CP 290b/190a
Neighborhood Planning with Youth and Schools: The Y– PLAN
Course control #: 13571
Time: Monday 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM and 1 hour/week of teaching at high school site for 10 weeks
Location: Wurster Hall, Rm. 214b
Instructor: Deborah McKoy, PhD debmckoy@berkeley.edu, Wurster Rm. 324
The 2008 Y-PLAN Project: This course is an exciting opportunity to work with local Bay Area policy makers and educational leaders to connect the efforts of regional planners in West Contra Costa County with local high schools in Richmond. Local leaders, including Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, the West Contra Costa County Transportation Advisory Committee (WCCTAC), and city officials in El Cerrito and Richmond, have requested that Y-PLAN assist them in constructing a meaningful role for youth and public schools to transform San Pablo Avenue into a family-friendly, vibrant corridor.
Overview: The Y-PLAN (Youth – Plan, Learn, Act, Now) is an interdisciplinary course and an award winning initiative where students in urban planning, design, education, and other related disciplines learn how to engage youth as genuine stakeholders and participants in local planning projects. After an initial teaching preparation phase, UCB students work side-by-side with high school students for ten weeks teaching them fundamentals of community development by engaging in real world planning projects. Readings and seminar discussions focus on theoretical tools in participatory planning and teaching, complementing the practical application.
UCB students ("mentors") will gain proficiency in:
- Applying core planning principles of community and economic development and land use planning, while emphasizing the mobilization of community and the creation of an informed citizenry
- Mentoring youth in conducting physical, economic, and social analyses of their community
- Teaching and communicating ideas effectively
In this course, UCB students will mentor high school students to:
- Conduct community based research along the San Pablo Avenue Corridor
- Develop a community/regional plan for WCCTAC and local planning processes in El Cerrito and Richmond
- Present a final multimedia proposal to project clients detailing the youth findings and proposals
** No prior city planning experience necessary!**
Requirements:
- Participate in Monday seminar discussions, lesson planning, and project development
- Work collaboratively in teams to prepare weekly activities by building/modifying existing curriculum
- Fieldwork for one hour/week at regularly scheduled times TBD, based on CP290B student schedules
- Participate in on-line journaling
- Final reflection paper (10 pages)
Questions? Email Ariel Bierbaum, Project Coordinator at arielb@berkeley.edu
http://citiesandschools.berkeley.edu
Showing posts with label city planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city planning. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Cold Feet
Every so often I get cold feet about Italy because there's a lot of things I'm missing out on at Cal, and this is one of them:
Monday, October 29, 2007
From the Nichi Bei
http://www.nichibeitimes.com/articles/stories.php?subaction=showfull&id=1193354676&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2&
I'd love to see an EIR on this proposed development...sigh. Didn't height limits just get set or at least re-emphasized in 2006 as a part of the SUD stuff?The ADCO Group is proposing a $230 million, 38-story elliptical condominium tower at 1481 Post St., located between Octavia and Gough streets - a white glass structure that would be visible from many parts of the city. In addition to housing, it would also include 6,000 square feet of retail and 5,000 square feet for a "community education center."
The tower would reach 407 feet into the sky, which greatly exceeds the 240 feet allowed by the city's established height limits for the area.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Support Los Angeles' Little Tokyo!
A lot has been going on in my life this week and hopefully I'll update on that in a different post, but here's something that I think y'all should know about.
--
Several recent property transactions have put the future of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo in jeopardy. Japanese Village Plaza was sold to American Commercial Equities in late July, and on August 17, the New Otani Hotel and Weller Court Shopping Mall were bought by 3D Investments—the SAME company that bought the large chunk of San Francisco J-Town from Kintetsu Enterprises last year.
While neither of these companies are inherently bad, it is also clear that neither company has a strong tie to Little Tokyo. With only three Japantowns remaining, there exists a critical need to maintain Little Tokyo as an important historic cultural neighborhood. When a company decides to purchase a main commercial and gathering area of Little Tokyo, they should also take the initiative to develop the properties in a responsible manner with community input.
Little Tokyo community members have a history of being actively involved with the changes in Little Tokyo, and we are proud of our community's achievements. It's time again to make our voices clear - Little Tokyo is our home. Little Tokyo is our history. Little Tokyois our future. And the people who share that home should have a say in what happens to it.
If you feel similarly, we would urge you to take the following action:
1) Sign the following petition.
http://www.petitiononline.com/jtv1/petition.html Doing so will send a message to 3D Investments and American Commercial Equities that they can not buy and develop land in our neighborhood without taking into consideration the wants and needs of the existing community. Further, it will also ensure that the Kajima Corporation is held responsible for their secretive sale to 3D Investments. Although their transaction may be completed, they have not heard the end of this from the Little Tokyo community. Third, it will reinforce to Jan Perry (Little Tokyo's City Councilwoman)that there is broad support to maintain active community involvement in determining the future of Little Tokyo. Finally, it will put current property owners and potential buyers on notice that our community is organized and not afraid to take action to ensure that they act responsibly and remain sensitive to the historic and cultural importance of Little Tokyo.
---
Little Tokyo is one of THREE Japantowns left in the United States, and the only one located in Southern California. At one point there were over 40 in California. Now we're reduced to little corners here and there, and I don't see why we as a community can't keep what's left. That being said, just complaining lamenting over the loss of our community is not the answer, and I hope that this petition will allow the JA community to have an active voice in what I hope to be a collaborative process.
It makes me really sad to know that cultural centers can be bought and sold without a thought to the community that established it. As an Arch/Planning student, I urge you to sign this petition as a sign of commitment to thoughtful and inclusive planning.
--
Several recent property transactions have put the future of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo in jeopardy. Japanese Village Plaza was sold to American Commercial Equities in late July, and on August 17, the New Otani Hotel and Weller Court Shopping Mall were bought by 3D Investments—the SAME company that bought the large chunk of San Francisco J-Town from Kintetsu Enterprises last year.
While neither of these companies are inherently bad, it is also clear that neither company has a strong tie to Little Tokyo. With only three Japantowns remaining, there exists a critical need to maintain Little Tokyo as an important historic cultural neighborhood. When a company decides to purchase a main commercial and gathering area of Little Tokyo, they should also take the initiative to develop the properties in a responsible manner with community input.
Little Tokyo community members have a history of being actively involved with the changes in Little Tokyo, and we are proud of our community's achievements. It's time again to make our voices clear - Little Tokyo is our home. Little Tokyo is our history. Little Tokyois our future. And the people who share that home should have a say in what happens to it.
If you feel similarly, we would urge you to take the following action:
1) Sign the following petition.
http://www.petitiononline.
---
Little Tokyo is one of THREE Japantowns left in the United States, and the only one located in Southern California. At one point there were over 40 in California. Now we're reduced to little corners here and there, and I don't see why we as a community can't keep what's left. That being said, just complaining lamenting over the loss of our community is not the answer, and I hope that this petition will allow the JA community to have an active voice in what I hope to be a collaborative process.
It makes me really sad to know that cultural centers can be bought and sold without a thought to the community that established it. As an Arch/Planning student, I urge you to sign this petition as a sign of commitment to thoughtful and inclusive planning.
Friday, September 7, 2007
12.5 percent
Week two of school has finished, which technically means I'm 12.5 percent done with the semester. In many regards, it feels like school has just started (I just dropped a class and bought my last textbooks today), but in many others I'm already busy and bogged down with school. Take tonight for instance; I did a couple of mundane and mindless things, started reading about environmental psychology, and fell asleep at 5:30pm. I woke up and continued reading about how living in cities throws tons of stimuli that affects us in seemingly odd but consistent ways, which I couldn't help but agree with. The point of this illustration, however, is the fact that it is a Friday evening and I'm sitting here reading for a course on Social and Cultural Processes in Design, rather than doing anything else that resembles the stereotypical college experience.
What's odd is I almost like what I'm reading this semester. Despite some ridiculousness about chairs, both my Arch 110AC and my CP 110 readings have been engaging and illustrative thus far. I'm excited about both of my term project/papers in both of these classes, and my GSI's are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and personable. I have those 'intellectual' thoughts and conversations that you see those kids at the ivys and shit in movies having on a pretty regular basis nowadays.
My italian instructor is a wonderful woman, though the class is a bit of work. The section is small - 12 people - and normally I would like that but there are a few European students who talk ENDLESSLY and monopolize the conversation in the class. It makes it difficult for me to practice my oral skills. One of them is always questioning grammar (dude I think the teacher is an expert - she was freakin born and raised there and has been teaching for a while) and all of them criticize Americans and American ways. Sometimes I want to ask them why they are here if everything is much more screwed up here, but I've been able to hold my tongue thus far. I suppose it helps that two of them are molto carino...
My last class, Arch 120, is about professional practice. I don't like the lectures and the readings for the most part (some of it is redundant; much of it seems inapplicable), but I'm relieved to find that Mr. FAIA does not just present one view on licensing, education, and practice. What does make me LQTM every time is his tendency to yell at a student to TURN OFF THEIR PHONE RIGHT NOW because he thinks someone's phone is ringing...but actually it's the Windows startup sound that happens when you turn on your computer. He's still really intimidating when he's yelling though...I would sooo not want to be his kid.
One thing I will say this class did for me, it made me realize that in terms of education, I don't have any compelling reasons as to why I'd want to enter a graduate program in architecture, other than the fact that you need to get an accredited degree (read: mArch) in order to become a licensed architect. That's a very important reason, but it's pretty much a given and not all that compelling to admissions officers. I love working in the profession, but the idea of 2-3 years of studios, GSI-ing, and writing a thesis...they dont appeal to me at all. I don't think I'll know everything I need to know once I graduate Cal, but I'll have my critical thinking and problem solving skills, and in an apprentice-based profession, the rest of the things I'll need to know can be learned best as an intern architect.
Furthermore, when I think about all the things I want to look into, research, and examine in terms of city and regional planning...well I apologize to various friends, because I've already gone on about it for hours. There are so many communities that are mis- or under-represented, forgotten about, and abused. So many issues and flaws to be addressed - though probably never "fixed" completely. I think my background - specifically, being raised in two different unincorporated townships - combined with my architectural interests, have suited me toward the issues of regional planning.
I told this to my mother and she seemed receptive to the idea of me going to planning school; then again, she isn't shelling out the $80k+ to do it, either. I fear my father won't like it as much; he's tremendously proud of me (something I've only realized fairly recently), and being an "architect" carries a certain degree of respect and prestige. Studying city and regional planning can lead to a myriad of professions (in reality, architecture does too, but nobody outside the field notices), none of which are famous in greater society (and especially not in produce-farming circles). I'm not sure if its him or if it's projected expectations I've put on myself, but after having noticed that he puts his faith and dreams into his daughters, I obviously want to do something that he can understand and makes him feel like his $90,000/extra mortgages/loans/tractors (yes he sold some, including the real one) were worthwhile. This, of course, is fairly irrational because he's always supported the decisions I've made (remember the NHS basketball fiasco?)
One thing that is annoying about CP is the relative lack of power that municipal planners have. I can see it being frustrating - you have all this training and expertise, and the politicians looking for votes and the developers looking for money and the short-sighted/ill-informed citizens are the ones who ultimately decide what is best. As an architect, you probably have more direct (and certainly physical) influence on how people live and conduct their lives. One last thing that casts doubt on my ability to utilize a master's in City and Regional Planning is the political aspects of the profession. My personality is, by nature, to avoid direct confrontation. I rubberneck just as much as the next guy ("I was in the kitchen cleaning a dish, i was really cleaning, and I heard it so I came out. What? Shoes? No, no, fuck shoes!"), but I don't like to be in the line of fire. I wouldn't really be in the fight, but being surrounded by a bunch of bickering people and groups could get exhausting after a while. Maybe I feel like this because I've been reading on environmental psychology and stress/stimulus all evening though...who knows.
Brief update on things outside of class:
Tues: Reach! API Recruitment & Retention Center meeting. I don't think I can intern for them and a lot of their programs happen in the spring...but I'm definitely going to be supporting them.
Wed: NSU first general meeting. I'm the APAC rep. I'm freakin excited for Culture Show. Meeting freshmen was a little wierd and CTJ's LOUDNESS was absent, but the meeting was overall fun. Yakisoba (homemade) = YUM. I met a kid I used to live down the street from, he looks kind of like my friend's boyfriend. I think it's the hapa thing.
I also had an unexpected visitor from out of town. It freakin made my week.
Thurs: AIAS first general meeting. Went pretty well, and I'm learning how to chill the fuck out.
Next week: APAC meeting, SASC, Hip-hop practice, more AIAS, and the APAC leadership summit.
And I actually wonder how come I can't find anyone that I want to date that wants to date me back. From a time-management standpoint...I'm beginning to see why I'm not so attractive. =(
What's odd is I almost like what I'm reading this semester. Despite some ridiculousness about chairs, both my Arch 110AC and my CP 110 readings have been engaging and illustrative thus far. I'm excited about both of my term project/papers in both of these classes, and my GSI's are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and personable. I have those 'intellectual' thoughts and conversations that you see those kids at the ivys and shit in movies having on a pretty regular basis nowadays.
My italian instructor is a wonderful woman, though the class is a bit of work. The section is small - 12 people - and normally I would like that but there are a few European students who talk ENDLESSLY and monopolize the conversation in the class. It makes it difficult for me to practice my oral skills. One of them is always questioning grammar (dude I think the teacher is an expert - she was freakin born and raised there and has been teaching for a while) and all of them criticize Americans and American ways. Sometimes I want to ask them why they are here if everything is much more screwed up here, but I've been able to hold my tongue thus far. I suppose it helps that two of them are molto carino...
My last class, Arch 120, is about professional practice. I don't like the lectures and the readings for the most part (some of it is redundant; much of it seems inapplicable), but I'm relieved to find that Mr. FAIA does not just present one view on licensing, education, and practice. What does make me LQTM every time is his tendency to yell at a student to TURN OFF THEIR PHONE RIGHT NOW because he thinks someone's phone is ringing...but actually it's the Windows startup sound that happens when you turn on your computer. He's still really intimidating when he's yelling though...I would sooo not want to be his kid.
One thing I will say this class did for me, it made me realize that in terms of education, I don't have any compelling reasons as to why I'd want to enter a graduate program in architecture, other than the fact that you need to get an accredited degree (read: mArch) in order to become a licensed architect. That's a very important reason, but it's pretty much a given and not all that compelling to admissions officers. I love working in the profession, but the idea of 2-3 years of studios, GSI-ing, and writing a thesis...they dont appeal to me at all. I don't think I'll know everything I need to know once I graduate Cal, but I'll have my critical thinking and problem solving skills, and in an apprentice-based profession, the rest of the things I'll need to know can be learned best as an intern architect.
Furthermore, when I think about all the things I want to look into, research, and examine in terms of city and regional planning...well I apologize to various friends, because I've already gone on about it for hours. There are so many communities that are mis- or under-represented, forgotten about, and abused. So many issues and flaws to be addressed - though probably never "fixed" completely. I think my background - specifically, being raised in two different unincorporated townships - combined with my architectural interests, have suited me toward the issues of regional planning.
I told this to my mother and she seemed receptive to the idea of me going to planning school; then again, she isn't shelling out the $80k+ to do it, either. I fear my father won't like it as much; he's tremendously proud of me (something I've only realized fairly recently), and being an "architect" carries a certain degree of respect and prestige. Studying city and regional planning can lead to a myriad of professions (in reality, architecture does too, but nobody outside the field notices), none of which are famous in greater society (and especially not in produce-farming circles). I'm not sure if its him or if it's projected expectations I've put on myself, but after having noticed that he puts his faith and dreams into his daughters, I obviously want to do something that he can understand and makes him feel like his $90,000/extra mortgages/loans/tractors (yes he sold some, including the real one) were worthwhile. This, of course, is fairly irrational because he's always supported the decisions I've made (remember the NHS basketball fiasco?)
One thing that is annoying about CP is the relative lack of power that municipal planners have. I can see it being frustrating - you have all this training and expertise, and the politicians looking for votes and the developers looking for money and the short-sighted/ill-informed citizens are the ones who ultimately decide what is best. As an architect, you probably have more direct (and certainly physical) influence on how people live and conduct their lives. One last thing that casts doubt on my ability to utilize a master's in City and Regional Planning is the political aspects of the profession. My personality is, by nature, to avoid direct confrontation. I rubberneck just as much as the next guy ("I was in the kitchen cleaning a dish, i was really cleaning, and I heard it so I came out. What? Shoes? No, no, fuck shoes!"), but I don't like to be in the line of fire. I wouldn't really be in the fight, but being surrounded by a bunch of bickering people and groups could get exhausting after a while. Maybe I feel like this because I've been reading on environmental psychology and stress/stimulus all evening though...who knows.
Brief update on things outside of class:
Tues: Reach! API Recruitment & Retention Center meeting. I don't think I can intern for them and a lot of their programs happen in the spring...but I'm definitely going to be supporting them.
Wed: NSU first general meeting. I'm the APAC rep. I'm freakin excited for Culture Show. Meeting freshmen was a little wierd and CTJ's LOUDNESS was absent, but the meeting was overall fun. Yakisoba (homemade) = YUM. I met a kid I used to live down the street from, he looks kind of like my friend's boyfriend. I think it's the hapa thing.
I also had an unexpected visitor from out of town. It freakin made my week.
Thurs: AIAS first general meeting. Went pretty well, and I'm learning how to chill the fuck out.
Next week: APAC meeting, SASC, Hip-hop practice, more AIAS, and the APAC leadership summit.
And I actually wonder how come I can't find anyone that I want to date that wants to date me back. From a time-management standpoint...I'm beginning to see why I'm not so attractive. =(
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