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Reflection Journal—Assignment Instructions
PUP 363 History of Planning

One of the learning outcomes for this course is the ability to analyze lessons learned from planning actions of
the past, and apply these lessons to contemporary urban issues. This semester-long assignment challenges
you to reflect on these lessons learned, and to develop a journal where you will elaborate your thoughts.

Assignment Background

Over the course of this semester we will examine numerous planning “movements” and influential schools of
thought that forever left a mark on US cities, for better and for worse. Your task in this assignment is to
reflect on each of these movements and what lessons can be learned from their successes and their failures.
In particular, consider the problems we face in contemporary cities, and how these lessons from the past can
be applied to today’s urban issues. For each movement, here are some possible things to consider when
identifying lessons learned:

 What did the movement stand for and believe in (i.e. their values)?

 What were their goals and objectives?

 How did the movement attempt to achieve these goals?

 When they were successful, what contributed to these successes?

 When they failed, what contributed to these failures?

 How were urban issues then similar to today?

 How did the values and goals of the movement back then align with ours today?

 What were the key lessons learned?

 How can we apply these lessons to cities today?

Assignment Steps

Step 1 (By 1/17 @ 3:05PM): Create a Google Doc, which will become your journal for the semester, and
submit the link to your document via Blackboard (found under the “Reflection Journal” tab).

To create a Google Doc, do the following:

 Create a Google account (if needed)

 Sign in to your Google account and access Docs either through Google Drive, or by clicking on the
Google app symbol and navigating to Docs.

 Start a new, blank document:

 In Google Drive, click on the “New” button, and a small notification window will appear from
which you can choose Google Docs.

 In Docs, click on the blank document to start working on a new file.

 Rename the document “(YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME) Reflection Journal”

 Obtain a shareable link to the Doc:

 Click the “Share” button (upper right corner)

 Select “Get shareable link” and change the status to “Anyone with the link can comment”

 Copy the link and select “Done”

 Paste and submit your link under the “Reflection Journal” tab on Blackboard. (Look for the “Submit
Journal Link Here” link.)

Step 2 (After each class): Reflect on the material covered in class and what lessons can be learned and
applied to cities today. Select at least two different key concepts or main ideas from each class, and compose

a journal entry that discusses how these concepts or ideas can be applied to cities today (such as to Phoenix,
or to your own hometown). Compose a journal entry for each class and/or movement that we cover in
planning history. (Use headers to better organize your journal by class/movement and date of entry.) Though
you are expected to make an entry after each class, the quality of each entry will weigh more heavily on your
grade than the quantity of entries or their length. Think of your journal as a living document, which you can
(and should) continuously built upon. Enter new entries for each class, but also add to existing entries as you
reflect on the various urban planning movements covered over the course of the semester.

Grading

Your progress on your reflection journal, and the quality of entries made to date, will be checked periodically
and randomly throughout the semester, with points awarded at each check-in. These check-ins will be
unannounced. If you score poorly on a check-in, you can still add to your journal’s prior entries (in addition to
new entries) to improve your future check-in scores. The goal is to have a completed journal by the end of the
semester, where you have entered high-quality entries that reflect on the lessons that can be learned from
each of the movements in planning history.

The following is the grading breakdown for this assignment:

Google Doc Link Submission (Due 1/17) 2 Points
Check-In #1 3 Points
Check-In #2 5 Points
Check-In #3 10 Points
Final Check-In 20 Points

Total 40 Points

Scores assigned will be based primarily on the thoughtfulness and quality of the entries, and ability to analyze
lessons learned from history and apply to them today, with the quantity and length of the entries a secondary
basis for grading.