Southern
University
Public Administration
Department
PADM 542
Urban Planning and Community
Development
Fall 2012
Instructor:
Leslie Taylor-Grover, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office: 409B Higgins Hall
Contact: E-mail: leslie.t.grover@gmail.com(preferred)
leslie.grover@subr.edu
Office: (225) 771-4260
Office
Hours: Thursday 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
(official)
By Appointment
After class
Prerequisites: None
Class
Time: Thursday 6:00 PM to 8:50 PM
Class
Location: Higgins TBD
Mandatory
Course Materials
·
This course requires an e-mail address that you check regularly. Though
all students have an e-mail account with the university, it is suggested you
also have an alternate e-mail address not affiliated with the
university. I will communicate using Blackboard from time to time. You should expect
to communicate via e-mail and via Blackboard.
·
Note: Class lectures will come from a variety of works and given solely
by the instructor. Students should take extensive notes.
·
A
journal, in which you can write and turn in.
·
Required
Text: Community: The Structure of
Belonging By Peter Block
Berrett-Koehler
Publishers (September 1, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1605092770
ISBN-13:
978-1605092775
·
Suggested Texts:
o Consensus
Organizing: A Community Development Workbook
o An
Introduction to Community Development
Class
Attendance and Make-up Policy
This is a graduate level class;
therefore, class attendance is mandatory. Excuses for missed classes or for
tardiness are not needed or accepted, as you
are expected to be present at all classes, given the intensive nature of this
course. Should a student miss a class session, please note it is the
responsibility of the student to follow-up on any missed class information. If
a student misses more than three class sessions, it is highly recommended the
student drop this course, as the nature of the class work and assignments are
so intensive many students find it impossible to maintain a passing grade in
this course.
There is
no make-up work, extra credit or late work accepted in this course under any
circumstances and with any exceptions. However, assignments may be turned in
early.
Major
Assignments
This
course has three major assignment types. Please note if a student misses the
group projects, mid-term exam, the final exam, or any combination of these, the
student receives an automatic grade of D or F, depending
upon points from the other assignments. Also, if a student receives zero points
on any of the other assignments, including skill assessments or other written
case study assignments, the student will receive an automatic grade of D or F,
depending upon points from other assignments:
1.
Skill Assessment Assignments (35%): Summarizing and critiquing
information is an important part of community development and urban planning.
Your assignment here is based on the applied cases you are expected to read and
synthesize. These assessments are meant to test your knowledge of class
assignments and help you develop theory. Additionally, you may be assessed
after an assignment has been given or you may be assessed the next class
period.
2.
Policy Reflection Papers (25%): This assignment consists of short papers
based on your own community development
topic.
3.
Group Community Development Project (40%): The final exam is a
completed community project based on your research and built around the class
concepts. You will be expected to give an oral presentation of your paper to
the class as a group.
Grading
This class is graded on a ten-point scale. Please
note there is no grading curve for this class, nor is there a “rounding” of
points. Your final grade is assigned exactly on the number of points you
receive on your assignments. Fractions and decimal points are rounded using the
.5 standard. For example, if your final points equal 89.4, your grade is B; if
your final points equal 89.5 or above your grade is A:
A:
90-100
B:
80-89
C:
70-79
D:
60-69
F:
59 and below
A —
Excellent. Student exhibits exemplary creativity through a close reading and
critical analysis of the required materials. Style is lucid and engaging with
zero grammatical or analysis-based mistakes. Directions are followed perfectly
and completely.
B —
Good. References to the course material are well-selected and topical. Critical
analysis is present, but largely rehearsed from class lecture and discussion.
Student's style is clear and has few mistakes. Directions are followed
perfectly and completely.
C —
Satisfactory. References to the course material are well-selected and topical,
but student performs little or no critical analysis. Problems exist in
student's work. Work consists mostly of underdeveloped ideas, off-topic sources
or examples, inappropriate research, or anecdotes. Directions may not be
followed completely or student improvised the assignment’s directions.
D —
Unsatisfactory. Student does not engage with the material and no critical
analysis is present. Substantial problems exist in student's work.
F —
Fail. Student does not submit work, or work is below unsatisfactory level.
Disability
Statement
Students with disabilities of any kind who wish to
request accommodations in class should register with the appropriate university
offices early in the semester so appropriate arrangements may be made. In
accordance with federal laws, a student requesting special accommodations must
provide documentation of their disability to the university. Students should also notify the instructor in
person and in writing, should they wish to declare a disability of any kind.
Academic
Misconduct Statement
Students are expected to practice academic honesty
in every aspect of this course and all other courses. Students should ensure
they are familiar with the Student Handbook, University policy and Departmental
policy especially the section on academic misconduct. Students who engage in
academic misconduct are subject to university disciplinary procedures. Any
student involved directly or indirectly in any form of academic dishonesty will
receive a grade of F in the course and may be subject to suspension or
expulsion from the MPA program.
Forms
of academic dishonesty include the following:
·
Cheating: deception in which a student misrepresents that he/she has
mastered information on an academic exercise that he/she has not mastered;
giving or receiving aid unauthorized by the instructor on assignments or
examinations.
·
Academic misconduct: tampering with grades or taking part in obtaining
or distributing any part of a scheduled test.
·
Fabrication: use of invented information or falsified research.
·
Plagiarism: unacknowledged quotation and/or paraphrase of someone
else's words, ideas, or data as one's own in work submitted for credit. Failure
to identify information or essays from the Internet and submitting them as
one's own work also constitutes plagiarism.
Purpose
of This Course
The purpose of this course is to expose students
to concepts in urban planning and
community development with special attention to the comprehensive plan.
Students will gain critical thinking and critical writing skills, as well as
provide hands-on laboratory for the application of these skills.
Course
Goals
The
goals of this course include both theoretical and applied. They include the
following:
·
Exposing students to urban development concepts.
·
Exposing students to community development concepts.
·
Exposing students to the thought process for beginner’s level community
research writing and critical thinking.
·
Providing students the opportunity to engage in critical thinking and
critical writing exercises based on urban planning, community development,
public policy and public administration issues.
Student
Learning Outcomes
At
the conclusion of this course, students will be able to do the following:
·
Recognize the components of a comprehensive plan.
·
Recognize the elements in beginning the process of research for a
public policy/administration white paper.
·
Critically analyze community issues and planning issues, particularly
for low-income populations.
·
Evaluate, critique and summarize research reports, comprehensive plans,
and urban planning applied case studies.
·
Present and summarize scholarly work to peers.
Writing Requirements for Submitted
Assignments/Papers
All class assignments and papers
submitted (graded or ungraded), exams and research projects must conform to the
following requirements:
·
Be typed/word processed.
·
Conform to APA style in terms of citations, references, and so forth.
All information used must be properly cited with the corresponding reference
listed in the reference page. Information cited should be from the correct
source document.
·
Not include any information copied
and pasted from
other sources, including from any website.
·
Sparingly use direct quotes (direct quotes are to be used only if
paraphrasing would lose the essence of the comment/information being conveyed).
·
Use size 11 font and double spaced unless instructed otherwise. Use
only Times New Roman or Modern No. 20 style. Margins should be 1” other
than the left margin (1 ½”) unless instructed otherwise.
·
Rely on scholarly information or other nationally recognized
sources. In presenting any concept, students should be able to
demonstrate through the use of the literature they are aware of (and pivoting
the discussion around) the authoritative articles/books/authors on the
subject. If expert opinion is used, the person(s) should be recognized as
an authority on the subject.
·
Not use Wikipedia and avoid the use of general dictionaries (including
those on-line). If a term needs definition, scholarly sources should be
used.
Nonconformance
to any of the requirements listed above can result in one of the following: a
reduced grade, the refusal of the professor to accept the
assignment/paper/exam, a “0” (no credit) or other consequence as determined by
the individual professor.
Any
information used for which the source is not duly/carefully cited is considered
plagiarism. Plagiarism can result in a "0" on an
assignment/paper/exam and/or an "F" in the class and/or a letter of
reprimand in the student file. If extensive, plagiarism can result in a
recommendation for academic suspension or expulsion.
Southern
University addresses plagiarism in its policy on Academic Dishonesty:
Academic Dishonesty: The University defines
academic dishonesty in two categories—premeditated and unpremeditated
fraudulent behavior. Premeditated fraud is defined as conscious, pre-planned,
deliberate cheating with materials prepared in advance. It may consist of
committing plagiarism—failing to identify sources, published or unpublished,
copyrighted or uncopyrighted, from which information was taken.
I
reserve the right to update or append this syllabus at any time during the
course of this semester.
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