UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Environmental Studies 415/619
RURAL PLANNING AND DESIGN --1999

Instructor: Dr. John Curry
Time and Location: Monday 1:30 to 4:30 pm in Room 5-175

Course Summary The global dimension of ecological degradation has brought into question how humans interact with the natural world. This course will: (1) study the current unique planning and development dimensions of small communities and rural areas; (2) examine efforts to develop new planning principles which attempt to redefine humankind's relationship with nature; and (3) look at how these principles can be integrated into site planning practice. Teaching methods will include lectures, studio labs, group learning, and in-field observation and analysis. Design and planning techniques will be utilized in the development of a site plan for a small community/rural region.

Course Themes

1. Land use planning and design at the household, neighbourhood/ecovillage, and community/bioregion levels.
2. The science and art of site planning -- aesthetic, physical, social, ecological, and economic components.
3. Modern/conventional, neotraditional, and ecological planning and design principles.
4. The New Urbanism, Cohousing, and Ecovillage movements.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of: the values, principles, and theories shaping current thought in the field of rural planning and design; the techniques used in the site planning process; and the impact environmental planning can have on shaping neighbourhoods and communities.

Readings

Arendt, Randall. 1994. Rural By Design. Chicago, Illinois: American Planning Association (course textbook).

Pressman, Norman. 1995. Northern Cityscape: Linking Design to Climate. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: Winter Cities Association.

Articles, government publications, and books on reserve in the Library.

DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE
Rural Planning and Design
ENVS 415\619 - September 1999

WEEK ONE      September 13, 1999
Course Overview

• Review course outline (Discuss extended field trip times).
• Philosophy of Teaching.
  • Social Learning, Learning triangle.
• Environmental Autobiographies.
• Introduction to the Planning Case Study.
• Video -- ARethinking Suburban Sprawl.@ A lecture by Andres Duany to the Urban Development Institute (60 minutes).
• The Art and Science of Site planning.

Tentative Field Trip -- Saturday, September 18, 1999

Readings for Week Two

Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter One and Two. (22 pages).
Pressman, Norman. Introduction, Chapters One to Three. Pages 1 to 47. (16 pages).

WEEK TWO      September 20, 1999
Lecture

• Common Qualities of Traditional Towns
• Changes in Land Use Patterns
• A Theoretical Basis for Settlement Form
• Winter Cities and Climate Severity
• Perceptions of Winter

• Conceptualization of modern, neotraditional, and ecological site plans continue.
• Formation of planning/design groups.

Readings for Week Three
Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter Three. (23 pages).
Pressman, Norman. Chapters Four to Six. Pages 49 to 101. (15 pages).

WEEK THREE      September 27, 1999
Lecture

• Future Prospects: Choosing among Alternative Patterns
• Climate and Environment
• Towards an Urban Design Focus
• Urban Design: The Northern Dimension

• Sketching/visual presentation techniques with Paul Zanette

Readings for Week Four
Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter Four. (16 pages)
Pressman, Norman. Chapters Seven to Eight. Pages 103 to 149. (17).

WEEK FOUR      October 4, 1999
Lecture

• The Aesthetics of Form in Town Planning
• Innovations in Northern Urban Design
• Canadian Urban Developments

• For the remainder of the term, students will work in teams, under the guidance of the instructor in the development of the design project.

WEEK FIVE      October 11, 1999

Thanksgiving Day -- University Closed

Readings for Week Six
Arendt. Chapter Eight (8 pages) and Chapter Nine, 113 to 125 (12 pages)
Pressman, Norman. Chapters Nine to Eleven. Pages 151 to 202. (18).

WEEK SIX      October 18, 1999
Lecture

• Commercial Infill Development Along Major Streets
• Development in Town Centres
• Climate-Protected Streets and Pedestrian Spaces
• Sun, Wind, and Snow Control
• Principles for Climate-Responsive Urban Design

• Student Projects

• Development Along Highways
• Achieving a Sustainable Future
• Winter Living: Options and Strategies

• Student Projects

Readings for Week Eight
Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter Eleven (12 pages)

WEEK EIGHT      November 1, 1999
Lecture

• Street Design for Rural Subdivisions

• Student Projects

Readings for Week Nine
Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter Fourteen (24 pages)

WEEK NINE      November 8, 1999
Lecture

• Encouraging Open Space Design

• Student Projects

Readings for Week Ten
Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter Sixteen (16 pages)

WEEK TEN November 15, 1999 Lecture

• Greenways and Buffers

• Student Projects

Readings for Week Eleven
Arendt, Randall. 1994. Chapter Seventeen and Twelve (24 pages)  

WEEK ELEVEN      November 22, 1999
Lecture

• The Economics of Preserving Open Spaces
• Scenic Roads

• Student Projects

WEEK TWELVE      November 29, 1999

Group Presentations

• Final Term Project Group Presentations before a Community Design Panel.
• Course Evaluations.

Course Evaluation

Group Project Presentation of Site Plan.

Progress Report of the site analysis due October 25, 1999.

Student Presentation of assigned readings -- refer to attached guidelines.

Class participation assessment will focus on the students contribution to class discussions.

Short Paper detailed environmental autobiography (5-7 pages).

Guidelines for Group Project - 1999
This project will encompass the development of two concept plans and one detailed subdivision plan for a rural/suburban or downtown site. The first concept plan will be for a conventional subdivision site plan and a detailed site plan. The second concept plan will be for a neo-traditional or ecological site plan on the same parcel of land.

Baseline Information
Both concept plans will require the collection of baseline information, conducting a literature review, and performing an environmental audit or environmental site analysis. The "Site and Impact Checklist" Appendix G from Kevin Lynch and Gary Hack. 1994. The Art of Site Planning, and The Site. In Site Planning should be used as a guide in compiling this information.

Pertinent information from this checklist may be difficult to find. For example, soils information is only available for agricultural purposes and is not of sufficient detail for site planning purposes. Please note, in your report, what information was not available and the implications this lack of information may have on the quality of the site analysis.

The following maps should be produced for the site sensitivity stage of the planning project:

1. context/locational map,
2. slope map,
3. significant natural features map, and
4. sensitivity analysis map showing the opportunities and limitations of the site for development (including access to urban utilities).

Pertinent information about the site should be summarized in a written report format.

Conventional Site Plan
The conventional site plan will be developed using the zoning and subdivision regulations of the City of Prince George and the articles/chapters from the course reading and from Frederick Jarvis. 1993. Designing with Neighbourhood Amenities and Landsaver Design Patterns. In Site Planning and Community Design. 61-97 and Kevin Lynch and Gary Hack. 1994. The Art of Site Planning, and The Site. In Site Planning. 1-66. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

The following maps should be produced for the conventional site planning stage of the project:

1. Concept map showing the opportunities and limitations of the site for conventional development, &
2. Subdivision map showing:
   • subdivision roads,
   • access to and from the site
   • residential land use and lot layout
   • - commercial land use (based on commercial enterprises to support population),
   • institutional land use (based on institutional enterprises to support population),
   • parkland, open space and natural areas.

Note: Sewer, water and other utilities do not have to be considered in this map. Pertinent information about the site, the future population, the calculations used to determine the various land uses to support the future population, the principles used in following a conventional site plan, and a rationale for this particular concept site plan should be summarized in a written report format.

Neo-traditional and/or Ecological Site Plan
The neo-traditional and/or ecological site plan will be developed using the various course readings and any other readings you find applicable to your concept design.

The following maps should be produced for the neo-traditional and/or ecological site planning stage of the project:

1. Concept map showing the opportunities and limitations of the site for neo-traditional and/or ecological development, and
2. Concept map showing:
   • the various site activities and the relationships between these activities,
   • roads,
   • access to and from the site ,
   • residential areas,
   • commercial areas (based on commercial enterprises to support population),
   • institutional areas (based on institutional enterprises to support population),
   • parkland, open space and natural areas, and
   • utilities (sewer, water and other utilities to support the population).

Note: The population of the neo-traditional and/or ecological development should be the same as the population in the conventional development.

Pertinent information about the site, the future population, the calculations used to determine the various land areas to support the future population, the principles used in following a neo-traditional and/or ecological site plan, and a rationale for this particular concept site plan should be summarized in a written report format.

All maps and summary written information should be formatted in a way which can be used in the class presentations at the end of the term.

Weekly Presentations/Assignments
To develop skills in: Research, Critical Thinking, Oral Presentation, Facilitation.

Presentation

1. Format of Presentation -- Summary/Evaluation/Discussion Questions.
2. Length of Presentation/Discussion -- 15 to 20 minutes per student.
3. Presentation notes/overheads etc. should be handed at the end of your presentation.
4. Grading -- Content 50%/Delivery 50%
   • Opening --purpose/thesis
   • Summary
   • Closing
   • Questions -- three to six discussion questions.

Summary
The focus of a summary is to restate the text, as briefly as possible, in your own words. You should strive to:

• Understand the author's purpose for writing -- for instance, to inform, explain, argue, justify, defend, compare, contrast, or illustrate. Most often, the author will have a single purpose; at times, an author may have two closely related purposes, such as to explain and justify.
• State the author's thesis in relation to this purpose.
• Identify the sections of the text and understand the ways in which they work together to support, or explain, the thesis.
• Distinguish information needed to explain the author's thesis from examples/ less important information.
• Write the summary using your own words; avoid phrase-by-phrase "translations" from the original.

Questions for Student Presentations -- ENVS 415/619

In this course, the types of questions which appear in Italics are the most effective in forming new questions.
Reading to understand

• Identify author’s purpose
• Identify the author's intended audience
• Locate the author’s main point
• Understand the structure of the text
• Identify as carefully as possible what you don't understand

Asking Questions of the Text

• What central problem, issue, or subject does the text explore? What are the reasons for this problem? What are the effects of this problem?
• What is the most important, of the most striking, statement the author makes? Why is this important or striking?
• Who is the author, and what are the author's credentials for writing on this topic? What is the author's stake in writing this? What does the author have to gain?
• How can I use this selection? What can I learn from it?

Asking Questions of Yourself, based on the Text

• What can I learn from this text? Will this knowledge change me?
• What is my background on this topic? How will this experience affect my reading?
• What is the origins of my views on this topic?
• What new interest, or what new question or observation, does this text spark in me?

Questions that help you form and support an opinion

• Has the author explained things clearly?
• In what way does the topic confuse me? - Has the author convinced me of her main argument?
• What is my view on this topic?
• Would I recommend this source to others?

Source : Rosen, L. and L. Behrens. 1994. The Allyn and Bacon Handbook. (edition 1997).    

Additional Readings - Human Values and Planning Principles

Andruss, Van, Christopher Plant, Judith Plant, and Eleanor Wright, eds. 1990. Reinhabitation and Restoration. Part Four in Home! A Bioregional Reader. 100-129. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers.

Fox, Irving. 1991. Institutional Design for the Management of the Natural Resources of the Fraser River Basin. Chapter 12 in Perspectives on Sustainable Development in Water Management: Towards Agreement in the Fraser River Basin. ed. Anthony Dorcey. 289-312. Vancouver, British Columbia: University of British Columbia Westwater Research Centre. (11 pages)

Gerloff, Robert. 1992. Rediscovering the Village. Utne Reader. May/June 1992, 93-104. (10 pages)

Government of Canada. 1993. Canada's Green Plan: The Second Year Summary. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services Canada. (6 pages)

Jarvis Frederick. 1993. Site Planning and Community Design. Washington, D.C.: Home Builders Press.

Linden, Eugene. 1993. Megacities. Time. January 11, 1993, 30-40. (10 pages)

MacKenzie, Suzanne. 1988. Building Women, Building Cities: Towards Gender Sensitive Theory in the Environmental Disciplines. Chapter One in Life Spaces: Gender, Household, Employment. eds. Caroline Andrew and Beth Moore Milroy, 13-30. Vancouver, British Columbia: University of British Columbia Press.

McHarg, Ian. 1991 (original 1969). Design with Nature. New York: John Wiley.

Marsh, William. 1991. Landscape Planning: Environmental Applications. New York: John Wiley. Noss, Reed. 1992. The Wildlands Project: Land Conservation Strategy. Wild Earth. Special Issue: 10-25. (15 pages)

Register, Richard. Principles of Ecocity Planning. The Permaculture Activist. 6(4): 3-8. Winter 1990. (5 pages)

Selman, Paul. 1992. Setting the Scene. Chapter One in Environmental Planning: The Conservation and Development of Biophysical Resources. London, England: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Tasi Wood, Mary. 1991. Rideau Community Plan: Township of Pittsburgh. Kingston, Ontario: Tasi Wood & Associates.

Village of Hazelton. 1991. Framework for Watershed Stewardship. Hazelton, British Columbia.

Email comments and corrections to curryj@unbc.ca

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