11.947 | Spring 2005 | Graduate

Race, Immigration, and Planning

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 3 hours / session

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the issues of immigrants, planning, and race. It identifies the complexities and identities of immigrant populations emerging in the United States context and how different community groups negotiate that complexity. It explores the critical differences and commonalities between immigrant and non-immigrant communities, as well as how the planning profession does and should respond to those differences. Finally, the course explores the intersection of immigrant communities’ formation and their interactions with African Americans and the idea of race in the United States.

Course Requirements

Students are required to attend class, give oral presentations on readings and fieldwork, and to participate in discussions. Students will be required to write a 15-page paper on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructors, and students also will be required to produce a “deliverable” designed in conjunction with a Brazilian non-profit in Framingham or with their economic development effort in Northeast Brazil.

Approximate gradings are as follows:

Activities percentages
Classroom Participation 10%
15-page Paper 30%
Deliverable 60%