & Shigley, Chapter 3
10/9Mid-Term
Week 8
10/14, 16Design of urban space
Reading: Levy, Chapter 10
Week 9
10/21, 23The real estate market (urban land economics)
Reading: Levy, Chapter 11
Week 10
10/28, 30Housing market
Reading: Fulton & Shigley, Chapter 16
Week 11
11/4, 6Spatial distribution of commercial activity
Reading assignment to be announced
Week 12
11/11, 13Social and economic issues
Reading: Levy, Chapters 7, 13, and Fulton & Shigley, Chapter ____
Week 13
11/18, 20Politics of planning
Reading: Levy, Chapter 6
Week 14
11/25Comprehensive planning
Reading: Levy, Chapter 8, and Fulton & Shigley, Chapter 6
11/27No Class
Week 15
12/2, 4Regional planning
Reading: Levy, Chapter 16
12/9 No Class, study day
12/13 Final Exam 2p.m. to 4 p.m.
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