Urban and Regional
Studies Institute
URBS 431/ 531
Urban Design
Wednesday, 2:00 – 4:45
MH 112
Fall 2007
Prof. Beth Wielde
Office: 106 Morris Hall
Office Phone: 507/ 389-1714
Office Fax: 507/ 389-6377
E-Mail: beth.wielde@mnsu.edu
Web Site:
https://mavdisk.mnsu.edu/wieldb/
Office Hours:
Monday: via e-mail
11:00 – 2:00
Tuesday:
9:00 – 12:30
2:00 – 3:30
Thursdays:
9:00 – 12:30
2:00 – 3:30
Course Description
Urban design is the theory and practice of creating aesthetically pleasing and functionally
diverse places in cities. Urban design creates an experience, and often creates a
trademark for a city; it can be a vibrant focal point for a city or a discouraging,
frightening experience. It depends on the effort of public servants, public officials, and
the citizens who become involved in the design process. Urban spaces are, in fact,
“people places,” and thus design efforts are an important part of the public/ political
process.
Urban Studies 431/ 531 will teach students the technical, practical aspect of urban design.
The course will focus on urban design in the professional realm, specifically managing
urban design in the planning and public administration realm. Students will learn how to
read urban spaces using the concepts and principles of design. They will learn how to
analyze urban spaces and create spaces for diverse community needs. They will lean
how to implement design policies such as ADA and community design standards, and
they will examine the political and social process of implementing design. And they will
learn the importance of project follow up – urban design projects are not “done” when
the last flower pot is in place!
D2L Use
D2L will be used heavily for the course. It will be the main communication tool between
me and students; i.e. announcements, test scores, assignment scores, etc. Please check
D2L regularly.
Course Text
Steiner, F.R., and Butler, K. (2007). Planning and Urban Design Standards: Student
Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Cameras
You will need a camera in this course, It doesn’t matter if it is digital or film, professional
grade or disposable. Just make sure you have at least 24 exposures available. If you use
film, please scan the picture into your documents. Contact the Academic Computing
Center for assistance.
Course Grades
Grades will be comprised of your course assignments and participation in the in-class
activities. There are 120 points available for undergrads, 140 available for graduate
students. There is no extra credit available in the class.
Course Assignments
Project sheets with complete descriptions will be available on D2L.
PROJECT
Design Assessment
Mid Term – Case Study
Sketch Activity
Design Journal
Final Project – Mankato Waterfront
DATE DUE
Sept 12
Oct 31
Oct 24
Nov. 21
Dec 5
POINTS
15
30
10
25
40 (UGr) 60 (Gr)
All projects/ activity outputs are due on the due date. Late submissions will be docked
points, per conditions of the assignment sheet.
Attendance
Class attendance is crucial. The class is held only once a week, and missing one means
missing a significant amount of material. Activity points can not be made up. You are
responsible for procuring notes from another student. If you want to discuss the notes
with me to clarify the material, I am happy to sit down with you – but you must bring
notes along with you. This is to avoid “starting from scratch,” basically making me give a
lecture.
Class Participation
In upper level undergraduate and graduate level courses, it is expected that students will
participate in class discussions. During the semester, there may be opportunities to earn
participation points through minute papers, design commentary, or other small projects.
These will be done at the instructor’s discretion and would count as extra credit.
Enrollment
You must be enrolled in the course during the semester to earn a grade. I will not “hold
over” a grade, allowing you to take the class one semester and officially enroll in
another. This sometimes happens if the tuition bill cannot be paid, or there is another
dispute on student status.
Students with Disabilities
MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in
educational programs, activities, or services. Students with disabilities requiring
accommodation to participation in class activities or meet course requirements should
first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library,
telephone 507/ 389-2825, TDD 711, and then contact me as soon as possible.
Cheating, Plagiarism, and Other Academic Fraud
Simply put, don’t do it. The worst original work is better than the most perfectly
plagiarized. It’s okay to insert other people’s ideas, just make sure you cite them; after
all, you would want credit for an idea you had, right? And remember, I’ve read and
seen a lot of stuff; they actually pay me to do it, so do you want to take the odds that
it’s a paper I’ve used for my dissertation research?
Cheating is not tolerated in any case. If you are caught cheating (and both the T.A. and I
are watching!), you will receive an automatic ‘F’ for the class and your case will be
handled according to University policy.
Program Fulfillment
This course fulfills the following requirements:
 Undergraduate Core (old curriculum)
 Undergraduate Elective (new curriculum)
 Graduate Elective
This course does not fulfill an undergraduate General Education category.
Topic List and Important Dates (subject to change)
Aug 29
00
Prof. Wielde Presenting at
Conference
Syllabus Review
Conceptualizing Space
Sept 5
Sept 12
01
02
Sept 19
Sept 26
03
04
Vocabulary of Design
Creating Community
Identity
Oct 3
05
Other Elements of Design:
Transportation Elements
Main Street
Oct 10
06
Sustainability and Ecological
Design
Oct 17
07
ADA Considerations and
“From Idea to Reality”
Oct 24
08
Public Design Process
Oct 31
09
Putting a Plan Into Action
Group Presentations
Nov 7
10
Nov 14
11
Nov 21
12
Financing Design
Responsibility of Design and
Design Myths
Review Design Assessments
– Applying the Theory
No Class Session
Nov 28
Dec 5
13
14
Presentations Begin
Presentations ,
No readings
No readings
Steiner, 223 – 260
DESIGN ASSESSMENT PHOTOS DUE (15
points)
No readings
Steiner
Safety, 274
Walkability, 280
Streetscapes, 286
Steiner
Transportation, 143 - 176
Main Street, 248 - 250
Steiner
Env. Site Analysis, 262 – 264
Growth Mgmt, 377 - 383
Leadership, 283 – 285
Steiner
Projections and Assesments, 299 – 310
Eminent Domain 355 – 357
Zoning Regulation 364 – 376
Steiner
Plan Making, 3 –17
Visualization, 336 – 344
SKETCHING ACTIVITY (10 points)
Implementation 345 – 376
MID TERM (30 points) –
Case Study Analysis
Steiner
Economic and Real Estate
Development, 401 - 408
No readings
DESIGN JOURNAL DUE – Turn in hard
copy to MH 106 (25 POINTS)
Group 1: Undergraduate Presentations
Group 2: Graduate Presentations
Final Project: Mankato Waterfront (40 pts,
undergrad, 60 points, graduate)