Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor and Lecturer
Donna Houston
Contact via Email
W3A 418
Please email me to make an appointment
Tutor
Ashraful Alam
Contact via Email
W3A 422
Please email to make an appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
ENVG111 or GEOS111 or GEOP111
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
The unit focuses on two big ideas: urbanisation and the Anthropocene. For the first time in human history, over half of the world’s population live in cities. Urbanisation and the political, cultural and economic structures that sustain urban life are key drivers of global environmental change. The unit asks the question: how are we to imagine, plan and govern cities in the Anthropocene era? What solutions to global environmental change might cities offer? Key dimensions of urban planning theory, philosophy and practice are covered, including: urban cultures, urban infrastructures and mobilities, social change and social justice, urban political economy, governance and urban ecology. Students will have the opportunity to link theory and practice through real-world projects, where Sydney will become ‘living laboratory’ for engaging with our urban planet.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
There are five assessment tasks associated with this unit. But don't panic! Some of these tasks are associated with attendance and active participation in class, rather than formal written assignments. The assessment in GEOP181 focuses on two key areas:
(1) Developing foundational skills and knowledges for understanding urban dynamics, spaces and places through the exploration and application of urban theory to urban spaces, and
(2) Developing foundational skills in the written, verbal and visual communication of spatial / urban planning concepts and ideas
The assessment tasks for this unit cover a range of activities and are listed below. Please make sure that you check the GEOP181 iLearn website for additional information about the assessment items, including detailed instructions, marking criteria and marking guides.
A note on participation tasks (assessment items 4 and 5).
While the lectures will be recorded and made available through Echo360 on iLearn, regular attendance at the lectures is strongly encouraged and it is compulsory to attend all of the scheduled tutorials and the student conference in weeks 12 and 13. This means that in GEOP181 we will be recording both your attendance in the tutorials and your participation in class discussions.
Role-play and Urban Futures Student Conference
Assessment task 5 is associated with your "participation" marks for the unit and will involve your participation in a Week 10 role play (5%) and your attendance and participation in the student conference in Weeks 12 and 13 (5%). In order to receive these marks you must attend class and you will need to take an active role in the sessions. If you miss any of these sessions, you will need to have a very good reason and provide Donna with a medical note or documentation that is consistent with Macquarie University's "Disruption to Studies" policy (see policies and procedures below). The Urban Futures Student Conference is your final piece of assessment for the unit (there is no final exam for this unit) and it is very important to your final result in GEOP181 that you take this exercise very seriously and be generous in your time and attention to other students presenting their work.
Handing in and receiving back your assignments via Turnitin
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments should be submitted online through Turnitin on the GEOP181 iLearn site. A Turnitin link will be provided for each assignment task (with the exception of the blog entry associated with the student conference). Please make sure that all assignments are submitted on time - by 5pm on the due date. Donna will post an announcement on iLearn when the marks are released back via Turnitin, so please make sure that you check iLearn and your Macquarie student email regularly throughout the semester to keep up-to-date with important notices and instructions, feedback and marks for your assignments.
Penalties for late assignments
Late assignments will be penalised with the deduction of 10% of the total mark per day the assignment is late (this includes weekends). Extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Please refer to Macquarie University "Disruption to Studies" policy for guidance and contact Donna as soon as possible if you are experiencing circumstances that are preventing you from completing your assessments on time.
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Critical Review | 20% | 5pm, Fri Sept 2 (Week 5) |
Urban Field Project | 35% | 5pm Fri Oct 21 (Week 10) |
Urban Futures Conference | 20% | Weeks 12 and 13 |
Planning keyword | 15% | Weeks 3-11 |
Active participation | 10% | Weeks 10, 12 and 13 |
Due: 5pm, Fri Sept 2 (Week 5)
Weighting: 20%
The lectures and tutorials in weeks 2, 3 and 4 introduce three key urban planning doctrines which have profoundly influenced planning knowledge and practice. Your task is to choose one planning doctrine (planning the ideal city; modern rational planning or participatory/deliberative planning) and write a 1200 word critical review of the key ideas and thinkers that have shaped the planning doctrine. You will be asked to discuss the strengths and limitations of the doctrine. Please submit the assignment through the Turnitin link for this task in iLearn.
Due: 5pm Fri Oct 21 (Week 10)
Weighting: 35%
The urban field project is the major assessment item for this unit. This is where you will be asked to apply planning theory to a real world context. Your task is to select a field study site in Sydney or your local area and to investigate the site from an urban planning/design perspective. This will include observing the site and documenting the space in terms of how it is used; its rules, signs and regulations; its design elements; and its cultural meanings and representations. Your site analysis will form a case study for a 2000 word essay in which you will apply planning/urban theory to your selected site.
This assessment will be completed in three steps. Step one will involve the selection of the site and you will be asked to develop your thinking about your assignment in a field project activity to be completed class in week 5. The activity will help you to clarify your project and to receive feedback about your selection and approach to the project from your tutor. Step two involves the site analysis itself. This is where you will visit your site and conduct observations and it may involve visiting your site more than once. In some cases you may be able to record your surroundings on your smart phone - though please be careful not to do this in places where you might get into trouble for it! Step three will involve applying urban theory to your site observations in the form of a 2000 word essay. In your written essay, you will need to include evidence of your reading and research on your chosen topic (in the form of in-text citations and a reference list) and evidence of your field observations (in the form of sketches, photos, and observations) to receive a pass for the assignment.
Detailed instructions and ideas for this assignment will be made available through iLearn and discussed in the lectures. Please submit your assignment to the Turnitin link on iLearn by the due time and date.
Due: Weeks 12 and 13
Weighting: 20%
Drawing on your research from the field project, you are asked to consider how your investigations relate to the challenges facing urban futures. You will develop a short 3-minute presentation (in the form of a poster, short film, powerpoint or prezi - but please limit your presentation to a maximum of 2 slides if you are using power). The focus of the presentation is on the problems and possibilities of the future city - so please do not be shy in putting your ideas about what our urban futures should look like out there! You will be assessed on the quality of your visual presentation, your delivery and ability to keep to time, your responses to questions from the conference audience, and the submission of your presentation 'highlights' on a blog set up for the conference in iLearn. Your project will not be marked unless you present and submit your blog entry to the conference wiki/blog on iLearn.
Further details and instructions about this assessment will be posted on iLearn. Your must submit your blog post based on your conference presentation to the iLearn wiki/blog no later than 5pm on Tuesday 1st November.
Due: Weeks 3-11
Weighting: 15%
We have kept the readings for the tutorials as short and snappy as possible - a difficult task in a unit about the history and theory of planning! Therefore we expect that you do the readings each week and come prepared for a discussion in class. To help facilitate exciting tutorial discussions and collectively build our planning/urbanism vocabularies, you are required to sign up to lead a tutorial discussion in one week (between weeks 3-11). To lead the discussion you will explore the topic for your selected week by introducing a planning keyword. In class, you will discuss your keyword and how it relates to the readings. You may bring a stimulus for the class discussion in the form of a media article or a short media clip. You will then be required to submit your keyword to Turnitin (your definition should be no longer than 400 words, excluding references). It is expected that more than one student will be presenting each week, if this is the case, please make sure that you have selected a different keyword from your classmates (you will need to check with your tutor). You are encouraged to go beyond the required readings and explore other resources to help you define your keyword.
Due: Weeks 10, 12 and 13
Weighting: 10%
You will receive a 5% participation mark for your attendance and participation in (1) the week 10 role play (5%) and (2) the Urban Futures Student Conference (in the lecture time slot 12pm-2pm) in Weeks 12 and 13 (5%). Please note that you will need to attend the whole conference to receive your participation mark. You will be marked on attendance and participation. The week 10 role play takes place in a week where your major essay is due on the Friday. We have not scheduled any readings or planning keyword presentations for this week. The role play scenario will be posted on iLearn in week 9.
GEOP181 Cities and Planning is taught over 13 weeks in a lecture/tutorial format. Each week, a two hour time slot is set aside for lectures and one hour for tutorials. The lectures will be recorded and made available via Echo360 which is linked to the iLearn page. On-campus students will note in the timetable that there is an iLecture registration option. We strongly encourage those who can attend the lecture to do so. They are just before the the tutorials and there will be a number of fantastic guest lectures.
Please note that there is a guided walking tour of Macquarie Park scheduled in the lecture slot (12pm-2pm) in week 5. There are two required readings set for each week and it is essential that you do these readings. Donna will provide more information about how you can access the readings for the the unit in week one. A list of classic and recommended readings is available on iLearn to assist you with the preparation of assignments. You are strongly encouraged to read widely on a range of urban theories and issues beyond the set requirements of the unit.
It is extremely important that you have regular access to a computer and iLearn in GEOP181. Not only will lecture slides and notes be posted on iLearn, it is also where you will submit your assignments via the Turnitin link and receive feedback. Donna will post important notices via the announcements tool. A separate dialogue will be set up for on campus and off-campus students where you can post any questions that you may have. The link to the iLearn login page is: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/
Week 2
Friedman, J. (2012) The Good City: In Defense of Utopian Thinking. In Susan Farnstein and Scott Campbell (eds) Readings in Planning Theory, pp: 87-104.
Sennett, R. (2013) Reflections on the Public Realm. In Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson (eds) The New Blackwell Companion to the City, pp: 390-397.
Week 3
Hall, P (2000) The Centenary of Modern Planning in R Freestone (ed), Urban Planning in a Changing World: The Twentieth Century Experience, pp. 20-39.
Harvey, D. (2008) The Right to the City. New Left Review, pp: 23-40.
Week 4
Arnstein, S. (1969) A Ladder of Citizen Participation, Journal of the American Institute of Planners 35(4) pp: 216-224.
Sandercock, L. (1998) Exploring Planning’s Knowledges. Towards Cosmopolis, pp: 57-83.
Week 5
Neuman, M. (1998) Does Planning Need the Plan? Journal of American Planning Association 64(2): 208-220.
Howitt, R. (2013) Governance in Local Government – University partnerships, smart, local, connected? State of Australian Cities Conference, Sydney.
Week 6
Amin, A. (2015) Animated Space. Public Culture 27(2): 239-257.
Urry, J. (2013) City Life and the Senses. The New Blackwell Companion to the City, pp: 347-356.
Week 7
Sipe, N. 2014. Transport Planning. In Jason Byrne et al (eds) Australian Environmental Planning: Challenges and Future Prospects. New York and Oxon: Routledge, pp. 146-157
Dowling, R., and Simpson C. (2013) ‘Shift – the way you move’: reconstituting automobility’. Continuum: A Journal of Cultural and Media Studies 27(3): 421-433.
Week 8
Brandtner, C, Hollerer, M., Meyer, R, Kornberger, M (2016) Enacting governance through strategy: A comparative study of governance configurations in Sydney and Vienna. Urban Studies. Online first http://usj.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/01/14/0042098015624871.abstract
A Plan for a Growing Sydney
http://www.greatersydneycommission.nsw.gov.au/en/What-We-Do/A-Plan-for-Growing-Sydney
Week 9
Dowling, R. and Power, E. (2012) Sizing Home, Doing Family in Sydney, Australia. Housing Studies 27(5): 605- 619
Mee, KJ et al (2014) Renting Over Troubled Waters: An Urban Political Ecology of Rental Housing. Geographical Research 52(4): pp. 365-376.
Week 10
Shaw, K. (2008) Gentrification: What it is, and What Can Be Done about It. Geography Compass 2(5): 1697-1728.
Ruming, K., Houston, D., Amati, M. 2012. Multiple suburban publics: Rethinking community opposition to consolidation in Sydney. Geographical Research 50: 421-425.
Week 11
Steele, W., McCallum, D., Byrne, J., Houston, D., 2012. Planning the Climate-Changed City. International Planning Studies 17(1): 67-83.
Newman, P. 2014. Biophilic urbanism: a case study of Singapore. Australian Planner 51(1): 47-65.
Weekly Topic | Lecture | Tutorial | Things to Note |
1. Introduction |
L1 Introduction to the Unit L2 Planning on a planet of Cities |
Introductions and questions, Unit guide
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Please attend tutorials this week! |
2. Urban Planning Doctrine 1: Ideal Cities and Planning |
L3 What Cities ought to Be L4 Who Are Cities For? Public Realms and Spaces |
Introducing the field project & keyword assignments | |
3. Urban Planning Doctrine 2: The Rise of Modern Planning |
L5 Expert Designs: Spatial Planning and the Urban Growth Machine L6 The Right to the City |
Begin student-led discussions with planning keywords |
Planning keywords should be submitted to the iLearn forum on the day of the tutorial presentation |
4. Urban Planning Doctrine 3: The Deliberative Turn |
L7 Diverse Cities L8 The Deliberative Turn |
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5. Urban Spaces | Sydney Field Study: Macquarie Park Walking Tour (meet in lecture theatre, compulsory) | No student lead presentations -Field Project briefing - in class exercise | Critical Review essay due to Turnitin in iLearn by 5pm on Friday 2nd September. |
6. |
L9 Sensing the City L10 Urban Field Project Assignment Workshop |
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7. |
L11 Moving through the City L12 Transport planning |
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Semester Break | Monday Sept 19-Friday Sept 30 | ||
8. Urban Governance |
L13 Urban governance L14 Development assessment |
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9. Urban Dwelling |
L15 Urban Regeneration L16 Home and home-making |
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10.Urban Change |
L17 Resilient Cities L18 Cyborg Cities |
Week 10 role play in class - no set readings or presentations or keyword entries for this week |
Remember that there is a 5% attendance and participation mark for this week's tutorial activity Your urban field project assignment is due to Turnitin in iLearn by Friday October 21 by 5pm |
11. Urban Nature |
L19 The Climate-changed City L20 Planning multispecies cities |
This is the last student led class with planning keywords | |
12. | Urban Futures Student Conference (compulsory) | No tutorials |
Short presentation on a topic related to urban futures. There is a 5% attendance mark for attending all of the presentations in week 12 & 13
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13. |
Urban Futures Student Conference (compulsory)
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No tutorials | Please submit blog post to the urban futures conference wiki on iLearn by 5pm on November 1. |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/
Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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