CP 252: LAND AND USE CONTROLS FOR FORMULATING, IMPLEMENTING AND ASSESSING LAND USE POLICY

 

CP 252 defines land use controls as all government actions at all levels -- local, state and federal -- available to planners in the United States to formulate, implement and assess policies for the use, conservation and development of land.  Given this broad definition, land use controls have been divided into three separate systems[1] -- the official system, the tax system, and the public works (infrastructure) system.  In recent years a fourth system, sometimes called public-private partnerships, has emerged as the synthesis of certain aspects of these three systems.  CP 252 provides future planning professionals with practical, hands-on knowledge of the techniques available within each of these four systems and explores how they interact and at times, both intentionally and unintentionally, work at cross-purposes.

 

Requirements

This course will meet twice a week for a total of three hours.  The basic requirements of this course are: 1) completion of the assigned readings and participation in class discussions of them, and 2) completion and oral presentation to the class of a 25 to 30 page, double spaced paper.  There will be no exams.

 

The paper topic should reflect one or more of the themes of the course, and be on a subject in which you have a strong personal and professional interest.  Ideally, the paper will flow from a self-defined course of study you are pursuing at DCRP, a special interest growing out of an internship, or simply be a particular subject area you want to explore.  By the third week of class, each student must submit a 3-5 page statement of the paper topic, which will not be graded.  The statement must include:

 

·        Topic overview,

·        Specific issues the paper will analyze,

·        Research approach, and

·        Preliminary list of references.

 

The last four class meetings will be devoted to the oral presentation of papers, and the written paper is due on the date of the presentation.  At the class meeting prior to your oral presentation, you will distribute a one-page abstract summarizing the topic of the paper and you major findings and conclusions.

 

Assigned Readings and Method of Instruction

Each class meeting will be a lecture based on assignments from a Reader I have prepared and from Fulton, W., Guide to California Planning, 3^nd. Ed.  Upon completion of the course, both will be useful reference tools.  I also use a website, landuseprof.com, to teach this class.

 

Guest Lecturers

At about 8 or 9 of the class meetings, a professional colleague of mine will join us to make a presentation related to the topic assigned for that day.  These individuals are drawn from the Bay Area planning community and are people with whom I have worked.  Students who have taken this course in the past have found the guest lecturers to be a valuable part of the course.

 

Grading Policy

Course grades will be based 25% on class participation, and 75% on the class presentation/course paper.

 

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[1] In his classic article published in 1970, The Three Systems of Land Use Control, Norman Williams, Jr. identified and analyzed three systems of land use controls in the United States.  25 Rutgers Law Review (1970) 80.