Planning has suffered a crisis in confidence reflected in the growing consensus about its inability to manage fast changing cities effectively. One of the key reasons for this can be attributed to the existing gap between strategic planning, which is the norm at the top, and the unconventional actions of small communities at the bottom as they try to meet their largely neglected needs. Action planning introduces planners to the practical and common sense alternatives, linking the needs of community with the strategic plans of government. Because is methods are problem driven, community derived, participatory, fast, adaptive and incremental, it provides a new and more refreshing approach to dealing with current urban problems.Objectives:1. To develop an understanding of the complex social challenges facing today’s growing underprivileged urban communities and how they shape urban form.2. To develop an awareness of the shortcomings between/among responses of government and the realities facing urban communities on a day-to-day basis.3. To develop an understanding of the nature of diverse responses adopted by urban communities to deal with the problems they are confronted with on a regular basis.4. To develop an ability to devise more effective, problem driven, participatory, fast and adaptive solutions to address the problems facing our urban communities.
At the conclusion of this course students will demonstrate:1. Research Skills – Ability to employ basic methods of data collection and analysis to effectively inform the planning process.2. Analytical Skills – Ability to make comprehensive analysis and evaluation of urban contextual realities.253. Interactive Skills – Ability to interact and relate meaningfully with local urban communities so as to build critical linkages and networks between them and urban city managers.4. Creativity & Innovation Skills – Ability to engender realistic solutions to effectively address problems affecting local urban communities.
