ARS 401 Specialization 1 - Community Planning and Urban Design PDF

## ARS 401: Specialization 1 - Community Planning and Urban Design ### Course Description - An introduction to the study of the community, focusing on community organization, ecology, and major social institutions and groups within the community services. - The context of patterns of community in...

## ARS 401: Specialization 1 - Community Planning and Urban Design ### Course Description - An introduction to the study of the community, focusing on community organization, ecology, and major social institutions and groups within the community services. - The context of patterns of community interaction, processes, and dynamics is discussed. ### General Objectives - At the end of the course, students should be able to learn, understand, and apply the importance of community planning in architecture. - Students should have an overview of urban design, sense of place, and placemaking. ### Course Outcomes 1. Understand the basic concepts in the community development field and illustrate community processes through case study materials. 2. Understand community organizations, ecology, social institutions, and groups within the community and their implications for community planning and development. 3. Develop sensitivity to patterns of interaction within the community dynamics. 4. Explore approaches in community planning to answer the communities' spatial needs and reflect their collective aspirations. ## Chapter 1: Introduction to Community Development * Economic development, housing development and design, parks and recreation program provision, public transportation, the design and maintenance of public facilities, and managing programs for which local government is responsible can all be influenced by planning. * Planning can ensure continuous attention and consideration to safety and social objectives; it can improve citizens' access to decision-making systems and their ability to have their concerns heard, and it can work to ensure the involvement of all community sectors in the work for change (CWAV Society, 2004). * The District of Peachland (2006) stated that community planning entails developing long-term visions, goals, policies, and strategies for achieving community social, economic, and environmental sustainability within a community to guide future community development. * This is also known as “long-range planning,” which differs from day-to-day development planning, which focuses on reviewing current development proposals to determine how they fit within community plans such as the Official Community Plan, neighborhood or sector plans, and other plans and strategies. * Moreover, by collaborating to deliver better outcomes for all, community planning aims to improve the connection between all levels of government and wider society (Department for Communities, 2022). ## What are you expected to learn in this chapter? 1. Learn the importance of community development; 2. Identify and analyze the different frameworks, processes, and aspects of community development. ## How to learn from this chapter? 1. Read and understand the chapter very well. 2. Follow the directions accurately. 3. Perform every activity exercise in each lesson. 4. Answer the self-check exercises as honestly as you can. 5. Use appropriate vocabulary to understand the lessons in this chapter. ## Lesson 1: What is community Development? * According to Merriam-Webster, a "community is a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society." * In addition to being a physical place, a community can be described as a group of individuals who reside nearby, have mutual relationships, have similar traits, have shared interests, and jointly own or participate in a certain activity. * However, development refers to something's potential being realized, its growth or expansion, or its improvement in terms of effectiveness. * To simply put it, community development fosters the growth, expansion, or effectiveness of groups of individuals with mutual interests (Louisiana Community Network). * Also, Vincent (2006) stated that a city park could be created; infrastructure can be improved; an industrial park can be built, etc., as a result of community development, which is defined as a thorough process for managing community change that involves residents discussing the issues to determine what needs to be done, expressing their vision for the future, and then involving them in implementation activities. * Over the past few decades, community development has become a recognized topic that interests academics and practitioners alike. * Community development, though, has numerous definitions. * While most academicians view community development as a process that aims to strengthen a community's capacity for collective action, most practitioners view it as an improvement in a community's physical, social, and economic conditions (Phillips & Pittman, 2009). * Moreover, Polson (1956) defines community development as using strategies and approaches under a single program that relies on local communities as units of action, combines outside aid with organized local self-determination and effort, and encourages local initiative and leadership as the primary tool of change. * As stated by Phillips & Pittman (2009), one of the critical contributions of community development was that a city or neighborhood was not merely a collection of structures but also a "community" of people with unrealized potential for self-improvement. ## Lesson 2: Community Development Framework * Community development is a multi-step process carried out in communities by local citizens and leaders. * The table below shows elements of the community development framework. | Assumptions | Values | Principles | |---|---|---| | People are capable of rational behaviour | * All people have basic dignity. <br> * People have the right to participate in decisions that affect their current and future well-being. | * Self-help and self-responsibility are required for successful development. <br> * Participation in public decision-making should be free and open to all citizens. | | Significant behavior is learned behavior | * Participatory democracy is the superior method of conducting the civic business of the community. | * Broad representation and increased breadth of perspective and understanding encourage effective community development. | | Significant behavior is learned through interaction over time. | | People are capable of giving purposeful direction to their behavior. | * People have the right to strive to create an environment they desire. | * Methods that produce accurate information about the community are vital to the process. | | People are capable of achieving their collective environment to formulate the desired future. | * People have the right to reject an externally imposed environment. | * Understanding and the general agreement are the basis for community change. | | | * Maximizing purposeful interaction and dialogue within a community will increase the potential for learning and development. | * All individuals have the right to be heard in open discussion, whether in agreement or disagreement with community norms, and the responsibility to respect opposing viewpoints. | | | * Implied within a process of purposeful interaction is an ever-widening concept of community. <br> * Every discipline and profession is a potential contributor to a community development process. | * Trust is essential for effective working relationships. | | | * Motivation is created through interaction with the environment. | ## Lesson 3: Community Development Processes * Louisiana Community Network (LCN) states that community development is a practice that focuses on both processes and outcomes. Both are equally crucial; thus, neither should be prioritized over the other. * Without a process, the intended results could be diminished or impossible to achieve. * Without positive outcomes, the process may lose value or be abandoned. * Successful communities are aware of each individual's function and contribution. * The foundation of community development is the conviction that, given a chance to engage in a free, open, and non-threatening environment, people may cooperate to determine their own destinies. * It isn't easy to assist community growth, which calls for individuals with specialized knowledge and abilities. * Community development is a method by which individuals learn how to support one another and lessen their dependency on outside sources. * It involves a series of actions to direct task completion, program planning, and problem-solving. * Practitioners of community development follow a fundamental process with some minor variations. * The "Summary of the Community Development Processes” in Table 2 and the following discussion outline the fundamental processes and a list of questions to consider while planning and putting the community development process into action. ### Table 2: Summary of the Community Development Processes **Organize** 1. Establish the Organizing Group * Do we create a new organization or use an existing one? * Who will lead the charge? * Do we need a professional developer? 2. Create a Mission Statement * What is our mission? 3. Identify Community Stakeholders * Who are the stakeholders? **Analyze** 4. Collect and Analyze Information * What information do we have, and what do we need? * Who can analyze the information and use it to describe the condition of the community and engage the public? * Is the data complete, accurate, valid, & reliable? **Communicate** 5. Develop an Effective Communications Process * How will we obtain input from citizens? * How will we keep citizens informed about the process? * Are all available methods used, especially those that reach disenfranchised citizens? * How can local media be involved? **Plan** 6. Expand the Community Organization * Who else and what other groups need to be included? 7. Identify the Leadership and Establish a Plan * What is the shared vision of the stakeholders for a common future? 8. Create a Vision Statement 9. Create a Comprehensive Strategic Plan * What goals and objectives are required to achieve the vision? * Who will champion and lead the effort? **Implement** 10. Implement the Plan * What activities will produce early results? * What activities will be highly visible? * What activities are most popular among citizens? * What activities can be accomplished with few resources? * What will build/sustain momentum? **Evaluate** 11. Review and Evaluate the Planning Outcomes * How often will the plan be reviewed, and are "plan, do, check, and adjust" elements built into the process? * What is working needs to be changed, eliminated, or added? * Have community conditions changed? **Celebrate** 12. Celebrate the Successes: * How can we publicly celebrate success? * What should we do periodically and annually to celebrate? * How do we recognize the efforts of citizens? * How do we ensure that all stakeholders of all generations are included? * What activities will continue the momentum? **Improve/Innovate** 13. Create New Goals and Objectives as Needed * What goals were expressed by citizens that were not included in the original plan? * Can these be incorporated as new goals and objectives? * How can fresh input be gained to keep the plan relevant? * Are resources adequate for continued work? ## Lesson 4: Aspects of Community Development * Some people believe that community only matters when it influences a relocating company's or a site consultant's decision and that development is primarily about producing jobs. * However, economic developers have only recently started to acknowledge the significance of community development and its connection to economic growth. * As noted by the Louisiana Community Network, the aspects of community development are 1) economic development, 2) community development, and 3) leadership development. ### Economic Development * Money, and the process of creating wealth by exchanging it for goods and services, is at the core of economic development. * Economic development aims to prevent local money from “leaking” outside the community when used for external products and services, as well as to export community-produced goods and services to attract outside spending. * Most people think of economic development as attracting new businesses to the area, such as when a manufacturing facility is announced. * Economic development has recently been broadened to encompass the retention and growth of current firms, the creation of small businesses, entrepreneurship, and the growth of industries like tourism and retirees. * Workforce development is now viewed as a challenge for economic development due to the new issues facing the global economy. ### Community Development * Community development, as defined in Lesson 3, is the act of growing, expanding, or improving the performance of associations of people with similar interests. * Community development is founded on a predetermined set of premises, values, and beliefs and is carried out in accordance with a set of guiding principles. ### Leadership Development * The degree to which local leadership is adaptable in the face of changing conditions determines whether a community succeeds or fails in realizing its full potential. * Leadership must be prepared to serve and lead, cooperate rather than compete, and be inclusive rather than exclusive. * The method by which current triumphs will be sustained into the future is effective leadership development. * Leadership is key to maximizing the effectiveness of all community actions and initiatives. * The community development process is similar to a ship's rudder, an explorer's compass, or a traveler's road map. * It is what steers a community in the right direction and maintains it there. * Without the process of community development, a community will, at best, only partially realize its potential. * In the worst-case scenario, the community will perish. * Communities in the middle are decent, but they have the potential to be outstanding if they were only motivated to seize chances that were either presented to them internally or externally. * The only effort entirely in the hands of residents is community development, and it is the only initiative that builds community capital for the present and future. * Community development must be taught before it can be practiced. Community leaders should seek to expand their understanding of the development process and commit to using that knowledge in their community. ### References 1. District of Peachland. (2006). What is Community Planning? Retrieved from https://www.peachland.ca/703 2. Cowichan Valley Safer Futures Program (CWAV Society). (2004). The Role of Community Planning. 3. Department for Communities. (2022). Community Planning. Retrieved from https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/community-planning 4. Louisiana Community Network (LCN). (2022). Introduction to Community Development. 5. Merriam Webster. (2022). Definition of Community. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community 6. Phillips, R. & Pittman, R. (2009). An Introduction to Community Development. Routledge Taylor & Francis e-Library 7. Polson, R. (1956). Community Development in the Philippines: Observations and Comments. ### Teaching and Learning Activities - Research Work (WEB) – Group discussion (Chat group) - Slide Presentation/Video Presentation - Teacher-led Discussion (Synchronous – ISAT University VLE, Facebook and Google classroom, Google meet, and Asynchronous - Messenger) ### Assessment Task 1. Quiz and assignment 2. Read, reflect, and react 3. Portfolio