community development processes (2024)

Community Development Processes

Lecture: Tuesday12:00 - 2:40pm, 132 Hayes Hall

Instructor: Rob Silverman

Office: 201K Hayes Hall

Office Hours: Tuesday3:30pm – 4:30pm & Thursday 12:00pm - 1:00pm (and by appointment)

Phone: (716) 829-5882

E-Mail: rms35@buffalo.edu

The Course:

Community developmentencompasses issues related to neighborhood planning, citizen participation,grassroots organizing, housing, economic development, social welfare, publicsafety, health, education, recreation, the environment and other aspects ofcommunity life. Community development is distinct from other types of urbanplanning in two respects. First, community development views the urban planningprocess as transparent and driven by the general public. Second, communitydevelopment strives to create an urban milieu that is centered on enhancing thequality of life for residents.

During the semester, we willexamine many of the dimensions of the community development process. As theyare explored, you should maintain a holistic view and remain conscious of howeach dimension interacts with others. In addition to examining substantiveissues in community development, this course focuses on critical thinking.Selected areas of community development will be examined in-depth.

We will meet for the next 15weeks. During each class session we will discuss the assigned readings.Everyone should be prepared to participate during each lecture.

If you have any questionsduring the semester, please bring them to my attention. I will be availableduring office hours and by appointment. Also, you may contact me using e-mail.

Required Text andRequired Reserve Readings:

The required texts areavailable at the University Medical Bookstore and The College Store

1)Kotler, Milton. 2005. NeighborhoodGovernment: The Local Foundations of Political Life. New York, NY: Lexington Books.

2)Robinson, Jerry W. and Gary PaulGreen. 2010. Introduction to Community Development: Theory, Practice andService Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

3)Required Reserve Readings are available on the S:drive and on UBLearns.

Note: Inaddition to the required readings it is suggested that students purchase a copyof a style manual (i.e. The Chicago Manual of Style, or a similarmanual) to use as a reference when writing papers and other assignments duringthe semester.

Course Requirements:

Our Suggested ReadingsProject: During the semester eachstudent will add an article from the journal Community Development: Journalof the Community Development Society to the “Our Suggested Readings” linkon the PD406-606 UBLearns website. Each student should browse past issues ofthe Journal on the UB library website, download an article that is of interest(do not duplicate articles other students have selected or articles alreadyassigned in the syllabus), and send it to Dr. Silverman. All of the articlesthat students pick will be added to the link. Students can read the articlesselected by their peers at their discretion. In order to have a full menu ofoptions, each student should select an article and send it to Dr. Silverman forposting before October 19, 2010.

Neighborhood PlanCritique: Students will be givenplanning and other documents to critique. The critique should draw fromassigned readings and lecture materials. The neighborhood plan critique will beassigned on September 28, 2010 and is due at the beginning of class on October12, 2010.

Topics in CommunityDevelopment Discussion #1: Astudent led discussion of emerging topics in community development will takeplace September 21, 2010. Students will be assigned readings andlead the class in a discussion on selected topics. The assignment will beelaborated upon on September 7, 2010. Following the class discussion, studentswill be assigned a reflexive essay to complete. The essay is due on September28, 2010.

Topics in CommunityDevelopment Discussion #2: Astudent led discussion of emerging topics in community development will takeplace October 26, 2010. Students will be assigned readings andlead the class in a discussion on selected topics. The assignment will beelaborated upon on October 12, 2010. Following the class discussion, studentswill be assigned a reflexive essay to complete. The essay is due on November2, 2010.

Topics in CommunityDevelopment Discussion #3: Astudent led discussion of emerging topics in community development will takeplace November 16, 2010. Students will be assigned readings andlead the class in a discussion on selected topics. The assignment will beelaborated upon on November 2, 2010. Following the class discussion, studentswill be assigned a reflexive essay to complete. The essay is due on November23, 2010.

Regional OrganizingCapacity-Building Plan for WNY: Theclass will work as a group and develop a regional organizing capacity-buildingplan for western NY. This exercise will involve gathering information, makingobservations in the field, and writing a plan summarizing the findings from thefieldwork. The exercise will be assigned on October 19, 2010 and is due at thebeginning of class on December 7, 2010.

Grading Policy: Your grade will be based on the following (100points possible for the semester):

Our Suggested ReadingsProject3%

Neighborhood Plan Critique 30 %

Topics in Community Development Discussion #1 4 %

Topics in Community Development Discussion #2 4 %

Topics in Community Development Discussion #3 4 %

Topics in Community Development Essay #1 10 %

Topics in Community Development Essay #2 10 %

Topics in Community Development Essay #3 10 %

Regional Organizing Capacity Building Plan for WNY 25%

Grading Scale:

Graduate Grading Scale (PD606) Undergraduate Grading Scale (PD406)

Academic Integrity:

Students are expected toapproach the course with seriousness and integrity. It is important to completeassignments on time, attend class regularly, and foster a collegial learningenvironment. Plagiarism and other instances of academic misconduct will resultin a failing grade on a respective assignment, exam, or paper. Students shouldrefer to the University at Buffalo Undergraduate Catalog and the Universityat Buffalo Graduate Catalog for clarification on the University’s policiesand procedures.

Accommodations forDisabilities:

If you have a disability(physical, learning, or psychological) that impacts your course work pleasecontact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), 25 Capen Hall, (716)645-2608. ODS will provide you with information and review appropriatearrangements for reasonable accommodation (such as recruiting note-takers,readers, or extended time on assignments). You must bring requests foraccommodations for a disability to the professor’s attention within the firsttwo weeks of class.

Writing Centers:

The University at Buffalo has a number of writing center where students can get assistance with essays, termpapers, and thesis projects. Students should contact one of the following ifthey would like to access these campus resources:

• Undergraduate students can go to the Writing Place for assistance. The Writing Place is located at 209 Baldy Hall, (716) 645-2394; http://tlc.buffalo.edu/lcwrite.htm ,
• Graduate students can contact the Graduate Student Association (GSA) about their Editorial Assistance Program. For information about this program go to the GSA office in 310 Student Union, (716) 645-8604; gsa-editorial@buffalo.edu; http://wings.buffalo.edu/gsa/services.html ,
• International students can contact the English Language Institute. The English Language Institute is located at 320 Baldy Hall; (716) 645-2077; elibuffalo@buffalo.edu; http://wings.buffalo.edu/gse/eli .

SYLLABUS

August 31: Introduction to the Course

OtherActivities: