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SYLLABUS FOR PPD 461
Sustainable Communities, Policy and Planning
(Sustainability Planning, Sustainable City Planning)
Sol Price School of Public Policy – Fall 2012
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Note: This syllabus will be periodically updated. Please check Blackboard for the most current version and check with the instructor if you have any questions.
Schedule: Monday and Wednesday, 12 Noon – 1:50 PM, with a short break around 1PM
Room: Lewis Hall 100
Instructor: Richard H.(Dick) Platkin, AICP
E-mail:
Telephone: 213-308-6354 (cell)
Office: Lewis Hall 107A, next to the student lounge
Office Hours: After class on Mondays and by appointment
Section: 51154
PPD 461 CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: As taken from the USC course catalog:
“Planning as shaped by sustainability theories; sustainability indicators; topics include water resources, air quality, land use regulations, environmental design, carrying capacity, ecological footprint analysis.”
COURSE THEME: This course will focus on the role of urban planning in creating sustainable cities as one component of broader efforts to plan for and promote sustainability, definedas the political, social, and economic reorganization of society to ensure that the extraction, use, and disposal of non-renewable resources does not damage or destroy the planet’s fragile ecology, including the health of communities and individuals
Based on the approach of thinking globally and acting locally, the first half of the course surveys important literature and debates on macro environmental crises and alternative solutions underlying discussions of sustainability, in particular climate change, peak oil, and their implications. The second half of the course identifies and evaluatesregional and local sustainability policies and programs, especially at the municipal level, through lectures, guest speakers, and student research on Southern California cities.
The course then examines a broad range of policy prescriptions, best practices, and implementation barriers -- with a careful look at the Los Angeles metropolitan area -- to make urban life more aligned with the quickly changing natural environmentin terms of prevention, mitigation, and adaptation.
Because two environmental phenomena, climate change/global warming and peak oil, are new, controversial, and rapidly unfolding, in the first half of this course we will examine several approaches to these interlocking phenomena. This means an examination of the scientific debates regarding climate change/global warming and peak oil, including underlying political and economic mechanisms, as well as a review of the debates over the best policies and programs to address the causes, problems, and alternatives to an advanced civilization dependent on fossil fuels for energy, transportation, chemistry, and business investments.
Among those who support the scientific consensus that climate change/global warming and peak oil are valid and dangerous trends, there are disagreements over consequences and remedies. For example, Michael Klare, one of whose books we will read, argues that climate change and peak oil are rapidly unfolding and that the primary response of most governments, including our own, is not sustainable planning, but the use of military force to secure oil, natural gas, and relatedshipping routes. In contrast, authors such as Al Gore, Bill McKibben,and James Kuntsler, author of “dooms-day” volumes on peak oil and climate change, focus on the deterioration and collapse of modern life, in particular cities and suburbs, with little emphasis on military conflict. One analyst, University of Oregon environmental sociologist John Bellamy Foster, attempts to synthesize both approaches and argues that technical solutions to a broad range of environmental crises will not succeed unless they are folded into a comprehensive program of political and economic restructuring to eliminate increasingly non-ecological business practices.
The remedies to the current environmental crisis, including its climate change and peak oil components, presented by these and other authors include broad, macro, global changes in energy production and consumption; national legislation; local, municipal and non-profit initiatives, such as changes in building codes; and many bottoms up community efforts focused on life-style changes, such as biking, gardening and tree-planting, improved farming and diet, and recycling.
The second part of the course will carefully examine the full range of these local solutions, the theories behind them, their likely effects, their limitations, and policy and program gaps which must be addressed, with case studies drawn from the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In addition to lectures, films, and several guest speakers, the study of local initiatives will also include student reports on news articles and local neighborhoods
The course will attempt to present alternative views on issues, policies, and programs related to sustainability. Students are encouraged to participate in these discussions through classroom questions and debates, research projects, supplementary readings, news items, and take-home essay exams.
Please remember to respect those views that are new to you or with which you disagree. If you take issue with any of the views you hear in class, please speak up or let the Instructor know.
QUESTIONS WE HOPE TO ANSWER IN THIS COURSE:
1.What do we mean by “Think globally and act locally” when applied to issues of sustainability at the urban level? How do these issues express themselves locally, and how can solutions be localized?
2.How doindustrial processes accelerate or intensify environmental and/or socio-economictrendsfrom earlier periods? How do these same processes and trends, in turn, accentuate climate change?
3.What are the large global (macro) trends and debates that set the context for any local discussion, program, and research on sustainability?
4.In addition to climate change and global warming, what other environmental issues should we be aware of, such as air and water pollution?
5.Why are fossil fuels, especially oil, so important for current societies: Is its irreplaceability for energy, transportation, and chemistry? Is its enormous profitability? Is its strategic role in geo-political and military conflict? Or, is it a combination of all three?
6.How do two important consequences of peak oil interact with each other: higher costs that foster social dislocation and dwindling resources that become a trigger for political and military conflict?
7.What is happening at the local level in the Los Angeles area to develop sustainable cities among municipalities, as well as non-profit groups, private companies, and individual projects?
8. What are the differences among programs that address causes of climate change, mitigate consequences, or adapt to negative outcomes?
9.How formalized are these local efforts? Are they based on adopted policy documents and plans? How are the plans implemented, including adoption as ordinances? Are the plans and programs monitored to determine their effectiveness? How will they be augmented in the future?
10.What should be done at the local level that is not yet folded into plans, policies, and programs? What are the political and economic barriers to implement available programs and technologies?
11.In terms of measurable benefits to sustainability, how significant are changes to adopt a “green” personal life style, such as eating lower on the food chain, biking, using public transit, home gardening, washing your clothes in cold water, and shopping with tote bags?
BLACKBOARD WEB SITE:
In addition to assigned books that you should buy, other material related to the course will be regularly posted on Blackboard. These include the latest version of the syllabus, supplementary readings, news articles, announcements, PowerPoint presentations, instructor contact information, and the instructor’s Resume and Curriculum Vita. If you need a hard copy of these materials, particularly supplementary readings, please contact the instructor. In addition, some exemplary exams or student reports may be posted – with permission – for others to review as an example of model assignments.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Richard (Dick) Platkin is a Los Angeles based city planning consultant and writer whose professional experience includes 20 years as a city planner for the City of Los Angeles. He also worked for the City of Seattle, as well as several non-profits and a small private sector planning firm in Los Angeles. In addition to teaching at USC, he works as a city planning consultant, primarily for community organizations, and also writes on planning issues in Los Angeles for Progressive Planning, City Watch, and Ron Kaye’s LA.
His education includes a BA in history from the University of Michigan, a Master ofUrban Planning from the University of Washington, and an MA and subsequent graduate work in sociology at UCLA.
Mr. Platkin is active in the Planners Network and on the board of the Beverly Wilshire Homes Association and East Hollywood Neighborhood CouncilPlanning Committee.
Copies of his current Resume and Curriculum Vita are posted on the course website.
He is interested in meeting with students interested incurrent internships, volunteering, and careers and/or graduate work in city planning and related professional fields.
REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS, IN ORDER THAT WE WILL READ AND DISCUSS THEM:
In addition to the USC bookstore, these books are available as new or used books through such on-line booksellers as Amazon and ABE books, usually without sales tax and shipping charges.
The Vulnerable Planet: A Short History of the Environment, John Bellamy Foster, 1999, Monthly Review Press. (Foster has several more recent books on the economic and political aspects of sustainability, but this one is the most accessible. More recent Foster essays have been posted though Blackboard in cases where this older book needs updating.
Hot: Living through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, Mark Hertsgaard, 2011, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (Hertsgaard is a widely published journalist whose recent writing has focused on the environment. This accessible book tells both a personal and global story. If any of his new essays on the environment are published during this course, we will fold them in as supplementary readings.
Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy, Michael T. Klare, 2008. (Michael Klare is Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College. This is one of his most recent books on current and likely energy wars intended to secure oil and gas reserves and shipping routes in response to peak oil and gas.)
Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability, David Owen, Riverhead Books, 2009. (This is a well-received book on the latest policies and programs to establishcompact, sustainable cities based on mass transit and apartment living.)
These books are recommended for students who want more detailed information or views on sustainable city planning beyond the topicsexamined in this course.
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, Bill McKibben, Times Books, 2010. (This is one of the most important recent volumes on the dangers of and need to address the causes of climate change. It was used in PPD 461 in Spring 2012.)
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century, James Howard Kuntsler, Grove Press, 2009 edition. (Kuntsler is a novelist and prose writer, not an academic. He has a provocative writing style that makes his written work engaging on the implications of peak oil. This book was used in PPD 461 in Spring 2012.)
Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Lester R. Brown, Norton, 2009. This text is also available for a free download at (One of the best and most current books outlining the current environmental crisis and how a vast array of political changes and technical innovations can address it. It was used for PPD 461 in Spring 2011.)
The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet, John Bellamy Foster, Monthly Review Press, 2009. (One of the best current books on the inadequacy of technical solutions to environmental crisis and the need for comprehensive,alternative political-social-economic approach. It was also used for PPD 461 in Spring 2011). A larger and updated successor volume, also edited by Foster, has recently been published: The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth, Monthly Review Press, 2010.
The Ecology of Place: Planning for Environment, Economy, and Community, Tim Beatley, Island Press, 1997. (A classic text on the planning of sustainable cities. Its focus is the overall quality of life, not just climate issues. It, too, was used for PPD 461 in Spring 2011, and is still highly useful despite its dated references.)
COURSE DOCUMENTARY FILMS:
The 11th Hour: Turn Mankind’s Darkest Hour into its Finest, Leonardo Dicaprio, 2007
Gasland: Can You Light your Water on Fire? Josh Fox, 2010 (This is an Oscar winning documentary on fracking.)
Who Killed the Electric Car? Chris Paine, 2006.
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
In addition to assigned books, supplementary articles are listed on the syllabus for most class sessions and are uploaded in PDF form through Blackboard.
NEWS ARTICLES:
At least one news article will be presented and/or debated as a formal student assignment at the beginning of most class sessions. Furthermore, students enrolled in this course are strongly advised to monitor environmental news stories, as reported through on-line blogs and news services. If you can only read one source, focus on Climate Progress/Think Progress/Daily Climate.
These on-line news sources are all available for free. Unlike assigned chapters and uploaded supplementary articles, these news items are not required, except for the opening class discussion. The rest are recommended for students who want a deeper understanding of the causes, consequences, and sustainable remedies for the environmental crises examined in the course at the global, national, regional, and especially municipal and neighborhood scales.
Two national magazines also have excellent articles, usually with a scientific slant, on environmental issues: Discover and E -The Environmental Magazine. In addition, you can also turn to the following sources for environmental news.
Newspapers:
LA Weekly(alternative weekly with good investigative reporting on Los Angeles planning and governance issues.)
Los Angeles Times(LA's major newspaper. It is not what it used to be, but still the best source of local news related to this course.)
Wall Street Journal(Well regarded general and economic news, but conservative editorial- opinion section. This newspaper has many global and national articles relevant to PPD 461.)
On-line environmental news consolidators that you can subscribe to for free:
Climate Progress/Think Progress(This daily email should be on your reading list for this course. It occasionally includes non-environmental article not related to this course and not necessary to read. It is also available for $1/month asthe Daily Climate, as an AmazonKindle blog.)
Atlantic Cities
Curbed LA
Grist
Planetizen(Based in LA, but consolidates news and original essays related to city planning, including sustainability. Also has evaluation of all planning graduate programs.)
Climate and Capitalism
AlterNet(General news, but option to just subscribe top environmental news)
Google Alerts(You will receive daily posts on any key words you select)
The Daily Good
Science Daily Environmental Headlines
ENN Daily Newsletter
Team Treehugger
IPS-Environment
On Earth - A Survival Guide to the Planet
Streetsblog Los Angeles
The Daily Climate
Environmental Health News/Above the Fold)
On-line E-zines and blogs focused on planning in Los Angeles:
City Watch(published twice per week)
Ron Kaye's LA(FormerDaily NewsEditor who focuses on original investigative reporting on Los Angeles City government)
The Planning Report(Features in depth articles on planning issues in the Los Angeles area. Abridged, on-lineis free)
Plan-itLosAngeles (Instructor’s blog)
The City Maven/Maven’s Morning Coffee (Digest of local planning-related events and meetings)
GUEST LECTURERS (Subject to change)
Monica Gilchrist on the General Plan Process and the Environment in Southern California
Ron Lorenzen, City of Los Angeles Arborist, on LA’s Urban Forest.
Alexis Lantz, Bicycle advocate
Deborah Murphy, Pedestrianization planner and advocate
Jeff Warner, Ph.D., Geologist, on The Science behind Peak Oil
Yadi Hashemi and Susan Bok, Transportation Planners, on the role of Transportation in Promoting Sustainability.
Eileen Hatrick, Urban gardener
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
Course Engagement: 07%
Student Presentation/Debate:03%
1st Team Assignment: 15%
Mid-Term: 30%
2nd Team Assignment 15 %
Final: 30%
TOTAL 100 %
Course Engagement: Seven percent (7%) of your final grade will be determined by a subjective factor called Course Engagement. It will be based on your attendance and your participation in class discussions, meeting with the instructorduring office hours of by appointment to discuss the course and related materials, presentations on current new articles or debates on environmental issues at the beginning of class, and timeliness of assignments. If you have a viewpoint on sustainability not presented in class, you can also have the floor for a presentation, as long as you agree to submit to questions from other students.
Skipping class or using class time for voice mail, personal email, Facebook, Twitter, texting, or web-surfing is the opposite of Course Engagement. Cell phones are not allowed, but you can use your netbook, laptop, or tablet to take notes, as long as you do NOT use class time for anything else. If you don’t find the classroom materials interesting or require your full attention, then please ask questions or raise points that you think have been overlooked. You are also strongly encouraged to let the instructor know how class sessions can be improved – anonymously, if you prefer, through notes left in the Instructor’s mailbox in Lewis Hall 107A