Weekly Schedule

Schedule by Week

Week 9 (10/19-10/21)

Topic
The Public Realm: Urban Redevelopment

Overview

At this point in the semester, we begin to examine the notion of the public realm. Kunstler sees the public realm as the connective tissue of our social experience. The public realm includes those areas that everyone, in principle, has access to. This includes roads, parks, forests, and stretches of beach. It also consists of public buildings and quasi-public settings such as churches, schools, museums, universities, and air ports. The public realm is obviously important to the way in which most of us would like to live our lives. It is important, therefore, to consider what has become of the public realm.

Kunstler argues that suburban sprawl, the byproduct of American individualism and the automobile, has degraded the quality of the public sphere. What kind of public world, after all, does a landscape of strip malls, highways, and suburban sub divisions give rise to? The rise of the suburbs has coincided with the decline of cities. Cities offer far greater possibilities for community. Urban redevelopment would benefit all sectors of society. But the return of the middle classes and the affluent to urban areas will require Americans to address issues of urban poverty. Kunstler sets forth a controversial program of urban redevelopment that advocates re-institutionalizing the mentally ill and establishing orphanages or abandoned and neglected children. He also emphasizes the importance of reestablishing a culture of work among the urban poor. People should be willing to do menial labor. He also endorses the importance of shame as a cultural value. People should be ashamed of having babies that they are not prepared to support. Those who can find work should be ashamed of remaining unemployed. Redeveloped cities will be unequal. People will occupy very different stations in life, but everyone will have access to a rich public realm in which they can more fully develop themselves.

Such is Kunstler's vision. Urban redevelopment is, of course, occurring. Here is where we consider Davis' article, which focuses on redevelopment in Los Angeles. Downtown is revitalized, all right, but in such a way as to exclude the lower classes. The police play a strategic role in redevelopment by cracking down on drugs, gangs, prostitution, and vagrancy. The prison population burgeons and Los Angeles becomes ever more of a police state. Urban space is thereby secured for redevelopment. Now Davis sees all of this as particularly brutal class warfare - a war where the upper class seems to have all the artillery.

Readings
Reserve: Kunstler, "The Public Realm and the Common Good" (Kunstler.pdf )
Davis, "Fortress LA" (Davis.pdf)

Activities and Assignments
We will attempt to construct a web dialogue on the Davis and Kunstler pieces. The dialogue will begin with an initial statement, authored by me, on the positions the Davis and Kunstler assume. The general topic will revolve around two questions &endash; why are cities important to civic life and how should urban re-development occur? Develop your answers by drawing upon the readings and by responding to the positions taken by other participants in this discussion. Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Aug. 25.

Due next Tuesday, Oct. 26: The Community Involvement Project Interim Report

Week 10 (10/26-10/28)

Topic
The Public Realm: Southwest Florida
Due (10/26): Community Involvement Interim Report

Overview

This is homecoming week. The central question that we consider is what kind of public realm exists right here in Southwest Florida. One way to answer this question would be to develop a diagram of the various public realms that exist in our part of the state. We can draw upon Kunstler's notion of the public realm as the connective tissue of our social experience. What, then, does this tissue consist of? What sort of public life does it make possible? How, finally, is the built environment managed in Fort Myers. An analysis of selected stories from the Fort Myers News Press on suburban sprawl, road construction, environmental preservation, and taxes will help to shed light on this question.

Readings
Reserve: Kaplan, "The First Oasis" (Kaplan2.pdf)
Handouts, articles from the News Press on impact fees, golf courses and suburban sprawl

Activities and Assignments
We can often learn what is distinctive about a particular place through comparing it with some other place. In this exercise, the focus remains on the connection between the public realm and the built environment. What sorts of connections do you see here in the case of Fort Myers? Now consider Kaplan's chapter on Tucson. What sorts to connections are evident here? What are the similarities and differences between Fort Myers and Tucson?
Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Oct. 28.

Week 11 (11/2-11/4)

Topic
What is social capital?

Overview

The purpose of these readings is define the notion of social capital and to consider the connections between social capital and political engagement. What are the dimensions of social capital? They turn out to be networks of social cooperation built on social trust that arises from success in past collaborations. What kinds of social habits give rise to social capital? Lasch emphasizes the important of conversation and of third places where conversations occur. Reich and Brinkley focus on the life of the nation. They would agree that social capital is beneficial to communities. Their concerns, however, lie with the coherence of the nation state. How can national life be revitalized? The United States, argues Reich, is on the verge of "exploding into a microcosm of the entire world."

Readings
Reich, 317-325
Reserve: Putnam, "The Prosperous Community" (http://epn.org/prospect/13/13putn.html)
Lasch, "Conversation and the Civic Arts" (Lasch.pdf)
Brinkley, "Liberty, Community, and the National Idea" (http://epn.org/prospect/29/29brin.html)

Activities and Assignments
TBA
Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Nov. 4.

Due next Tuesday, Nov. 9: Photo Essay on Southwest Florida

Week 12 (11/9-11/11)

Topic:
Due Tuesday, 11/9: Photo Essay on Southwest Florida

Overview
You should be prepared to present your photo essays to observers. These will consist of faculty and staff members, other students and people from the community.

Readings

Activities and Assignments
Class Activity: we will do oral presentations on your text/images.

Web Activity: none for this week. Students begin work on their case study assignments.

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Topic	The Public Realm: Urban Redevelopment
Overview	At this point in the semester, we begin to examine the notion of the public realm. Kunstler sees the public realm as the connective tissue of our social experience. The public realm includes those areas that everyone, in principle, has access to. This includes roads, parks, forests, and stretches of beach. It also consists of public buildings and quasi-public settings such as churches, schools, museums, universities, and air ports. The public realm is obviously important to the way in which most of us would like to live our lives. It is important, therefore, to consider what has become of the public realm. Kunstler argues that suburban sprawl, the byproduct of American individualism and the automobile, has degraded the quality of the public sphere. What kind of public world, after all, does a landscape of strip malls, highways, and suburban sub divisions give rise to? The rise of the suburbs has coincided with the decline of cities. Cities offer far greater possibilities for community. Urban redevelopment would benefit all sectors of society. But the return of the middle classes and the affluent to urban areas will require Americans to address issues of urban poverty. Kunstler sets forth a controversial program of urban redevelopment that advocates re-institutionalizing the mentally ill and establishing orphanages or abandoned and neglected children. He also emphasizes the importance of reestablishing a culture of work among the urban poor. People should be willing to do menial labor. He also endorses the importance of shame as a cultural value. People should be ashamed of having babies that they are not prepared to support. Those who can find work should be ashamed of remaining unemployed. Redeveloped cities will be unequal. People will occupy very different stations in life, but everyone will have access to a rich public realm in which they can more fully develop themselves. Such is Kunstler's vision. Urban redevelopment is, of course, occurring. Here is where we consider Davis' article, which focuses on redevelopment in Los Angeles. Downtown is revitalized, all right, but in such a way as to exclude the lower classes. The police play a strategic role in redevelopment by cracking down on drugs, gangs, prostitution, and vagrancy. The prison population burgeons and Los Angeles becomes ever more of a police state. Urban space is thereby secured for redevelopment. Now Davis sees all of this as particularly brutal class warfare - a war where the upper class seems to have all the artillery.
Readings	Reserve: Kunstler, "The Public Realm and the Common Good" (Kunstler.pdf ) Davis, "Fortress LA" (Davis.pdf)
Activities and Assignments	We will attempt to construct a web dialogue on the Davis and Kunstler pieces. The dialogue will begin with an initial statement, authored by me, on the positions the Davis and Kunstler assume. The general topic will revolve around two questions &endash; why are cities important to civic life and how should urban re-development occur? Develop your answers by drawing upon the readings and by responding to the positions taken by other participants in this discussion. Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Aug. 25. Due next Tuesday, Oct. 26: The Community Involvement Project Interim Report

Topic	The Public Realm: Southwest Florida Due (10/26): Community Involvement Interim Report
Overview	This is homecoming week. The central question that we consider is what kind of public realm exists right here in Southwest Florida. One way to answer this question would be to develop a diagram of the various public realms that exist in our part of the state. We can draw upon Kunstler's notion of the public realm as the connective tissue of our social experience. What, then, does this tissue consist of? What sort of public life does it make possible? How, finally, is the built environment managed in Fort Myers. An analysis of selected stories from the Fort Myers News Press on suburban sprawl, road construction, environmental preservation, and taxes will help to shed light on this question.
Readings	Reserve: Kaplan, "The First Oasis" (Kaplan2.pdf) Handouts, articles from the News Press on impact fees, golf courses and suburban sprawl
Activities and Assignments	We can often learn what is distinctive about a particular place through comparing it with some other place. In this exercise, the focus remains on the connection between the public realm and the built environment. What sorts of connections do you see here in the case of Fort Myers? Now consider Kaplan's chapter on Tucson. What sorts to connections are evident here? What are the similarities and differences between Fort Myers and Tucson? Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Oct. 28.

Topic	What is social capital?
Overview	The purpose of these readings is define the notion of social capital and to consider the connections between social capital and political engagement. What are the dimensions of social capital? They turn out to be networks of social cooperation built on social trust that arises from success in past collaborations. What kinds of social habits give rise to social capital? Lasch emphasizes the important of conversation and of third places where conversations occur. Reich and Brinkley focus on the life of the nation. They would agree that social capital is beneficial to communities. Their concerns, however, lie with the coherence of the nation state. How can national life be revitalized? The United States, argues Reich, is on the verge of "exploding into a microcosm of the entire world."
Readings	Reich, 317-325 Reserve: Putnam, "The Prosperous Community" (http://epn.org/prospect/13/13putn.html) Lasch, "Conversation and the Civic Arts" (Lasch.pdf) Brinkley, "Liberty, Community, and the National Idea" (http://epn.org/prospect/29/29brin.html)
Activities and Assignments	TBA Due: Post to WebBoard no later than midnight Thursday, Nov. 4. Due next Tuesday, Nov. 9: Photo Essay on Southwest Florida

Topic:	Due Tuesday, 11/9: Photo Essay on Southwest Florida
Overview	You should be prepared to present your photo essays to observers. These will consist of faculty and staff members, other students and people from the community.
Readings
Activities and Assignments	Class Activity: we will do oral presentations on your text/images. Web Activity: none for this week. Students begin work on their case study assignments.