Assignments

Project Expectations and Final Grade Evaluation Issues

This memo conveys expectations and requirements regarding the preparation of the final class planning report. This report will be used as the primary basis for final student evaluations for the course. As students are aware, class participation will also be a factor in evaluations.

Each project team (Neighborhoods, Bridge Street, Sixth Street, and Riverway) will be responsible for preparing a major segment of the "Final Plan/Project Report." The final report should be word processed and must contain a table of contents.

In addition to the final plan report, each student will be responsible for preparing a short final paper (approximately 2 pages in length), which is described below. Both the final project report and final individual paper must be submitted to the instructor no later than the morning of the last class session.

Final Plan/Project Report

Since the final project report is the primary basis for grade evaluations, major effort should be applied to this endeavor. The report will also be very helpful to students who are seeking career opportunities in planning agencies or consulting firms after graduation. We are confident that students will wish to share these reports with potential employers.

Each team's section of the project report should be a clearly written narrative document, with appropriate contextual graphics, locus maps, images, etc., containing the analysis and recommendations related to the focus area undertaken. The report should reflect the scope and depth of the investigation conducted by the project team, and should detail implementation strategies and other relevant recommendations to the client.

While there is no absolute rule about length, we expect that each major section of the project report (representing the work of each project team) will contain about 10 pages (plus or minus) of narrative text, plus appendices, maps, and other graphic material. Obviously, any subproject sections we will work on (for example: gateway at Bridge Street and VFW lot, empty lot at Sixth and Bridge, etc.) should be coordinated with the overall project group(s) it relates to. Each team will designate an "editorial coordinator" to form the "editing team." This editing/formatting team will be responsible for the overall layout of the document, its cover, table of contents (TOC), introduction to the plan document, executive summary, and final editing for narrative quality, consistency of style, and proper language/punctuation usage.

Two (2) unbound original copies of the project team report and two (2) CD disks containing the team's final report and Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations should be submitted to the instructor. From there the original and bound copies of the final reports will be transmitted to the client.

Please take a look at reports/plans prepared by this class in previous years for general guidelines and benchmarks. Feel free to use any of the existing templates, or generate your own.

Here is a sample of a possible outline:

Acknowledgments
Executive Summary

1. Introduction to the Project
2. Themes, Units of Analysis, Focus Areas
   • Neighborhoods (Existing Conditions; General Observations, etc.)
   • Bridge Street (Existing Conditions; General Observations, etc.)
   • 6th Street (Existing Conditions; General Observations, etc.)
   • Riverway (Existing Conditions; General Observations, etc.)
3. Recommendations and Implementation
   • Neighborhoods
     • Nodes and Districts, Housing, Open Space, Zoning, Economic Development
     • Catalysts: Moulton Square, Police precinct, Event Programming (Kerouac's Trail)
   • Bridge Street
     • Transportation and Parking, Facades and Design Guidelines, Streetscape, Zoning, Economic Development
     • Catalysts: Lot at Sixth Street, Lower Gateway
   • 6th Street
     • Street ROW, Intersection Design and Parking, Zoning
     • Catalysts: Reservoir Park
   • Riverway
     • Environment and Landscaping, Intersection and crossings, River walk and River crossing
     • Catalysts: WW2/River Park, the Bridge at Bridge Street

Appendix:

• Funding and Economic Development Analysis
• Business Resource Reference Guide
• Reference Resource Guide
• Traffic Counts, etc.

Individual Final Class Papers

In addition to the above, each student must submit an individual final class paper, about 2 pages in length. The paper should detail the following, each from the individual student's perspective:

• The major area of contribution made by the student to the community planning project. The contribution detailed should reflect the primary project area(s) of responsibility undertaken by the student.
• The use and integration of class topics and the various planning principles reviewed and discussed in the course (e.g., neighborhood unit, new urbanism, or incentive-based techniques), and the degree to which such subjects, concepts, and principles influenced project contributions made by the student.
• The degree to which the individual contributions of the student, and the collective efforts of the project team and final report, may influence future land use planning decisions in the project area.