| SES # | TOPICS |
|---|---|
| Part I: Fundamentals: Land use planning, regulation, and smart development | |
| Week 1: Introduction | |
| 1 | Course introduction |
| Week 2: Project introduction and start-up | |
| 2 | Community planning project introduced |
| 3 |
Discussion of client project Project team formed |
| Week 3: Neighborhood planning: Old & new; visioning | |
| 4 | The neighborhood unit: Historical perspective and evolution |
| 5 | Visioning the future of places |
| Week 4: Making a plan: Where to begin? | |
| 6 | Plan-making at the community level |
| 7 |
Imaging Newton’s Needham Street corridor Teams present findings |
| Week 5: Planning for growth and zoning controls | |
| 8 | Zoning controls: The basics |
| 9 | Land use planning, regulation, and property rights |
| Week 6: Sprawl and smart development | |
| 10 | Thwarting sprawl; smart growth and the evolution of suburbia |
| 11 | Street design and traffic calming |
| Week 7: Zoning innovations, mixed-use development, and incentives to broaden housing affordability | |
| 12 | Project work day |
| 13 |
Incentive-based techniques, mixed-use development, and methods to broaden housing affordability Preliminary plans will be presented by project teams to the client and the public |
| Part II: Place-making: trends, methods, and approaches | |
| Week 8: Area economic development planning | |
| 14 | Area economic development planning: Tools and prospects |
| 15 | Project work day-discussion/debriefing |
| Week 9: Community design, place-making, form-based codes | |
| 16 | Community design, new urbanism, and alternative regulatory approaches. What’s applicable to the Needham Street project? |
| 17 | Project work day: Discussion/debriefing |
| Part III: Planning and designing responsive environments | |
| Week 10: Landscape planning | |
| 18 | Landscape planning, history and current approaches |
| 19 | Optional project work day |
| Week 11: The greening of places; linking land use and transportation | |
| 20 | Ecological considerations and sustainability |
| 21 | The mobility challenge for planning; transit-oriented and infill development |
| Part IV: Integration and implementation | |
| Week 12: Plan implementation | |
| 22 | Client meeting with project teams |
| Week 13: Final plan recommendations and implementation strategies | |
| 23 | Project work day |
| 24 | Project work day (cont.) |
| Weeks 14 and 15: Final project preparation and synthesis | |
| 25 | The role of planning and the planner in society: Class wrap-up and synthesis |
| 26 | Final plan work day |
| 27 | Submission of final plan reports |
Final plan recommendations will be presented by student project teams to the client and public.
