Critical Social Inquiry 0275 - Critical Approaches/ Planning

"Wicked Problems" are complex, ever changing, and resistant to simple solutions; they require transformative and purposeful innovation. In urban studies, the challenges posed by economic and social inequality, the need to plan for multiple publics, and the distancing of residents from public space and access to planning processes, suggest a number of questions: What do we need to understand about the people who seek to participate in, and are impacted by, spatial (and social) planning as we try to foster more equitable and sustainable living and working environments? How do we design methods for understanding the experience of multiple publics in places that are undergoing constant change and need to respond to a diverse constituency? Where are the spaces in which to experiment with improvisational and flexible forms of intervention that might open up new economic and social opportunities? These and other questions will be explored in this course through case studies of urban intervention methodologies and practices. Mid semester we will pair with a sister course in social entrepreneurship to both combine our collective learning and work collaboratively on a shared project. This project(s0) will bring students together to share, re-purpose and utilize the various approaches they have learned about social enterprise development and urban planning/design to creatively address an identified need on campus.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing, and individual group assignments.