ESP 171
Urban and Regional Planning
Spring
2008
|
Lectures |
TTh 12:10 – 1:30
Haring 1204 |
|
Sections |
M 9 – 9:50 2120J
Wickson M 10 – 10:50 2120J Wickson M 1:10 – 2:00 1060
Bainer |
|
Instructor |
Office: 2142 Wickson Hall Office hours: TTh 3:00 – 4:30 pm e-mail: slhandy@ucdavis.edu |
|
Teaching Assistant |
Kristin
Lovejoy Office
hours: TTh 2:00 – 3:30 pm |
Go to...
Course objectives
Syllabus and assignments
Schedule of topics and readings
Other resources – including sources for paper ideas
News
Flash
The Urban Frontier - NPR series on Karachi, Pakistan
America's Crumbling Infrastructure - NPR series on the state of our nation's infrastructure
Climate Connections: Solutions - NPR series on efforts around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
See the video on Masdar City - a city that will burn no oil or gas
A Vote for the “Right-to-Tumble-Dry” Movement – NPR essay,
4/27/08
Green Remodeling based on LEED standards – NPR story, 4/22/08
Home Prices Drop Most in Areas with Long Commutes – NPR
story, 4/21/08
State of
New York Blocks City’s Effort to Implement Congestion Pricing – BBC story,
4/8/08
Tracing a DC Neighborhood’s Comeback from 1968 – NPR story
on redevelopment and gentrification, 4/8/08
Life in the ‘Burbs – Heavy Costs for
Families, Climate – NPR Climate Change series, 3/31/08
Atlanta Family Slashes Carbon Footprint – NPR Climate
Change series, 4/1/08
Saving the Sierra
– Radio Documentary broadcast on KXJZ, 3/31/08
According to the Governor’s
Environmental Goals and Policy Report, the population of California is expected
to grow by about 500,000 residents per year, reaching 42 to 46 million by 2020
and 60 million by 2040. An additional
220,000 housing units per year will need to be built to meet the growing
demand. The most rapid growth will occur
in the agriculturally rich
This growth will exacerbate current
problems associated with our existing population: vehicle travel is growing faster than
population, over 90% of Californians currently breathe unhealthy air, water
supplies are unreliable and diminishing, increased impervious cover is
degrading water quality, native vegetation important for biodiversity has been
lost, habitat quality has been degraded, the number of endangered animal and
plant species in the state has increased.
How population growth in
This course explores the ways in which
cities plan for growth and asks how cities can shape their future in a way that
minimizes the harm to the environment while also meeting the needs of their
residents. The course will introduce
students to standard city planning tools (the general planning, zoning
ordinances), as well as innovative tools that cities are using to manage their
growth in an environmentally sensitive way.
The focus of the course is on planning requirements and practices in
Syllabus
and Assignments
Syllabus
Paper 1 – City and Issue
due Tuesday, 4/15; paper due Thursday 4/24
A
list of city general plans in California with links to websites
Paper 2a – Topic due
Thursday, 5/8; paper due Tuesday 5/20
See
sources for paper ideas, below
Paper 2b – Due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 6/5
Explanation of grading system
for papers
Examples of planning-related White Papers (ignore fancy formatting):
Individual articles in the Energy Aware Planning Guide (warning: this is a big file!)
Research summaries and briefs from the Active Living Research program
Schedule of Topics and
The textbook for the
course is William Fulton and Paul Shigley’s
"Guide to California Planning," third edition, published by Solano
Press Books in 2005. The chapters listed in the schedule refer to
chapters in this book. Other readings are in the reader, available at
Davis Copy Shop on
|
3/31 |
Mon |
Introduction |
|
|
4/1 |
Tues |
Introduction |
Chapter 1 “The Next
100 Million” “The Megapolitans” For
reference: “Just the Facts” on California’s Population For
reference: The
Governor’s Strategic Growth Plan |
|
4/3 |
Thurs |
The basis
for planning |
Chapter 3 “Green “Healthy
Cities” As seen in
class: The
City available through the Prelinger
Archives Of
interest: Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance A
short 1982 film showing the urban condition and the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe complex among other structures, with music by
Phillip Glass. See Wikipedia
entry for more information. For fun: The Levittown Historical Society |
|
4/7 |
Mon |
Sprawl: The good, the bad, and the
ugly |
|
|
4/8 |
Tues |
Who does
what |
Chapters 4
and 5 |
|
4/10 |
Thurs |
Guest
Speaker – Mitch Sears, City of |
“Press
Release” “Cool
Cities” Davis to Adopt Tough Environmental Policies – KXJZ story,
4/3/07 For fun: California Carbon Calculator |
|
4/14 |
Mon |
Census data exercise in 2135 Wickson |
|
|
4/15 |
Tues |
Vision CITY AND ISSUE DUE |
Chapter 6 ”A
Citizen's Guide to Planning” – pp. 3-5 Extra: City
of Brea General Plan For
reference: California Planning, Zoning, and Development Law 2008 |
|
4/17 |
Thurs |
Implementation
1 |
Chapters 7
and 8 ”A
Citizen's Guide to Planning” – pp. 6-10 For
reference: General Plan Guidelines, Chapter 9 For
reference: See Wikipedia entry on Homeowners
Associations For
fun: What
to do about problems with your home owners association |
|
4/21 |
Mon |
To plan or not to plan |
|
|
4/22 |
Tues |
Implementation
2 |
Chapter 12 “ “Green Grow
the Buildings” “ For
reference: The Planner's Guide to Specific Plans Extra:
West Sacramento Triangle Specific Plan Extra: Colonias FAQs |
|
4/24 |
Thurs |
Guest
speaker – PAPER 1 DUE |
“Form
First” “Zoning a
la carte” “The Not so
Secret Code” |
|
4/28 |
Mon |
Role of the planner |
|
|
4/29 |
Tues |
CEQA |
Chapter 9 ”A
Citizen's Guide to Planning” – p. 10 “Fighting
CEQA with CEQA” Extra: Save Clover Valley in Rocklin – issues over developer-led
EIR Extra: Planetizen Podcast of a discussion on the impact of
CEQA on planning in |
|
5/1 |
Thurs |
Guest speaker – Karl Mohr, UC Davis |
The
West Village Neighborhood Plan –
UC Davis |
|
5/5 |
Mon |
Midterm review |
|
|
5/6 |
Tues |
MIDTERM |
|
|
5/8 |
Thurs |
Growth
management PAPER 2 TOPIC DUE |
Chapters 11
and 13 “Exploring
the No Growth Option” “Right-sizing
Urban Growth Boundaries” |
|
5/12 |
Mon |
To grow or not to grow |
|
|
5/13 |
Tues |
Encouraging
development within boundaries 1 |
Chapters 17
and 18 “A
Redevelopment Revolution” “Re-Framing
Regulations” “Leading
the Parade” For
reference: EPA’s
Brownfield website For
reference: Extra: Tejon Ranch Website Extra: California
Infill Parcel Locator Extra:
Santana Row website |
|
5/15 |
Thurs |
Encouraging
development within boundaries 2 |
Chapter 15 “From Blight to All Right” “Neighborhood
Power” “Round 3
for Eminent Domain” For
fun: Mark
Fiore cartoon short “Eminent
Domination” For
reference: California Redevelopment
Association |
|
5/19 |
Mon |
Eminent Domain |
For reference: Ballotpedia on Proposition 98 versus Proposition 99 |
|
5/20 |
Tues |
Growth and Infrastructure PAPER 2
DUE |
Chapters 19
and 10 Example:
Olive Dr. Apartments Traffic Impact Study Example: Traffic and Circulation Chapter of Covell
Village DEIR |
|
5/22 |
Thurs |
Growth and Infrastructure
Resource Protection (see readings for 5/29)
|
Chapter 20 “Blueprint
for a Valley” For reference: Water Supply and Urban Growth in California: Forging New Institutional Linkages or
Business as Usual? Paper by For reference: The
Long and Winding Road to SB 221 and SB 610 – no longer available… For reference: Federal Transportation Policy and the Role of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in California |
|
5/26 |
Mon |
|
|
|
5/27 |
Tues |
Protecting ag land – Al
Sokolow |
“Farming on
the Edge” “Farmerville
“Wine Wars” |
|
5/29 |
Thurs |
Integrated
planning – Mike McCoy |
Chapter 23 “ “ For fun: "The Unforeseen" website and trailer For
reference: Riverside
County Integrated Project - HCP |
|
6/2 |
Mon |
Wrap-up and Review |
|
|
6/3 |
Tues |
|
Chapters 22
and 24 “All Choked
Up” “All Fired
Up” “Living in
Earthquake Country” |
|
6/5 |
Thurs |
Hazards Planning (see 6/3 readings) Course
wrap-up |
Chapter 25 For
reference: Public Policy Institute of Getting
to 2025: Can California Meet the Challenges? California’s
Future: In Your Hands Special Survey on Californians and the Future Of interest: JFK's speech at UC Berkeley March 1962 |
|
6/7 |
Sat |
FINAL |
|
Sign
up for Planetizen, a weekly catalogue of newspaper and webpage
articles addressing current planning issues.
This is a great way to learn about what’s going on in the field, and
might give you ideas for paper topics.
The
Local Government Commission,
based in
For
ideas on solutions for your third paper, check the "planning
opportunities" section of the Energy
Aware Planning Guide - lots of good ideas, information, and examples on all
kinds of planning strategies.
(Caution: This one takes awhile
to load.)
The Top 10 Land Use
Stories of 2007 for
Good
References
Smart Growth
America and the Smart Growth Network also have lots of good resources on
techniques that cities are using to address issues related to growth. See these reports on the impacts of sprawl
and the benefits of smart growth:
-
“Measuring Sprawl and Its Impacts” – Smart Growth
-
“Endangered
by Sprawl” – Smart Growth
-
“Energy and Smart Growth” - Funders Network
-
“Protecting
Water Resources With Smart Growth” – Environmental
Protection Agency.
The Governor’s Office of Planning
and Research is the place to go for information on state laws and policies
related to planning. Their website hosts
several key publications on planning in
See also the California
Land Use Planning Information Network, a project of CERES (California Environmental
Resources Evaluation System).
The Local Government Commission promotes innovative planning practices in
There’s also the Institute
for Local Self Government. The mission of this institute, a branch of
the League of California Cities, is to “serve
as a source of independent research and information that supports and improves
the development of public policy on behalf of
Visit the Environment and Natural Resources page of the Welcome to
Information on the Williamson Act
from the State's Division
of Land Resource Protection - California's innovative program for
preserving agricultural lands.
Non-profit organizations play a crucial role in efforts to conserve land in
Interesting Stuff
Cyberbia, "the
urban planning portal," has links to all kinds of planning related
things. This is a good place to get to know what's going on in the field and
to find links to useful resources.
The American Planning
Association is another good place to go to find out what planning is all
about. Check out the website for the California Chapter.
Thinking about graduate programs in
city planning? Check out the Guide to
Graduate and Undergraduate Programs in Urban and Regional Planning,
published by the Association
of Collegiate Schools of Planning. A
News and World Report article on “what is an urban planner?”.
The Long Range Development Plan for the UC Davis campus is fun
to take a look at, especially the Neighborhood Master Plan for the area to the
west of 113.
A project of the USGS and others looking at historical
patterns of growth in
the Central Valley.
An
interesting report from the California
Institute of Public Affairs on California's
Urban Protected Areas.
The Green Vision Plan – a partnership
of Southern California’s state land
conservancies and the University of Southern California’s Center for
Sustainable Cities and GIS Research Laboratory to create a visionary plan and
practical planning tools to promote habitat conservation, watershed health and
recreational open space.
Cast
your vote for McMansions using the Austin
Chronicle’s Bloat-o-Meter.
Curbed LA is an entertaining
blog on the LA sense of place. See page
on McMansion Envy.
An overview of Davis City Planning going back to 1925.
A
CNN special on New Urbanism vs. Sprawl
– with arguments on both sides.
Return to Department of Environmental Science and Policy
Return to Susan Handy's home page