• Hazel A. Morrow-Jones (Ohio State University, Columbus)
  Kimberly Gibson, Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission
  Katrin Anacker, PhD candidate in City and Regional Planning (OSU)
  Sue Frost, Development Officer, Knowlton School of Architecture (OSU)
  Susan Miller, CDBG Downtown Coordinator,Office of Housing and Community Partnerships, Ohio Department of Development
  Jane Palmer, Office of International Education (OSU)



• Bernhard Müller (Technical University, Dresden)
  Olaf Schmidt (TUD)
  Andreas Otto
(TUD)

COURSE TOPIC
This year's Dresden exchange seminar will focus on the broad topic of “Major Crises and Hidden Challenges: How Urban Regions React to Problems and Hazards”. The idea is to study obvious crises and endemic problems and the reactions to both within urban regions. We will focus on six subtopics, discussed further below.

We have the exciting opportunity of working electronically with a seminar at the Technical University of Dresden (TUD) during the quarter, continuing our work in the field by visiting Dresden in June and then completing our work by hosting our German colleagues in Columbus in August. The class will be conducted in English or, when German is necessary, with a translator.

The course is international in scope and continues to be experimental in nature even though this will be the seventh time we have offered it. Consequently all participants need to be as flexible as possible to take advantage of opportunities or to work around problems as they arise. This syllabus describes my best estimate of our situation. Please feel free to suggest changes or other ways of doing things.

CLASS MEETINGS AND DISCUSSION TOPICS

Class Meetings
The class will meet at least once a week during Spring Quarter. Class meetings will usually involve some lecture, discussion and short presentations (part of class participation) from class members. The discussions will focus on readings, questions and concerns from class members in either country.

Topics
During the quarter we will examine various crises and challenges in the literature about the US. In addition, we need to prepare background papers about the US for our German colleagues and make the arrangements for their visit to the US. That visit will include field work, so we will set up the field sites and plan each assignment. We will have several meetings (probably in the evening) after we are back in the US to finalize the German visit to Columbus.

During the quarter we will also try to prepare everyone as much as possible for the trip to Dresden. Consequently, class time will also be spent hearing about and discussing Germany and the German planning system (there will also be readings on these topics), as well as familiarizing everyone with Dresden and its surroundings.

Subtopics
These subtopics will form the core of our discussion throughout the course. They will also be the major topics for your group projects. Each group will work on one of the topic areas, though you will have to define and focus your work much more narrowly than the class as a whole.

Housing Markets and Community Futures

1. Housing and community futures in the face of demographic change

What are the main characteristics of the housing market and housing development in Dresden and Columbus? How do neighborhoods and municipalities differ in their attraction of new housing development or rehabilitation? What impact does demographic change have on housing and social service development as well as the overall future of communities?

Field project suggestions: Weißig / Upper Arlington

2. Actors and programs in housing and community redevelopment

What are public and private reactions to changing housing and demographics? What programs and policies have been tried to help cope with the challenges of the housing market and demographic change? Who are the main actors? What public policies act to steer housing development into certain areas?

Case study suggestions: Löbtau / Downtown Housing

Economic Development and Land Use Change

3. Location of economic growth and the impact of transportation issues

What are the current economic and employment patterns in Dresden and Columbus? Where are major growth centers located and why are they located there? What factors have had particular importance for the location of new commercial and industrial development? How do transportation issues affect economic development?

Case study suggestions: Kesselsdorf / Dublin

4. Events and tourism as new forms of economic development

What roles do events and tourism play in economic and urban development in Dresden and Columbus? What are the opportunities and limits of such new forms of economic development? What can be said about using events and tourism as policies for downtown development? What new functions might downtown take on in the future?

Case study suggestions: Neumarkt / Arena District

Environmental Hazards and Risk Management

5. Flooding and environmental hazards and their impacts on urban development

Where are the flood risk areas located in Dresden and Columbus? What other environmental hazards exist in the two areas? How do the two cities attempt to control the risks of flooding or other environmental hazards? What are the requirements for development (e.g. permits, insurances) in risk areas? What does the risk of flooding (or removal of the risk of flooding) mean for the future residential and economic development of an area?

Case study suggestions: Elbepark / Franklinton

6. Emergency management systems and the role of preventive planning

What general emergency management systems are in place in Dresden and Columbus? How do they work in case of an environmental or other hazard? What role does city and regional planning play? How can planning prevent or limit damages caused by environmental or other hazards?

Case study suggestions: Dresden / Columbus emergency management systems

BOOKS THAT WE MAY USE DURING THE QUARTER

None of these have been ordered through the bookstore. I have checked out the library's copies, so don't recall them. We will try to make copies available, but you should also order the ones that seem most interesting to you through Borders, Amazon, Barnes and Noble or your choice of bookstores. The journal articles may be found in the OSU library.

Baade, Robert A. 1996. “Professional Sports as Catalysts for Metropolitan Economic Development,” Journal of Urban Affairs Vol. 18, no. 1, pp 1 - 17.

Bright, Elise. 2003. Reviving America's Forgotten Neighborhoods: An Investigation of Inner City Revitalization Efforts. Routledge, NY.

Columbus Neighborhood Design Center. 2003. Columbus Neighborhoods: Progress and Promise. Columbus Neighborhood Design Center, Columbus, OH.

Ezell, Kyle. 2004. Get Urban! The Complete Guide to City Living. Capital Books, Sterling, VA.

Ford, Larry. 2003. America's New Downtowns: Revitalization or Reinvention. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.

Grate, Roberta Brandes with Norman Mintz. 1998. Cities Back from the Edge. John Wiley, NY.

Grogan, Paul S. and Tony Proscio. 2000. Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival. Westview Press, Boulder.

Hudnut III. William H. 1998. Cities on the Rebound: A Vision for Urban America. The Urban Land Institute, Washington, DC.

Hunker, Henry, L. 2000. Columbus, Ohio: A Personal Geography. Ohio State University Press, Columbus, Ohio.

Kunstler, James Howard. 1996. Home from Nowhere. Touchstone, NY.

Laubach, Susan. 1999. Don't Lose your Memory: Writing the Journey Journal. The Oakleaf Pressm, Richmond, VA.

Lentz, Ed. 2003. Columbus: the Story of a City. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC.

Morrish, William R. and Catherine R. Brown. 1994. Design Center for American Urban Landscapes. Minneapolis, MN.

Morrow-Jones, Hazel A., Edward J. Malecki, and Katrin B. Anacker, 2004.
“Challenges of City Planning and City Development in the US: Current Situation and Prognosis,” Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen Vol. 148, no. 1, pp. 42-49. (e-mail copy sent to you)

Orfield, Myron. 2002. American Metropolitics: the New Suburban Reality. Brookings Institution, Washington, DC.

Orfield, Myron and Thomas Luce. 2002. Ohio Metropatterns: A Regional Agenda for Community and Stability. Ameregis Corporation, Minneapolis.

Rogers, Richard and Anne Powers. 2000. Cities for a Small Country. University Press, Cambridge.

Rosentraub, Mark S., David Swindell, Michael Przybylski and Daniel R. Mullins. 1994. “Sport and Downtown Development Strategy: If You Build It, Will Jobs Come?” Journal of Urban Affairs Vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 221 - 239.

Rusk, David. 1999. Inside Game: Outside Game: Winning Strategies for Saving Urban America. Brookings Institution, Washington, DC.

Swindell, David and Mark S. Rosentraub. 1998. “Who Benefits from the Presence of Professional Sports Teams? The Implications for the Public Funding of Stadiums and Arenas.” Public Administration Review Jan/Feb. 1998, Vol. 58, no.1.

Sylves, Richard T. and William L. Waugh, Jr. 2000. Cities and Disaster: North American Studies in Emergency Management. Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Springfield, IL.

Von Hoffman. 2003. House by House, Block by Block: the Rebirth of America's Urban Neighborhoods. Oxford University Press, NY.

Zepatos, Thalia. 2003. A Journey of One's Own: Uncommon Advice for the Independent Woman Traveler. Eighth Mountain Press, Portland, OR.

And others.

We will read a great deal of other material, some of it journal articles, some copies that I can hand out to you and some from the shelves of our conference/reference room (a part of the JPL office at the top of the stairs in Brown Hall--- it is labeled as TUD/OSU Conference room as well as JPL office). You can copy whatever you want, but I would prefer that things not leave that room except to be photocopied and returned. That will help protect the resources for other students in this class and for future classes. We will have to work out a way for you to have access to these materials -- perhaps by moving them to room 289.

If you are not from City and Regional Planning (or even if you are) and would like to read something to get a little bit of background, I suggest reading any, some or all of the articles in: LeGates, Richard T. and Frederic Stout. The City Reader, third edition. Routledge, 2003.

TRIP AND RETURN VISIT
After spring quarter is over, we will travel to Dresden for two weeks of intensive fieldwork. The fieldwork may involve taking tours, visiting projects; interviewing planning officials, developers, etc.; collecting data; doing survey work . . . and lots of other things. It will certainly include a large amount of walking, so be prepared!

Dresden is especially interesting because of its history as part of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and because of the 500 year flood it suffered in the summer of 2002. In addition, while we are in Europe we will visit Leipzig (which is planning for a bid for the Olympic Games), Berlin and Prague.

I expect all students to make the trip with us and for that two weeks to remain with the group and undertake all of the activities that our hosts plan for us. While we are in Germany I will appoint one person to take notes on each activity and then to write a summary of that activity. When we are back in Columbus we'll need a volunteer to pull together all of the summaries and illustrate them with selected photographs. This summary volume will be our gift to the German students when they arrive in Columbus.

In August the TUD students will come to Columbus for fieldwork here. Part of your work for this class will include helping to set up the visit and participating actively for that two weeks, so please plan your summer schedules accordingly.

IMPORTANT TRIP NOTES

1. Before we go to Germany I will ask everyone to meet with me individually. At that time, please be sure to let me know about any special aspects of your situation I need to be aware of --- for example, I need to know about chronic conditions like diabetes, fear of heights, claustrophobia, etc. in order to help arrange things so you can cope.
   
   If you have specific tools that you need like contact lenses or hearing aids (even rubber bands for your braces) I need to know in case of emergencies. In general I need to be aware of any special circumstances in order to make sure things go as smoothly and safely as possible.



2. Check your final exam schedule now. Then get your travel plans made as early as possible. You must be in Dresden and ready to start by 8 a.m. on Monday, June 14, 2004. I suggest you get there earlier if at all possible. You will want some recovery time after the trip. To minimize the jet lag, don't drink alcohol on the plane trip, but drink lots of water. Move around on the plane when you can. After arriving in Dresden spend time outdoors --- preferably in sunshine --- until it is a normal, or nearly normal, bedtime in Dresden. Get up at the normal time the next morning and then try to stick to a normal schedule by Dresden times. Keep in mind that it takes a day to fly to Germany. If you leave Columbus on Saturday, you will arrive in Dresden on Sunday.



3. We will need to know your travel plans early enough to finalize room reservations. We are putting the students into a bed and breakfast and we will be the only guests for the two weeks --- there are 8 bedrooms and everyone will share a room. Everyone will need a passport. If you are not an American citizen you may need visas --- be prepared to go to Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic at least (we can work around it if you are not able to get visas that allow you into Poland and the Czech Republic, but you absolutely must be able to get into and out of Germany). Foreign students should make sure that they have the appropriate visa to leave the US and return.



4. Pay close attention all through the quarter for announcements, changes and information on what to take along and a myriad of other things. Try to stay flexible and be prepared to roll with the punches.

Excursions (Details under TRIP NOTES)
Dresden June 13th - June 27th (including trips into Poland and the Czech Republic)
Columbus August 15th - August 28th (including trip to Indianapolis)

Class Meetings
The class will meet at least once a week during Spring Quarter. We will meet in Brown Hall 270 at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays except when we are planning an all-class video conference. On video conference days we will meet in Baker Systems Engineering on the fifth floor, room 580.

At least once during the quarter, I would like to have a social gathering at my home. We may also want to have additional class meetings. In past years, we discovered that one-day a week wasn't really enough time for the discussions and material we wanted to cover. Class meetings will usually involve some lecture, discussion and short presentations (part of class participation) from class members. The discussions will focus on readings, questions and concerns from class members in either country.

March 30
Course introduction, OIE introduction
Discussion: What are the major crises and hidden challenges facing US cities? German cities?
Turn in a list in order of which subtopic you would like to work on - list by title of the subtopic (not by number). You can also tell me one or two that you really do not want to work on.

April 6
First hour: Katrin Anacker on Planning in Germany
Second hour: Housing and community futures in the face of demographic change

April 13
Kimberly Gibson: Regional Growth and Governance and their impact on the major crises and hidden challenges of urban regions

April 20
Finish Housing and community future and move on to Actors and Programs in housing and community redevelopment

April 27
First Video conference - meet in Baker Sytems 5th floor, room 580
Exchange of ideas about Urban and Regional Development in Germany and the US; get to know each other

May 4
Second Video conference -- meet in Baker Systems 5th floor, room 580
Sustainable Development in US Urban Regions (Prof. Morrow-Jones); discussion

May 11
Location of economic growth and the impact of transportation issues

May 18
Events and tourism as new forms of economic development

May 25
Flooding and environmental hazards and their impacts on urban development

June 1
Emergency management systems and the role of preventive planning

June 8
Third Video Conference -- Baker 580
Sustainable Development in the Urban Region, Germany (Prof. Müller) and discussion
(note that this is our final exam time, but our exam is scheduled from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and I would rather keep this to our consistent class time of 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.. Let me know in the first two weeks of class if this is a problem)

June 14
8:00 a.m. in Dresden at the Institute for Ecological and Regional Research

We will set up summer meetings via e-mail so be sure to keep checking mail when you are back in Columbus.

For a complete look at the images, posters, and updates that accompany the syllabi for this course, see the OSU web site at http://facweb.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/dresden/.

See also the Comments by Morrow-Jones on teaching these courses.