Introducing Diversity into the Planning Curriculum: A Method for Department-Wide Implementation

Abstract

In this article, we outline the importance of diversity in planning education and describe a strategy for incorporating new materials into existing courses throughout the curriculum. In researching and developing this strategy, we worked successively with each faculty member in the University of Cincinnati planning department to (1) analyze current syllabi, (2) use library resources to identify materials that covered the same content while addressing issues of diversity, broadly defined, and (3) track resulting changes to syllabi. As a complement to existing bibliographies, we provide step-by-step procedures as well as tables of library search terms that will facilitate implementing a similar project at other universities.

Enhancing internationalisation through inter-institutional collaboration

“…Curriculum internationalisation in the sense of developing globally competent planners, however, is not trivial (Looye and Sesay, 1998;Sykes et al, 2015). It requires considerable engagement by educators and resources (Jammal, 1993;Dandekar, 2009).…”

The Department as a Third Sector Planner

“…There is a well-documented tension in planning education between academic and practitioner priorities (Agyeman and Erickson 2012; Edwards and Bates 2011; Frank 2002; Looye and Sesay 1998; Merrill and Lapping 2007). The issue of planning education’s responsibility for local capacity building has long been a concern (Wetmore and Heumann 1988; Silver 2014).…”

Commentary: Diversity in Urban Planning Education and Practice

“…The number of articles in the two main planning journals, the Journal of the American Planning Association and the Journal of Planning Education and Research, that specifically address issues of diversity fall into four main areas: (1) the importance of race and gender in planning practice (Ross 1990;Hill 1990;Leavitt 1983;Mier 1994;Grigsby III 1994); (2) visions for diversity in planning (Thomas 1996); (3) pedagogical and curriculum suggestions for improving diversity in planning (Ritzdorf 1993;Forsyth 1995;Looye and Sesay 1998); and (4) larger structural issues in academia affecting diversity for planning (Cordova 1997). The number of articles in the two main planning journals, the Journal of the American Planning Association and the Journal of Planning Education and Research, that specifically address issues of diversity fall into four main areas: (1) the importance of race and gender in planning practice (Ross 1990;Hill 1990;Leavitt 1983;Mier 1994;Grigsby III 1994); (2) visions for diversity in planning (Thomas 1996); (3) pedagogical and curriculum suggestions for improving diversity in planning (Ritzdorf 1993;Forsyth 1995;Looye and Sesay 1998); and (4) larger structural issues in academia affecting diversity for planning (Cordova 1997).…”

“…Several authors have focused on developing pedagogy that reflects multicultural knowledge. Some authors have developed guidelines for changing curriculum to include more diversity (Forsyth 1995;Looye and Sesay 1998). She suggested, for instance, that people use the fairy-tale structure as a way to write about planning; e.g., "Once upon a time there was a .…”

“…Ritzdorf (1993) advocated alternative ways to teach, using, for example, nontraditional writing assignments. One article described the hand-holding process a planning department could use to encourage planning professors to include diversity in their syllabi (Looye and Sesay 1998). .…”