Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Professor Donna Houston
Contact via Email
Room B263, 25 Wally's Walk (Arts Precinct Building)
Please email me to make an appointment
Lecturer/Tutor
Dr Zahra Nasreen
Contact via Email
25B Wally's Walk
Please email to make an appointment
Lecturer in weeks 3 & 4
Linda Kelly
Contact via Email
25B Wally's Walk
Please email if you have a question in weeks 3 & 4
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MEnvPlan or MPlan or GradCertEnvPlan or MEnvMgt or MEngMgt or MPPP or MEnv or GradDipEnv or GradCertSusDev or GradDipSusDev or GradCertEnvPlan or GradCertSIA or GradDipSIA or MDevStud or MSusDev
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit examines the complexities of planning, development and place-making in the public domain. The unit considers both theoretical and practical perspectives with a focus upon the foundation elements of planning frameworks including stakeholders and participation, governance and assessment, planning principles and professional planning ethics. This unit relates theory to practice, paying particular attention to what it means to plan in the public interest in the 21st century, generating professional practice skills for students. |
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:
Please consult the folder in the GEOP8075 iLearn page labelled 'Assessment'. Here you will find more detailed instructions for each assessment item, marking criteria and rubrics. The assessment folder contains links to useful resources and guides. You are encouraged to post questions about assignments in the General Discussion Forum on the main iLearn page.
A quiz will be given in Week 5. The quiz will be a mix of multiple choice, or true/false type questions, and short format answers. Please be aware that the quiz is a time sensitive task that will be available for a limited amount of time on iLearn. No late submissions or time extensions will be accepted for the quiz.
This assignment is a mixture of group and individual assessment. For students attending the on-campus workshop, there is class-time dedicated to this task so that your group has an opportunity to work together on the assignment. For students attending in online-flexible mode, you will be introduced to your group by week 2 and you will collaborate online to complete the task. Please note that 50% of the mark for the 'putting planning principles into practice task' is individually assessed.
The remaining 50% of the group project mark will be based on the quality of the group project and the presentation of your planning principles. The group projects must be ready to present in class in Week 8. Students enrolled for in person attendance will present in class, while students enrolled in online-flexible will submit a recording of their presentation to Echo360.
You are required to submit your assignments by the time and date provided in the assessment instructions provided in iLearn. Unless specified otherwise, all assignments are to be submitted via Turnitin. Please keep an electronic copy of your assignment and a record of your submission for reference.
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.
This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/ exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.
Individual marks and feedback to students will be provided via Turnitin. Feedback will include the rubric, intext comments and general feedback. You are encouraged to utilise these resources to develop your skills in subsequent assessments.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Quiz/test | 10% | No | Week 5 |
Putting planning principles into practice | 40% | No | Week 8 |
Analysis of a planning project | 50% | No | 08/06/2025 |
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 5
Weighting: 10%
Quizzes will be used to test the development of knowledge and vocabulary of planning processes.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 40%
Working in small groups, students will prepare a set of principles guiding planning public spaces. The group presentation will outline key definitions, the principles and stakeholders and be of a professional quality. The individual component of the task is a 800 word summary of research used to develop the planning principles.
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 08/06/2025
Weighting: 50%
Students will undertake a comprehensive analysis of a contemporary planning project and prepare a 2000 word report outlining the planning context, key issues identified and recommendations.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
GEOP8075 is available as in person/ on-campus (internal) or online-flexible (external) offerings depending on the stream you have enrolled in.
For on-campus students the unit is delivered as a postgraduate seminar, which includes a lecture and a workshop. Please note that the lecture will be recorded for external students but the workshop activities will not. The classes comprise a mix of structured activities, small group work, guest presentations and discussion of the weekly readings. Some class time is set aside for assignment preparation, individually and in groups.
Online flexible (external) students will have the recorded lecrure and resources and activities available each week on iLearn under the label "Online-flexible option". These activities are self directed and it is up to individual students to manage their time to undertake the work. Online flexible students are encouraged to actively participate in weekly online activities and discussions.
Unit readings can be accessed via Leganto. The Leganto link is located in the top right panel of the GEOP8075 iLearn main page. Please contact Donna if you are having trouble accessing the readings as they are essential to your assignments and to the class discussions.
The GEOP8075 iLearn page contains additional resources in the 'Assessment' folder and under the weekly topic headings. Please make sure that you regularly check the iLearn page and your Macquarie University student email for updates and information regarding this unit.
GEOP8075 is taught in three modules.
Module 1 Planning
Week 1 Introduction to planning, principles and places
Week 2 Planning systems and urban governance
Week 3 NSW planning system: governance and ethics
Week 4 Developement assessment
Week 5 AI in urban planning and governance
Module 2 Principles
Week 6 Planning theories and principles
Week 7 Planning and participation
Week 8 Planning principles in practice
Module 3 Places
Week 9 Place-making and urban design
Week 10 Place-making in practice
Week 11 Planning, precincts and gentrification
Week 12 Planning, deregulation and housing supply
Week 13 Consultation on final projects
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.
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.
Unit information based on version 2025.01R of the Handbook