Strategies for Social Inclusion in Development

This seminar offers students an opportunity to pursue advanced work in urban planning, while addressing the challenge of local development with inclusion at the city and community level. The course will focus on the use of strategic planning tools to analyze the dynamics of urban transformation, assess the impacts of change, forecast development scenarios, shape strategies and action plans, and structure frameworks for program implementation. To sharpen their skills, students will discuss methodologies and apply tools to a specific geographic area. Documentation will be provided for two sites:1.) A group of 5 communes encompassing an older industrial area and surrounding working class neighborhoods adjacent to the Paris city limits, France.2.) The Northeast sector of the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, where industrial development and rapid urbanization are expanding on ecologically sensitive areas and leading to unplanned settlement in environmentally hazardous zones.The sites present economic, social, and environmental challenges that require strong technical inputs to arrive at effective development strategies.Students are encouraged to work in teams focusing on one site for the duration of the seminar. They will prepare and discuss the sequence of technical tasks involved in the formulation of strategies and action plans. Lectures by the instructors and interim presentations by the student teams will frame the class discussion of methods and tools of strategic approaches to urban planning and their application to concrete situations.Pedagogic Objectives: To provide students with an opportunity to expand their knowledge of the methods of strategic planning; To strengthen their ability to apply the planning tools to complex urban problems; To discuss issues of social inclusion in urban regeneration and development.Requirements: Attendance at the one weekly session; Interim short presentations and class discussion; Final presentation to be made to a panel of guest reviewers; Technical brief summarizing the proposed strategy and action plan.Basis of Final Grade: Class participation20% Interim presentations30% Technical Brief20% Final Presentation30%Prerequisite: GSD 4314: Strategic Planning and Local Development