CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
PPA 250 - California Land Use Policy
Section 2 --- Fall 2002
Peter M. Detwiler
Lassen Hall, Room 2006
Monday evenings, 6:00 - 8:50 p.m.
This interdisciplinary graduate course examines how public policies influence land uses. We will learn about the basic tools of land use planning and development. Later we will confront the issues that will dominate California's land use agenda as the new century begins to unfold: urban design, the fiscalization of land use, "Smart Growth," and the challenges of social equity. By the end of the semester, you will be prepared to cope with these issues in professional settings.
METHODS. This course offers you several ways to learn and then apply your lessons. Early in the semester, I’ll rely on lectures to explore the weekly topics. As the semester progresses, we’ll engage in seminar discussions to explore the reading assignments. The writing assignments allow you to reflect on what you've read. Three group projects give you the experience of researching, preparing, and presenting professional proposals.
OFFICE HOURS. When you need answers to questions or want some advice, you can arrange to meet me on Tuesday afternoons, before class in Tahoe Hall, Room 3039. You can call me at home (916/455-4574) or at my Capitol office (916/445-9748). You can also fax material to my office (916/322-0298) or send me an e-mail message: detwiler@pacbell.net.
ASSIGNMENTS. The reading assignments offer you a variety of formats: journal articles that explore theories, magazine articles that offer opinions, reference works that present frameworks, and books that offer narrative interpretations. Quite frankly, the readings are extensive. Based on students’ experiences in previous semesters, you should plan to spend three hours preparing for every class hour. In other words, you will need to invest about eight to ten hours a week getting ready for the next class. The readings are always due on the dates listed in this syllabus.
You must keep up with the reading assignments to take advantage of my presentations and to participate in the class discussions. You will contribute to your colleagues by drawing on your own professional experiences, your collateral reading, and your other courses. Please come to class prepared with questions to ask or arguments to share.
Making and implementing land use policy is rarely a solitary experience. Professionals must collaborate with one another to achieve success. That's why this course relies so heavily on group projects and class participation.
There are six writing assignments: two essays, a book review, and the three group projects. Besides reviewing your papers' substance, I will reward your clarity, brevity, and organization. Because I place a premium on clear and lively writing, I strongly encourage you to consult Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual, one of our required books.
You must turn in your papers on the dates listed in this syllabus. I will penalize a late paper a full letter grade for each day that you are late.
EXTRA CREDIT. Sometimes an assignment just doesn't turn out the way you wanted: your working group flaked out, you hated the reading assignments, or the plan evaluation was a real struggle. You may write another book review to earn up to 5% extra credit. See Memo I.
COURSE READER. Besides reprinting articles, the Course Reader contains eight memos from me to you, explaining your assignments:
GRADES. Your semester grade will reflect this schedule:
Assignment A Essay on "Small Urban Spaces" 5% Assignment B Book review of Wye Island 15% Assignment C Essay on California’s suburbs. 20% Group Project I Plan evaluation project 10% Group Project II Community observation project 10% Group Project III Community reinvestment project 20% Class participation 20% [Extra credit] [5%]
READING LIST. The semester's readings consist of a text (Fulton), two books with different approaches to land use issues (Gibbons, Jackson), a design handbook (Madden), and a writing resource book (Hacker). The Course Reader contains other articles and the advisory memos.
Fulton, William. (1999.) Guide to California Planning (2nd Edition). Point Arena: Solano Press Books.
Gibbons, Boyd. (1988.) Wye Island. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future.
Hacker, Diana. (2000.) A Pocket Style Manual (3rd Edition). Boston: Bedford Books.
Jackson, Kenneth T. (1985.) Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.
Madden, Kathleen. (2000.) How to Turn a Place Around: A Handbook for Creating Successful Public Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces, Inc.
The Hornet Bookstore stocks these books, with a good supply of used books in decent condition. They’re also available from local bookstores and from on-line retailers like amazon.com or half.com. At our first class meeting, I will explain how you can obtain the Course Reader.
SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS. Here is our weekly schedule and the specific assignments for the Fall 2002 semester.
Week 1, September 9: Introductions. Who are these other people? And what does he really expect from us this semester? What are we going to do between now and December 16? Our first evening begins with self-introductions and descriptions of the assignments. There’s even a slide show to introduce the "Ahwahnee Principles." Ask lots of questions tonight.
Week 2, September 16: Making Policies, Making Plans.
How do policy advisors and decision-makers think about land use policy? We
compare the rational model that most planners favor to the policy-makers' garbage
can model and the free-market model. To prepare for the class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 1, "Introduction: How Planning in California Really
Works."
Chapter 2, "The Californias."
Chapter 3, "The Emergence of Urban Planning and Land
Use Regulation."
Course Reader: "Memo A: Coping With Your Reading Assignments."
"Memo B: Recommendations For Successful
Writing."
"Memo C: Short Essay on ‘The Social
Life of Small Urban Spaces.’"
Campbell, "Green Cities, Growing
Cities, Just Cities?"
You must watch the video, "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces"
(video #2925) which is available in the CSUS Library Media Center.
Also DUE ON THIS DATE is your short essay on Holly Whyte’s video.
Week 3, September 23: The General Plan. Why do the
courts call a general plan the "constitution" for local development?
What goes into a general plan? What about the other requirements besides the
mandated elements? How can we tell if a general plan is any good? To prepare
for tonight’s class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 4, "The Structure of Planning Decision-Making
-- Part 1."
Chapter 5, "The Structure of Planning Decision-Making
-- Part 2."
Chapter 6, "The Basic Tools -- Part 1, The General
Plan."
Jackson, Introduction
Chapter 1, "Suburbs as Slums."
Course Reader: Detwiler, "Jello Without The Mold."
Myers, "Symposium: Putting the Future
in Planning: Introduction."
Wachs, "Forecasting versus Envisioning."
Cole, "Dare to Dream."
Myers, "Demographic Futures as a
Guide to Planning."
Dalton, "Thinking about Tomorrow."
Week 4, September 30: Urban Design. How do people
use their communities? What makes cities exciting? What condemns some suburbs
to mind-numbing mediocrity? We'll discuss the concepts behind the Ahwahnee
Principles. To prepare for this class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 16, "Urban and Environmental Design."
Jackson, Chapter 2, "The Transportation Evolution and the Erosion
of the Walking City."
Chapter 3, "Home, Sweet Home: The House and the
Yard."
Chapter 4, "Romantic Suburbs."
Chapter 5, "The Main Line: Elite Suburbs and
Commuter Railroads."
Chapter 6, "The Time of the Trolley."
Chapter 7, "Affordable Homes for the Common Man."
Madden, Introduction.
Chapter 1, "Why ‘places’ are important to cities."
Course Reader: Southworth, "Walkable Suburbs?"
Corbett & Velasquez, "The Ahwahnee
Principles."
Montgomery, "Is There Still Life
in The Death and Life?"
Week 5, October 7: Environmental Review. Why is
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) one of the most potent land
use laws? Where did CEQA come from? Why is it so controversial? What do its
defenders say? To prepare for the class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 9, "The California Environmental Quality Act."
Chapter 20, "Structure of Natural Resources Protection."
Chapter 21, "Endangered Species: A Case Study in
Natural Resource Protection."
Course Reader: Olshansky, "CEQA and Local Planning."
Week 6, October 14: Regulating Land Uses. Where
do governments get their power to regulate the use of private property? Among
the most traditional methods of regulating land use are zoning and use permits.
Why is there so much litigation? To prepare for the class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 7, "The Basic Tools -- Part 2: Zoning and Development
Codes."
Madden, Chapter 3, "Principles of creating great places."
Week 7, October 21: Developing Land. For many, land
is not a resource to be conserved but a commodity that’s bought and sold. How
do large parcels become smaller, marketable lots? To prepare for the class,
you read:
Fulton, Chapter 8, "The Basic Tools -- Part 3: The Subdivision
Map Act."
Chapter 12, "Doing The Big Deals: Specific Plans
& Development Agreements."
Jackson, Chapter 9, "The New Age of Automobility."
Chapter 10, "Suburban Development Between the
Wars."
Chapter 11, "Federal Subsidy and the Suburban
Dream."
Course Reader: "Memo F: Plan Evaluation Project."
Also DUE ON THIS DATE is Group Project I, "Plan Evaluation
Project."
Week 8, October 28: Wye Island. An intense study
of James Rouse's plan to develop a Chesapeake Bay island, Wye Island
is a modern classic of land use literature. Set in Maryland in the early 1970s,
this true story teaches us a lot about land use decisions in California at the
start of the 21st Century. In tonight’s seminar, we'll explore the
differences between Maryland and California; between 1972 and 2000. To prepare
for our seminar, you read:
Gibbons, Wye Island (the entire book).
Course Reader: Gillette, "Assessing James Rouse’s Role
in American City Planning."
Week 9, November 4: Exactions, Dedications, and Takings.
The Constitution protects property rights but governments can regulate private
property. When landowners propose development, what can public officials require?
What does the Constitution allow and what do the statutes permit? How do the
players put these rules into practice? To prepare for the class, you read:
Fulton: Chapter 10, "Exactions."
Chapter 13, "The Consequences of Regulation."
Chapter 19, "School Facilities Planning."
Course Reader: Jacobson, "Chapter 3: Authority for and
Limitations on Exactions."
Strong, et al., "Property Rights and
Takings."
Jacobs, "Fighting Over Land."
"Memo B: Recommendations For Successful
Writing."
"Memo D: Writing A Book
Review."
Also DUE ON THIS DATE is your book review of Wye Island.
Week 10, November 11: Drawing Boundaries. More than
just an exercise in cartographic neatness, drawing local boundaries determines
who gets public services, who gets the revenues, and who regulates land use.
How these decisions affect development patterns is tonight’s focus. To prepare
for the class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 14, "Economic Development."
Jackson, Chapter 8, "Suburbs into Neighborhoods -- Municipal
Annexation."
Madden, Chapter 4, "Workbook for evaluating public spaces."
Course Reader: Executive Summary and Chapters 1 and 2 from
Growth Within Bounds.
"Memo G, Observe and Record Project."
Also DUE ON THIS DATE is Group Project II, "Observe and Record
Project."
Week 11, November 18: The Fiscalization of Land Use.
In the first part of tonight’s class we’ll discuss the realities of development
with three land use professionals. During the second part of the evening, we’ll
ask about the fiscal consequences of land use decisions and the land use consequences
of fiscal decisions. How have redevelopment agencies changed the way that California
looks? To prepare, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 15, "Redevelopment."
Chapter 17, "Infrastructure and Infrastructure
Finance."
Jackson, Chapter 13, "The Baby Boom and the Age of the Subdivision."
Chapter 14, "The Drive-In Culture of Contemporary
America."
Course Reader: Detwiler, "Chapter 1: Introduction."
Sohagi, "Chapter 2: Defining The
Terms."
Week 12, November 25: Smart Growth. Because demography
drives policy, what can policy-makers do about population growth? The only
thing that we hate more than urban sprawl is higher densities! How can state
and local leaders manage growth? To prepare for the class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 11, "Growth Management and Growth Control."
Course Reader: Wassmer, "An Economist’s Perspective
on Urban Sprawl."
Berke & Conroy, "Are We Planning
for Sustainable Development?"
"Memo B: Recommendations For Successful
Writing."
"Memo E: Thoughts on California’s
Suburbs."
Also DUE ON THIS DATE is your essay on California’s suburbs.
Week 13, December 2: Planning For Whom? Planning
involves choices and choices invoke values. What will California look like
in the new century? How will private firms and public agencies shape land use
patterns as the 21st Century unfolds? Where does environmental justice
fit it? To prepare for this evening’s class, you read:
Fulton, Chapter 23, "Making Planning Work in California."
Jackson, Chapter 15, "The Loss of Community in Metropolitan
America."
Chapter 16, "Retrospect and Prospect."
Course Reader: Pendall, "Local Land Use Regulation
and the Chain of Exclusion."
Buntz & Sherry, "A Continuum
of Dispute Resolution Approaches."
Ball, "Facilitating Consensus Building."
Innes, "Planning Through Consensus
Building."
Week 14, December 9: Community Reinvestment. The
working groups present the results of their Group Project III, "Community
Reinvestment Project" which is DUE ON THIS DATE. Each Working
Group recommends a proposal for community reinvestment in a specific local neighborhood.
A panel of local experts responds with constructive criticism on both the proposal's
content and your presentation skills. We'll videotape the working groups' presentations.
To prepare for this assignment, you read:
Course Reader: "Memo H: Community Reinvestment Project."
Week 15, December 16: Concluding Thoughts. In our final class meeting, we’ll review last week’s "Community Reinvestment" projects by focusing on what worked well and what needed improvement. Everyone completes the University's formal "Teaching Performance Survey." You also have a chance to provide more detailed reactions by filling out my own less formal questionnaire. It's optional but still completely anonymous. At your option, the extra credit book review is DUE ON THIS DATE (see Memo I).
Version: August 20, 2002