GEO 493
Fall 2005
Urban Field Experience
Catalog description
Development of modern urban design and planning principles, emphasizing the central role of Chicago as a laboratory for the processes. Study of Chicago as an illustrative case study for understanding contemporary issues in urban design and planning. Importance of direct field observation methods in the study of urban design and planning patterns. Requires two long-weekend field trips to Chicago and field work in Chicago.
Introduction
The course relies on Chicago as a case study. Chicago was selected as the focus of this course for several reasons:
· Major events in the development of modern planning and design occurred in Chicago.
· Prominent planners and architects have practiced in Chicago, and prominent social scientists have based their theories on patterns and processes observed in Chicago.
· Chicago is accessible for first-hand observation of the legacy left by previous generations of planners, architects, and designers.
· Chicago is the nearest very large city for direct field work of current planning and design-related trends and patterns.
Course requirements
· All students are required to go on both field trips in order to pass the course. Absolutely no exceptions.
· Final paper accounts for 100% of the grade.
· All of the following deadlines and obligations must be met, and grade will be lowered if they are not:
· One-page abstract due October 7
· One-page methodology and revised abstract due October 13
· First draft of paper due November 11.
· Second draft of paper due November 21.
· Final paper due December 2.
· In-class presentation December 2 & 9.
· Three individual meetings with instructor, weeks 6-7, 9-10, & 13
Course instructor
James Rubenstein, e-mail rubensjm@muohio.edu.
Office
hours: 9-11 MWF in 211 Shideler (529-5025)
TR 1.30-3.30 in 102 Boyd (529-5254)
Miami Plan for Liberal Education
GEO 493 is a capstone experience designed for senior Urban & Regional Planning majors, though it is not required of nor limited to those majors. The course addresses the four principles of the Miami Plan for Liberal Education as follows:
· Thinking critically: help students who come primarily from suburban backgrounds to inform, challenge, question, analyze, and reformulate impressions and preconceived notions of very large cities.
· Understanding contexts: maximize opportunities for cross-fertilization integration between urban planning and urban design principles, using Chicago as a case study.
· Engaging with other learners: learning through field experience in an urban laboratory and sharing student initiated research on urban planning and urban design issues in Chicago.
· Reflecting and acting: engage in dialogue and debate complexities of class, ethnicity, gender, politics, and society from social, physical, and economic perspectives of urban planners.
Students may gain an extra credit hour in any Foundation course, Thematic Sequence course, or Capstone for academic work and/or service-learning activities directly connected to the content and objectives of these courses. Students are responsible for initiating the extra-hour proposals. Instructors will determine whether the proposed work represents an extra credit hour and if their teaching schedules and related professional activities will permit them to sponsor and monitor these projects. An instructor should write a memo of understanding—preferably with the student—outlining expectations that must be fulfilled either by the end of the current semester or the semester immediately succeeding for the extra hour to be awarded. The academic department approves this memo before the project begins. Extended study and/or service-learning permits, which must be completed by students and endorsed by sponsoring instructors and department chairs, are available from the Office of Liberal Education. For more information, consult the Office of Liberal Education or the Office of Student Leadership and Service Learning.
GEO 493
Fall 2005
Urban Field Experience
Detailed Outline of Topics and Assignments:
Week 1. August 26. In-class discussion.
1. Introduction to course
2. Chicago planning history and geography
Readings: 1. Perry R. Duis, “The Shaping of Chicago,” AIA Guide to Chicago, pp. 1-21.
2. “Chicago Metropolis 2020,” Planning April 2004, pp. 16-17.
3. Importance of transportation
Readings: 3. Harold M. Mayer and Richard C. Wade, Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis, pp. 24-29, 35-43, 137-144, 206-217, 438-450.
Week 2. September 2. In-class discussion.
1. Chicago’s architectural heritage
Readings: 4. John Zukowsky, “Introduction to Internationalism in Chicago Architecture,” Chicago Architecture 1872-1922, pp. 15-26.
5. Hugh Dalziel Duncan, “The Chicago School Principles,” Chicago’s Famous Buildings, pp. 1-12.
6. Carl W. Condit, “The Chicago School Practice,” Chicago’s Famous Buildings, pp. 13-22.
7. “The Life of Frank Lloyd Wright,” http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1469/flw_life.html.
2. The Loop
Readings: 8. Neil Harris, “Shopping—Chicago Style,” Chicago Architecture 1872-1922, pp. 137-156.
9. Neil K. Harris, “The City That Shops: Chicago’s Retailing Landscape, Chicago Architecture and Design 1923-1993, pp. 179-200, especially 192-197.
10. Ross Miller, “City Hall and the Architecture of Power: The Rise and Fall of the Dearborn Corridor,” Chicago Architecture and Design 1923-1993, pp. 247-263.
11. Jonathan Black, “Civics Lessons,” Planning, February 2005, pp. 4-9.
Week 3. September 9. In-class discussion.
1. Patterns of race and ethnicity
Readings: 12. Studs Terkel, “The House I Live In,” Race, pp. 97-126.
2. Politics in Chicago
Readings: 13. Mike Royko, Boss, pp. 9-29.
14 Mark Johnson, “Saga of a City Airport,” Planning, May 2005, pp. 30-32.
Week 4. September 16. In-class discussion.
1. Chicago’s economic base
Readings: 15. Marc A. Weiss and John T. Metzger, “Planning for Chicago: The Changing Politics of Metropolitan Growth and Neighborhood Development,” in Atop the Urban Hierarchy, pp. 123-151.
2. Final preparation for field trips.
Weeks 5-6. September 23-25, September 30 - October 2. Field trips to Chicago.
Depart Oxford Friday September 23 no later than 2 PM. Return Sunday September 25 by 8 PM.
Depart Oxford Friday September 30 no later than 2 PM. Return Sunday October 2 by 8 PM.
Weeks 6-7. September 26-28, October 5-7. Individual student-instructor meetings 1.
One-page abstract due October 7.
Week 8. October 10-14. Collect research material.
One-page methodology and revised one-page abstract and due October 13.
Individual trip to Chicago encouraged during “three-day” break.
Weeks 9 & 10. October 17-21 and 24-28. Individual meetings 2.
Week 11. November 2-5.
Last chance for field work in Chicago with instructor.
Week 12. November 11.
First draft of paper due November 11.
Week 13. November 14-18. Individual meetings 3.
Second draft of paper due November 21.
Week 14. December 2. In-class “PowerPoint” presentations.
Final draft of paper due December 2.
Week 15. December 9. In-class “PowerPoint” presentations.
Note: Readings are available in a packet purchased in the Geography Department office.