PLG 551 Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities

Green infrastructure planning requires a systems approach to improving ecological function while providing vital ecosystem services for human populations. This course will introduce students to the concepts, theories, and applications of greenway and green infrastructure planning at multiple scales, including the site-level, neighbourhood, and regional scales. The course will look at a wide range of systems including water, transportation, and food systems. Specifically, the course aims at the following:

• Help students understand how the concept of green infrastructure developed and put it relationship to the larger historical framework of environmental planning and sustainable development;
• Provide students with the introductory tools to conceptually plan a green infrastructure system; evaluate policies; and develop implementation strategies;
• Help students recognize that the human component of sustainable, multifunctional landscapes is critical both for human health and for long term ecological preservation;
• Show students how to incorporate multiple spatial scales thinking for understanding ecological systems and when applying them to design and planning problems; and
• Give students a beginning understanding of the economic impacts and benefits of multi-functional green infrastructure planning.

PLG 553 Urban Economics

Urban economics is the study of cities and regions, and the economic activities therein. As a discipline, urban economics lies at the intersection of geography and economics introducing the role of space into economic considerations. Students will be exposed to the theories and concepts that help to explain the existence, growth and impact of cities, as well as gain a deeper understanding about the role of public and private policies that impact the urban form, structure and economy. Course discussion will be geared towards addressing the following questions. What explains the explosive growth of cities and the rate of urbanization over the last 100 years? How do firms and individuals decide where to locate? How is the price of land determined? How can we address current urban problems like crime, poverty, traffic congestion, sprawl, gentrification and pollution?

PLG 555 Planning, Power and People

This module introduces students to key ideas, debates and shifts in planning theory through addressing the idea of power in the planning process. It considers the ways in which different theories of planning (and policies based on them) engage (or not) with ideas of power and ascribe different roles to planning professionals and citizens alike. The module asks students to ‘think through’ theory and will help generate a reflexive understanding of the ideas that underpin planning systems and planning practice. It will also engender a theoretical and practical understanding of the need to engage with power inequalities in and through the planning process.

PLG 557 Planning Law            

This course will introduce students to the law of town and country planning, and to its use as a tool of environmental management. The course will consider the mechanisms used in planning law to structure development and provide forward-looking strategies for environmental protection, including the use of planning conditions, planning agreements and planning gain. It will consider the law on development control, and the impact of environmental management techniques (such as EIA) and human rights legislation on the practice and law of planning. The course will look at judicial interpretation of the provisions for development control, and the role of the courts in controlling public bodies in the exercise of their planning powers.

PLG 559 Planning Theory       

The focus of this course is on both the theory and practice of planning. In particular, this course intends to provoke students to think about what "good planning" means and of ways and means of improving the theoretical base and the practical operation of planning. Understanding planning theory will help future planners to understand how planning is practiced, why planning is done in particular ways, and provide them with a perspective about the roles that planners play. Critical questions will be explored, including: (a) should planners think like architects, social critics or private developers, (b) should plans be grand and comprehensive or cautious and incremental, (c) should planners assist or resist the private market, (d) should planners be neutral professionals or social advocates, (e) should planners create utopian visions of how cities could be or to pragmatically deal with cities as they are, and (f) should planners develop complex theories of urbanization and decision-making, or simply deal with immediate practical and professional challenges? The course is structured around an exploration of recent approaches to planning theory, and how they have given shape to planning practice. It also considers the professional status of planning and the ethical standards of the profession.                                             

PLG 561 Quantitative Methods for Planners                           

This course is designed to equip students with the basic analytical and statistical skills relevant to the formulation, implementation, management and evaluation of nation and sectoral measures of central tendency and dispersion, correlation and regression analysis, estimation of parameters and various computer software like EXCEL, SPSS for comprehensive statistical analysis and the presentation of data and macro-economic model building and design shall be emphasized.

PLG 563 Introduction to GIS for Planners                               

This course introduces the concepts and components of a geographic information system (GIS). It also teaches the essential skills of spatial data management, analysis, and visualization using the ArcGIS software package. Upon completion of this course, students will understand the fundamental concepts of a GIS including spatial data models, spatial analysis, and cartographic principles. They will also gain hands-on training in spatial data collection, editing, transformation, and mapping, as well as spatial analysis operations such as location-based query, address geocoding, terrain and watershed analysis, spatial interpolation, best site selection, least cost path delineation, and several other GIS modeling techniques. 

PLG 550 Planning Surveys and Research Methods    

The course exposes students to principles and techniques for conducting scientific research. It assumes that students have basic knowledge in research methods and therefore builds on that foundation. Students are further exposed to some practical issues in research design and management, the emerging challenges of participatory research and the increasing role of computers in the processing and management of data. It covers different types of research, principles of research design, major schools of thought regarding research approaches, determination of data needs and collection methods, analysis and synthesis of data, report writing and preparation of research proposals.

PLG 552 Public Finance for Planners

The main objectives off this course is to introduce students to the concept and principles of public finance; skills to develop budgeting and performance evaluation systems for public sector institutions, develop skills in the three major areas of public finance reforms (performance-based budgeting, mid-term financial planning and budget decentralisation).                               

PLG 554 Principles of City Planning and Management           

The course primarily aims to introduce students to the principles of city planning and management. It aims at equipping students with the skills to prepare better plans and better communicate the plan to all relevant stakeholders. The course also aims to raise students’ awareness on the needed to see cities/communities as systems whose planning and management will require the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

PLG 556 Rural Economics                                          

Rural economics is the study of economies. As a discipline, rural economics lies at the intersection of geography and economics introducing the role of space into economic considerations at the rural level. Students will be exposed to the theories and concepts that help to explain the existence, growth and impact of rural areas, as well as gain a deeper understanding about the role of public and private policies that impact the rural settlements, structure and economy. Course discussion will be geared towards addressing the following questions. Why do firms and individuals avoid locating in rural areas? How is the price of land determined? How can we address current rural problems like crime, poverty and inequality?

PLG 558 Professional Ethics in Planning Practice

This course aims at providing students with the skills to communicate ideas using diverse formats and strategies in the discipline of planning. It will also equip students the skills to work with others in a range of roles and contexts, demonstrating cultural and social sensitivity, environmental stewardship and ethical and reflective practice. Students who take this course will be able to argue contested planning applications, analyse and debate practice-related issues and review professional code of conduct for planners and reflect on their implications for planning practice.

PLG 560 Advance GIS for Planners

This course covers advanced topics in understanding and using geographic information systems (GIS). Students learn how to use a global positioning system, perform raster analysis, create and analyze three- dimensional surfaces, visualize geospatial data, and perform advanced spatial analysis. The lectures discuss underlying theory and its implementation in GIS software. The assignments give students the opportunity to learn for themselves how to put that theory into practice, gaining hands-on experience with ArcGIS Desktop from Esri Inc., the most popular GIS software and an industry standard in many fields.

PLG 562 Political Economy of Cities

The course Political Economy of Cities is primarily concerned with studying the various issues bothering the interaction between politics, economics as well as the city. In this course, students will be helped to address the central questions in urban political economy: How do governments encourage or discourage urbanisation? Why do local governments adopt some economic policies and neglect others? Does competition between city governments make everyone better off, or lead to a race to the bottom? Why are some places more corrupt than others? Does partisanship matter at the local level? How do ethnic diversity and segregation affect local governance?

PLG 574 Dissertation (MSc Students Only)

This guided research on planning and development issues is aimed at building the capacities of MSc students in carrying out independent research. The students are expected to apply the knowledge acquired in other courses by defining, researching and addressing an issue related in a recognizable framework of development planning theory and practice. The candidate is expected to liaise with staff for direction and subsequently work closely with their thesis supervisors.

PLG 651/652 Thesis (MPhil Students Only)

This guided research on planning and development issues constitutes the core of the Master of Philosophy programmes. It is intended to build the capacities of the students in carrying out advanced and independent research. The students are expected to apply the knowledge acquired in the courses they took in year one by defining, researching and addressing an issue related in a recognisable framework of development planning theory and practice. The candidates are expected to liaise with staff for direction and subsequently work closely with their thesis supervisors.