Fall 2007 Courses

UAP-4744 Principles of Real Estate
Meets: W, 4:15PM – 6:45PM (Polycom)

This class covers the basics of real estate and the real estate market.  Topics covered include legal descriptions, forms of title, deeds and leases, contracts and title examination.  The course also focuses on real estate finance and appraisal.  A passing grade qualifies you to sit for the real estate salesperson exam in Virginia. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Jesse Richardson

UAP-5104: Urban & Regional Development Theory
Meets: T, 4:15PM – 6:45PM (Polycom)

This course explores the literature on urban and regional development theories. We will examine the factors that contribute to the growth or decline of cities and regions. The readings focus on competing explanations of spatial economic patterns and development and draw from a variety of disciplines including economic geography, political science, economic sociology, and urban studies and planning. We will also consider the implications of each theory for the practice of planning as well as urban and regional analysis. Applying each theory to contemporary urban and regional development patterns will be an important objective of the class. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Heike Mayer

UAP-5114 Computer Applications in Planning
Meets: M, 4:15PM – 6:45PM

This course will acquaint students with the basic concepts of a geographic information system (GIS) and its analytic capabilities. In addition to grounding the student in the principles and concepts of GIS technology, the course will include applications of this technology to planning problems and discuss important system implementation issues. Course meetings will include lectures, which will cover material presented in assigned readings, and laboratory sessions for "hands-on" exposure to the ArcGIS software, its extensions, and other ancillary tools. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Kris Wernstedt

UAP-5114: Computer Applications in Planning – GIS
Meets: T, 4:15PM – 6:45PM

This course will acquaint students with the basic concepts of a geographic information system (GIS) and its analytic capabilities. In addition to grounding the student in the principles and concepts of GIS technology, the course will include applications of this technology to planning problems and discuss important system implementation issues. Course meetings will include lectures, which will cover material presented in assigned readings, and laboratory sessions for "hands-on" exposure to the ArcGIS software, its extensions, and other ancillary tools. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: K. Hancock

UAP-5124 Planning Studio – Phase II
Meets: W, 4:15PM – 6:45PM

This course will collect and evaluate model environmental action plans and local government management frameworks that integrate and coordinate programs and policies across these environmental topics. Based on the inventory and compendium of model practices, professors and students will work with Alexandria city officials to develop a series of preliminary recommendations. In addition students will work on a stakeholder inventory for us in Phase III (Spring 2008)—creating the environmental vision. We also complete a more traditional review of the academic and policy literature on state and local sustainability. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Joe M. Schilling / Shelly Mastran

UAP-5174 Theory and Practice of Planning
Meets: M, 4:15PM – 6:45PM

This course examines the theory and practice of planning from a sociological, anthropological and professional perspective. Class sessions will provide a context of theoretical insight and a forum for discussion of current and historic planning themes. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Kelly M. Beavers

UAP-5224: Quantitative Techniques in Planning
Meets: M, 7:00PM – 9:30PM

This course provides an introduction to methods used in planning activities, including statistics, cash flow discounting and cost-benefit analysis, summary indices, and data organization. It covers different conceptual issues in analysis but emphasizes applications of analytical tools and the interpretation of results. The class features lectures, hands-on exercises, discussion of readings, out-of class short-term problem sets and written assignments, and a research project. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Kris Wernstedt

UAP-5234 Urban Economy and Policy
Meets: M, 7:00 – 9:30PM

This course applies principles of urban economics and microeconomics to the analysis of a range of urban problems, including: housing, employment, growth management, poverty, and the provision of urban services. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Terry F. Holzheimer

UAP-5264 Global Change and Local Impact
Meets: M, 6:30PM - 9:15PM

The title of this course enunciates the spatial problematic at the heart of what today passes as ‘globalization.’ It was not always called such. Earlier in the twentieth century, it was called ‘modernization’ and even earlier ‘modern times’ or ‘the modern.’ Let us term it simply modernity. Our analysis of modernity in this course will be a spatial one, one that is distinctive from ‘International Relations’ and ‘International Political Economy.’
Instructor: Gerard Toal

UAP-5304 Land Use Planning
Meets: R, 4:15PM – 6:45PM

This course deals with the basic concepts, principles, strategies, and tools of local-level urban land use planning. The focus is on the real-world planning process and implementation. We will consider information requirements for planning, policy considerations, environmental analysis, residential and non-residential land use needs, and a range of planning tools and put them into practice through a series of real-world exercises focused on three sites. The class will include at least two field trips. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Shelley Mastran

UAP-5414 Natural Resources Planning Topics
Meets: W, 7:00PM – 9:30PM

This class focuses on land analysis and management to protect environmental resources and improve land development, as implemented primarily through local and state planning in the U.S. We will touch on natural hazards, soils and slopes, water quality and quantity, wetlands, and biodiversity, among other topics as we consider environmental impact assessment and mitigation, the design and development of environmentally sensitive land, and the protection and restoration of environmental resources. The class will involve two field trips. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Shelley Mastran

UAP-5424 METROPOLITAN PLANNING TOPICS
Writing Strategies and Capstone Development
Meets: W, 7:00PM – 9:30PM

This course is designed to give students an overview of research and writing strategies in the planning field.  A particular aim of the course is to help students get started on their Capstone projects and provide a convivial and supportive framework for getting them through the process. Throughout the term, a variety of UAP - faculty members will draw from their respective fields in addressing issues like: how to come up with a researchable question; how to write to suit particular professional formats; how to analyze and write about the policymaking process; and how to interpret and write about planning documents.  We will also discuss the characteristics and requirements of the Capstone options (with review of examples of previous work); the promise and pitfalls of working with clients on your project; and the UAP - Style Manual.  Students will present and get input on their own projects during the course of the term; final assignments (5-7 pp.) will be individually tailored to each student’s needs. The course will meet 6 evenings during the course of the semester in addition to a special session on using the library and online sources for research conducted by Kelly Jeon. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Elizabeth Morton

UAP-5484 Advanced Research Methods
Meets: R, 7:00PM – 9:00PM

This introductory course is designed to help students writing the first draft of their Major Paper, one of the graduation requirements in Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP). Special emphasis will be placed on qualitative research methods, typically discussed in Chapter 3 of a Major Paper (or any scholarly publication). Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Katrin B. Anacker

UAP-5504 Discourse Analysis
Meets: ONLINE

The concept of ‘discourse’ is a central one in contemporary social science. This course is a survey of the different theoretical literatures that render the concept so central and of the different research methods associated with its use. The course thus addresses both discourse analysis as theory and discourse analysis as method, though this distinction is problematic since both theory and method are implicated in each other. This course does not assume a background in contemporary political theory or social science methods but these will be most helpful for those who have them. It provides recorded lectures at the outset to help students grasp key theoretical approaches and arguments.
Instructor: Gerard Toal

UAP-5554 Land Use & Planning Law
Meets: R, 7:00PM – 9:30PM 

Planning and the law are inseparable. Virtually every land use decision implicates the legal rights and responsibilities of property ownership, legal principles of real estate, and the regulatory or police powers of state and local governments. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote, “After all, if the policeman must know the constitution, then why not the planner?” San Diego Gas and Electric vs. the City of San Diego (1981). The primary goal of this course is to provide planners with  a solid foundation in the legal aspects of land use policy/development decisions so by they can better understand and perhaps even appreciate HOW lawyers and judges go through the process of legal reasoning and decision making. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Joe M. Schilling

UAP-5624 URBAN DESIGN SEMINAR:
Congressional Club Urban Design and Planning Studio
Meets: W, 4:15PM – 6:45PM

This project-based course will qualify as one of your two required studio courses.  A major focus of the course will be supporting the National Historic Landmark nomination of a unique historic building in the District.  Using this building as a case study, the course will cover topics like: researching the history of structures and neighborhoods; analyzing the architectural features and development potential of a historic building; assessing the feasibility of using preservation incentives; and marketing of historic properties.   An architecture studio has also been proposed that will examine the building from a design perspective and we will conduct some joint sessions and site visits with them.   Sorry, no auditors. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Elizabeth Morton

UAP-5624 Seminar
History Urban Design and Planning
Meets: F, September 21, 5:00PM – 9:00PM
S, September 22, 9:00AM – 5:00PM

This graduate seminar introduces students to the most influential urban design and planning movements in the Western world (Europe and North America) since the 1850s. The course begins with a discussion of the origins of modern planning and design as a response to the urban crisis of the mid-19th century. It then discusses how planners and designers attempted to alleviate the urban crisis by radically restructuring the city and eradicating its history, or by abandoning the city and replacing it with new settlements. The course compares and contrasts these proposals and poses the question of why so many of them produced unintended negative consequences. Finally, it critically examines how history shapes new ideas in planning and design such as New Urbanism. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Sonia A. Hirt

UAP-5714 Community Building Seminar
Special Topic: Small Town Sustainability
Meets: T, 7:00PM – 9:30PM

Small and medium-sized towns and cities are often overlooked in urban planning practice and research. These smaller towns, however, comprise a significant segment of our urban system and face difficult challenges in their community building efforts. In this class, we examine several movements and policy approaches to small town sustainability. We will discuss sustainability broadly and incorporate considerations and planning approaches emphasizing environmental concerns, economic vitality and social well being (the so-called three-E framework). Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Heike Mayer

UAP-5754 Metropolitan Planning Seminar
Meets: W, August 29, September 26, October 24, November 28

Students can sign up for a one-credit class if they want to attend the “New Metropolis Lecture Series.” Lectures take place once a month and students will be required to attend an additional lecture outside Virginia Tech and write a short discussion paper about topics covered in the class.
Instructor: Jesse Richardson

UAP 5794 Environmental Studio:
Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Plan for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground
Meet: R, 7:00PM – 9:30PM

This studio will conduct research and analysis to prepare a complete bicycle and pedestrian trail plan for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, the multi-county region from Gettysburg, PA, to Monticello, VA.   This 3-credit studio is scheduled to meet on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:30, with a draft plan completion date of December 12.  Meetings will be irregular, as much of the work will be in the field or can be done on-line. Click here for the course syllabus.
Instructor: Shelley Mastran