UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

HOUSING PLANNING AND POLICY

GEOG 459/659

SPRING ’09 Syllabus (Draft)

Lecture 5:30-8:15 TH, MS 227

ephemeral cities 2006 sergio belinchon, polarinertia.com

Instructor: Robert Hotten

Office: Mackey Science 224

Phone: 784-1434

E-mail: doghotten@gmail.com

Office Hours: Thursday 2-5pm

Course Description: This course is an introduction to Housing Planning and Policy. Its foundation is the assumption that planning challenges have often been met with innovation- “visions…stemmed from the anarchist movement…Howard, of Geddes…” (Hall, “Cities for Tomorrow”). This course will also integrate and introduce the principles of sustainable planning, embracing the three broad themes of environmental, social and economic accountability. Buildings exist for 60-120 years, and often much longer, and decisions made during the planning process will influence future energy use and carbon emissions for a long time to come. Thus begins the quest of sustainable supplementary alternatives in housing planning and policy theory and practice. The focus is on innovative sustainable methods within multi-disciplinary frameworks applied at regional and site scales.

Course Goals:

Goal 1. To learn the theoretic foundation of Housing Planning, with an alternative supplemental approach focusing on sustainable practices.

Goal 2. To develop skills, allowing Housing Planning to be designed with sustainable principles and balances. Course 459- a regional plan, 659- both regional and site plans.

Goal 3. To discover why in “Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization” (Brown, 2008) with climate, population, poverty and ecosystem stabilization goals, there is no mention of housing?

Required Text:

Brown, David, editor, 2000, Sustainable Architecture White Papers, Earth Pledge Foundation: Quebec.

Assignment Value:

Assignment Description	Undergraduate (%)	Graduate (%)
Assignment 1: Sustainable Housing Planning Defined	100 (10%)	100 (10%)
Assignment 2: Delineate a Vision for Reno Housing Planning	100 (10%)	100 (10%)
Project 3: Housing Planning for an Imaginary Place on Site	200 (20%)	200 (20%)
Project 4: Regional Housing Plan	500 (50%)	300 (30%)
Site Housing Plan	N/A	200 (20%)
Class Participation	100 (10%)	100 (10%)
Class Total	1000	1000

Grades:

93-100% (4.0)	= A	90-92.9% (3.7)	= A-
87-89.9 (3.3)	= B+	83-86.9 (3.0)	= B
80-82.9 (2.7)	= B-	77-79.9 (2.3)	= C+
73-76.9 (2.0)	= C	70-73.9 (1.7)	= C-
67-69.9 (1.3)	= D+	63-66.9 (1.0)	= D
60-63.9 (0.7)	= D-	Below 60 (0.0)	= F

Lecture Attendance Policy:

Mandatory attendance at all lectures, discussion groups, field trips, project presentations. Some material is available online for those missing a particular session.

Assignments:

Due when stated on the handout for any credit. Late submission is only by University policy as is plagiarism.

Preliminary Draft of Assignment 1:

ASSIGNMENT 1

Housing Planning and Policy Sustainable Definition

GEOG (459/659)

Due: February 16, 2009

Objective:

Define Sustainability in relation to Housing Planning and Policy for the Reno area.

Theory:

An effective definition must serve all contexts, from institutions/ agencies interests to generic societal, economic, and ecological factions, to your friends and neighbors. Cite references.

Practice:

Cite (illustrate), examples with sustainable approaches in housing planning and their foundational principles. Use local, state, federal, and international arenas. Avoid marketplace clichés such as those following from “organic”.

Grading:

Present in class (5 minutes). Peer graded, hand in hard copy.

Preliminary Draft of Project 2:

Final Project

Regional Housing Plan (Areawide/Communitywide)

GEOG (459/659)

Due: May 4, 2009

Objective:

To create a regional and site housing plan for the Reno area. The plan is to include quantitative aspects and quantify a vision for the future of 20 and 120 years.

Theory:

A vision of a housing plan must:

1. Delineate a “balance” between sustainability and consumerism, conservation and development; and

2. Resolve how finite, renewable, heritage, and free-flow resources are and should be treated (to conserve, to sustain, to preserve, and to exploit, respectively).

Grading:

Present in class (10 minutes). Presentation will be assessed for narrative skill at satisfying the original definition. Written Plan will typically be 10-20 pages and illustrated with a land use plan(s). Hand in hard copy, also digital copy. Assessment on how well issues of open area resource utilization, urban sprawl, indigenous people’s rights, obstacles to agriculture, effects of tourism, etc. are envisioned.

HOUSING PLANNING AND POLICY (GEOG 459/659)

Spring ’09 Course Outline

Week 1 Theory 26 January	Lecture: Introduction to housing planning and policy Goals: Course overview, Framing issues.	Homework: None
Week 2 2 February	Lecture: “Autonomy as Anarchy: Consumerism and Individual Responsibility in Visionary Place-making and Architecture Goals: Theory of sustainability Book: Eco-Effectiveness: A New Design Strategy, McDonough	Homework: Assignment 1 assigned
Week 3 9 February	Lecture: Field trip. Reno neighborhoods, urban core Goals: Reno stocktaking Book: Living Buildings, McLennan	Homework: Assignment 1
Week 4 16 February	Lecture: Present Housing Planning Sustainable Definitions Goals: Learn to articulate narrative on sustainability	Homework: Assignment 2 assigned Assignment 1 Due
Week 5 Practice 23 February	Lecture: Rennes, The methodical and “anticipatory” approach Goals: Illustration of early or preventive action in France Book: The Art of Architecture in the Age of ecology, Wines	Homework: Assignment 2
Week 6 2 March	Lecture: “Posturbanism and Paradise” Goals: To consider the city as an analogue of the mind Book: Landscapes that Renew, Balmori	Homework: Assignment 2
Week 7 9 March	Lecture: Field trip. Unique sites/imaginary places Goals: Reno experiencing Book: Green Towns, Ambasz	Homework: Assignment 2 Project 1 assigned
Week 8 16 March	Lecture: Present vision for housing planning	Homework: Project 1 Assignment 2 Due
Week 9 Local 23 March	Lecture: “The Cultural Landscape: Meaning in Eco Design” Goals: Learn to assess the local cultural landscape Book: Building Community, Elizabeth	Homework: Project 1 Project 2 assigned
Week 10 30 March	Lecture: Field trip. Rural communities Goals: Comprehension of rural/sprawl issues Book: Building dreams: An Interview with Samuel Mockbee, Fox	Homework: Project 1 Project 2
Week 11 6 April	Lecture: Present Project 1, “Imaginary Places”, “Monster Houses, Cafes, and Dogs: Purpose in Eco Design” Goals: Learn to apply purpose in planning Book: Biomimicry, Biophilia, and Building Community, Browning	Homework: Project 2 Project 1 Due
Week 12 13 April	Lecture: No class, Spring vacation	Homework: Project 2
Week 13 State/Fed/Int’l 20 April	Lecture: State, Federal, and International housing planning and policy Goals: Comprehension of broad ranged planning and policy	Homework: Project 2
Week 14 The Plan 27 April	Lecture: Class presentations Goals: Present plan in 10 minutes	Homework: Project 2 Presentation Due
Week 15 4 May	Lecture: Class presentations Goals: Present plan in 10 minutes	Homework: Project 2 Presentation Due
Week 16 11 May	Lecture: None, Finals Week Goals: Retrieve assignments Book: None	Homework: Final Projects Due

Bibliography:

Brown, L., 2008, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Norton: New York.

Choay, Francoise, 1997, The Rule and the Model: On the Theory of Architecture and Urbanism, MIT Press, Cambridge.

Gauzin-Muller, D., 2002, Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism, Birkhauser: Basel.

Hayward Gallery, 2004, Fantasy Architecture 1500-2036, Hayward Gallery: London.

Hall, P., Cities for Tomorrow.

Marx, K., 1993, Capital, Penguin: Harmondsworth.

Richardson, P., 2001, XS: Big Ideas, Small Buildings, Thames; London.

Stilgoe, J., 1988, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939, Yale Press: West Hanover.

Wang, W., 2003, Sustainability is a Cultural Problem, Harvard Design Magazine, Spring/Summer 2003.

Wark, M., 2004, A Hacker Manifesto, Harvard Press: Cambridge

Wines, J., 2000, Green Architecture, Taschen: London.