Syllabus - CRD 250: Professional Skills in Community Development

Source: University of California, Davis
Program: Department of Human & Community Development
Course: CRD 250: Professional Skills in Community Development
Instructor: Professor Michael Rios

Description

This course is designed to help Community Development students develop the practical skills needed to work professionally in community development-related organizations, in the public, nonprofit, or private sectors. Using participatory planning and design approaches, students will apply community development concepts, methods, and skills in a hands-on setting. The class also provides a learning environment for students to improve skills in community development planning, project management, collaborative teamwork, group facilitation, conflict resolution, and technical writing.

In the class, students will consider important issues in professional community development practice, including methods and ethics of initiating community projects, assessments, and participation. These topics will be addressed against a backdrop of community development theory and how theory is utilized in practice settings.

Syllabus - CRD/GEO 240: Community Development Theory

Source: University of California, Davis
Program: Department of Human & Community Development
Course: CRD/GEO 240: Community Development Theory
Instructor: Dr. Clare Cannon

Description

Community development supports community participation in and influence of important public and private functions including planning, governance, economic development, health and social services provision, responses to poverty, effective transportation, housing for all groups, and improved education and human resources. Changes in community practices over the last few decades have given increasing importance to region-wide collaboration, complex partnerships, and new forms of public/private organization. Similarly, the projects that community organizations are involved in are vastly more complex than those of even a few years ago, requiring networks that encompass technical, financial, legal, and social services expertise.

Effective community development practice requires critical reflection on the social, political, economic, environmental, and historical processes and structures that shape the distribution of opportunities, resources, and risks in and across communities. This critical analysis can be facilitated by applying generalizable understandings of these social phenomena, a.k.a. theory.

Syllabus - CRD240: Community Development - Theories For Practice

Source: University of California, Davis
Program: Department of Human & Community Development
Course: CRD240: Community Development: Theories For Practice
Instructor: Dr. Chris Benner

Description

Community development interventions in this course are understood as activities to facilitate, strengthen, and improve less-advantaged communities, empower their residents to define and participate in the development process, and interact in larger social, political, and economic systems on behalf of the community.

This course is an opportunity for students to explore, develop, and apply an interdisciplinary set of theories useful for understanding and acting within the professional and academic field of community and regional development. This course starts from the basic assumption that community development is best characterized as complex. Complexity signifies that the amount of possibilities from which to choose by far exceeds what ever can become an implantable praxis. Hence, this abundance makes any applied decision precarious. It is against this canvass that the various elements of this course are projected. The many theoretical as well as –and thus- political approaches we will discuss in this course are meant to let the participants understand why the business of community development is a constant, never ending, and often contradictory process of shifting social figurations.

Syllabus - CRD241: The Economics of Community Development

Source: University of California, Davis
Program: Department of Human & Community Development
Course: CRD241 - The Economics of Community Development
Instructor: Martin Kenney

Description

This is a practicum class as it revolves around practical research that could be of use to a local government, namely researching entrepreneurial clusters. You will be working in teams that will actually undertake the research. From the 2005 class, the entire Madison, WI team was invited and went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison to do research and present their findings at the business school. Amy Nelson did her Master’s thesis on Madison and co-wrote a paper for the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Another student in the class Jessica Mullan wrote her Master’s thesis with me on a contract with the InterAmerican Development Bank. The UC Davis map was posted on the UC Davis CONNECT website and was presented at the Davis City Council in December 2007. Finally, the 2009 class prepared a paper that has now been submitted to the top geography journal, the Journal of Economic Geography. 

Syllabus - CRD200: Planning for Health

Source: University of California, Davis
Program: Community & Regional Development
Course: CRD200 - Planning for Health
Instructor: Dr. Catherine Brinkley 

Description

This course focuses on the intersection of planning and public health. The health of an individual is determined not only by the healthcare they receive, but also by the natural, social, physical, economic, and political environment in which they live and work. This course provides students with an overview of available public spatially explicit datasets related to human and environmental health. We will cover such topics as food access, air and water quality, waste and energy infrastructure, community engagement, and the planning process. We will learn how to conduct Health Impact Assessments (HIA) - and to use various environmental audit tools to measure the built environment. A variety of model practices in California, nationally and internationally are reviewed for inspiration on planning, policy and programming efforts. 

Syllabus - MCD 5140: Regional Development & Sustainability

Date: Summer 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5140 - Regional Development & Sustainability
Instructor: Sarida Scott, Executive Director, Community Development Advocates of Detroit

Description

This course examines the formation of metropolitan regions – how they begin, grow, decline and grow again – and the related systems and policy issues. It will explore the ways we have defined regions and how the interrelated aspects impact community development, growth and investment. Analysis will include racial dynamics and use of specific, Detroit-focused case studies. This exploration will also take into context the MCD approach to theory and practice of community development with a foundation of service, social justice and sustainability, and integration of the HOPE model.

Syllabus - MCD 5120: Environmental, Social and Economic Justice

Date: Winter 2018
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5120 - Environmental, Social and Economic Justice
Instructor: Dr. Gloria Albrecht, Dr. Greg Banazak

Description

This course examines the contested meanings of social justice within the U.S., a society which understands itself to be a liberal democracy that values “liberty and justice for all.” This course will raise questions about the ethical adequacy of existing social norms (legal and ethical) by examining concrete social, economic and environmental issues related to the dehumanizing conditions that shape communities of marginalized people in the U.S., disproportionately persons of colors, as well as women and children of every race. The question “are we a just society?” can only be answered by (a) knowing what is going on and (b) applying a concept of justice. What you (or I) think is “just” is influenced by what we think is going on. So, what do you know? Why (or how) do you “know” that? And, what do you mean by “justice”? In addition to our assigned readings, the city of Detroit and its people will be a living text.

This course is shaped by a specific theory of knowledge (epistemology) called “critical theory.” Critical theory argues that in an unequal society dominant knowledge, including social norms, public policies and what is assumed to be common sense, has been, and is being, socially constructed by privileged social groups. Therefore, this course will intentionally introduce contesting subordinate (subjugated) knowledges from marginalized voices and from those who are committed to the empowerment of such voices. Methods and principles involved in doing social ethics, that is, for evaluating whether a society is just, will also be explored. Guest speakers will be invited to provide links to local community issues and activism.

Syllabus - MCD 5100: Role of Diversity & Multiculturalism in Community Development

Date: Winter 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5100 - Role of Diversity & Multiculturalism in Community Development
Instructor: Lara Wasner, M.A.

Description

This course is designed to explore the role of diversity and multiculturalism on community development. Cultural identity provides the foundation for an in-depth exploration of various aspects of diversity related to individuals, organizations, communities, and physical environments. Culturally-based needs assessment is used to increase understanding related to community design and the influence of diversity in community development, specifically focusing on human services and community organizations. Awareness-raising experiences will be utilized in order to further promote cultural awareness and sensitivity.

Syllabus - MCD 5028: Civic Engagement and the Participatory Process in Community Development

Date: Summer 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5028 - Civic Engagement and the Participatory Process in Community Development
Instructor: Ceara O’Leary

Description

This seminar examines the recent history, theory and practice of community engagement in design and development. Coursework will emphasize effective methods for civic engagement and include case studies and guest speakers from Detroit and beyond. Civic engagement enables communities to directly participate in decision-making impacting their neighborhoods, resulting in more responsive and responsible projects. A robust system of civic engagement contributes to community capacity building and long-term change. An examination of the history and theory of civic engagement in community development and design will commence with the era of Urban Renewal and Civil Rights. Strategies and principles for effective engagement will draw from historical precedent as well as local and national projects, including current efforts in Detroit. Readings will include both case studies and process documentation.

This course seeks to enable architects and community developers to be more responsible professionals by unpacking how and why civic engagement strengthens community development and design processes. The objective of the course is to prepare MCD and Architecture students as they embark on research, design and development projects that are rooted in communities by equipping students with meaningful methods for civic engagement.

Syllabus - MCD 5080: Introduction to Organizational Development

Date: Winter 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5080 - Introduction to Organizational Development
Instructors:  Dr. Linda Haynes Slowik, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology,  Karen Brown, President, KCB Resources LLC, and Fund Development Officer, City of Detroit

Description

 This course is an introduction to the Organizational Development concentration. It will survey topics of organizational management, group dynamics, and financial management. Primary emphasis will be on understanding 1) how to create, inspire and sustain a shared vision for community-based or agency-based initiatives; 2) the theories, dynamics, and life cycles of community development; and 3) how to utilize strategic planning, action planning, and financial management strategies to create sustainable community change initiatives.

This course core course will utilize open systems theory as the theoretical framework in which community assessment and organizing, organizational design and development, interpersonal and team dynamics, and organizational funding and financial management are studied. Theory and practice are integrated.

Syllabus - MCD 5060: Introduction to Physical Development

Date: Summer 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5060 - Introduction to Physical Development
Instructors: Christina Heximer, Virginia Stanard

Description

This course is an introduction to the physical aspects of community development. The course focuses on the relationship between physical conditions (built and natural environments) and the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of communities. Subject matter includes the role of physical place in the historic and contemporary development of communities, the role of the built environment as an integral component of sustainable communities, equitable physical development, and concepts related to real estate and capital projects development. The course is taught by an inter-disciplinary team of instructors and incorporates real world examples and project based learning.

Syllabus - MCD 5040: Introduction to Human Development

Date: Fall 2017-2018
Source: University of Detroit Mercy
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5040 - Introduction to Human Development
Instructor: Dr. Cheryl C. Munday, Ph.D., Professor, Psychology Department, College of Liberal Arts and Education

Description

This course applies human development principles and methods to define the interaction between the social, natural, and built environments and to study the behavioral and attitudinal reaction of the human inhabitant in terms of mutual and ongoing transactions. The course integrates theory, research, and practice in human ecology and ecofeminism; reviews critical factors affecting people in their environment; and offers a basis to assist community developers in the design and planning of the human environment in terms of social sustainability.

Special emphasis will be given to neighborhood and residential environments. Through intensive seminar readings and guest lectures, we will discuss human development principles and research to define the interaction between the social, natural, and built environments and to analyze the behavioral and attitudinal reaction of neighborhoods and communities in terms of mutual and ongoing transactions. Our focus this term will be on community health. 

Syllabus - MCD 5020: Economic Development

Date: Fall 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5020 - Economic Development
Instructor: Ernest Zachary, Adjunct Detroit Mercy Instructor

Description

The objective of this course is to study the conditions and dynamics that historically have shaped the urban areas and to understand the means that individuals, the private sector, non-profit organizations, and all levels of government have to strengthen cities and improve the quality of life for the citizenry.

The course will rely on urban economic development theory to provide the context for understanding the resources needed and the various efforts undertaken to improve urban areas. Topics include: Principles of economic development and growth, community history and community growth potential, the importance of land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship and transportation to economic growth; the roles of the private sector and community based institutions; the importance of economic development planning and the role of data to assess proper approaches and the impact of actions; the importance of sustainability in urban areas; and the various funding sources and incentives available to urban areas.

Syllabus - MCD 5010: Introduction to Community Development

Date: Fall 2019
Source: University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture
Program: Master of Community Development
Course: MCD 5010 - Introduction to Community Development
Instructor: Virginia Stanard

Description

MCD 5010 uses an intensive course format with the goal of introducing students to Detroit Mercy, MCD, and Community Development in regional Detroit. The course provides students with an introduction to the MCD values, concentrations and core courses. Course format will feature readings, guest lectures by faculty and community leaders, and exercises to reinforce learning. The course structure includes a service, sustainability, or social justice activity as well as a team project. To familiarize students with the research tools available through Detroit Mercy, a library session is included.