Teaching Generation Y: Which Instructional Tools Do Students Prefer in a Traditional Classroom Setting?

The paper evaluates different teaching aids used in an introductory in-class course that focuses on planning theories. We examine the perceptions of students regarding specific teaching tools and how helpful they were in making the course more approachable and providing a better learning experience. The analysis covers 133 student responses over a period of four consecutive years. Findings show that certain instructional tools are regarded as more helpful in making the course material more intelligible. This suggests educators in planning theory courses should review and continuously monitor the didactic tools they use in class.

On planning, planning theories, and practices: A critical reflection

The futility of defining planning suggests that there is no planning as a recognizable practice. Sociology of knowledge definitions imply three kinds of planning practices: (1) Generic “planning”—what people do when they are planning; (2) Knowledge-centered “something” (e.g., spatial) planning; and (3) Real planning practiced in specific contexts, from metro-regional planning for Jakarta to transportation planning for the Trans-Europe Network, and enacted in general contexts, for example, informal- or Southern planning. Planning theories are linked to different practices: generic “planning” theories and “something” (e.g., regional, community, environmental, or Southern) planning theories. Selected topics illustrate the “planning” theory discourse and spatial planning theories are briefly reviewed. Three generations of planning practice studies are reviewed: the first, a-theoretical; the second, the “practice movement,” who studied practice for their own theorizing; and the third, informed by practice theories. Five books about planning show how their planning theorist authors understand planning practice. While recognizing planning as diverse practices, they hardly apply “planning” theory to planning practices. “Planning” theories are divorced from enacted planning practices, “something” (e.g., spatial) planning theories include constructive adaptations of “planning” theories and paradigms, but knowledge about real planning practices is limited. Implications from these conclusions are drawn for planning theory, education, and practices.

Environmental Sensitivity of Planning Practices in Bangladesh vis-à-vis Evolution of Planning Theories

Bangladesh has a long history of physical planning. It started with blueprint-based master planning approach in the 1950s. Since the late 1970s, it has slowly shifted to the rational planning approach following the path laid down by the United Kingdom. Lately, infusion of the North American planning thoughts is observed. Thus, Bangladeshi physical planning never had its own identity. Structure plans are loosely tied to the other tiers of planning packages that are used for development management. Though most of the structure plans address environmental issues, lower tiers of plans often lack their reflection. Often policies are laid down based on popular belief rather than scientific evidence. To establish these arguments, the evolution of the planning practices of Bangladesh is illustrated briefly in the context of the evolution of planning theory. Additionally, environmental sensitivity of a physical plan covering one of the most ecologically sensitive and economically potential areas of Bangladesh, namely Mongla master plan (MNP) is evaluated, as an example, considering the spatial dispersion of sulfur dioxide to be discharged by the coal-fired thermal power plant at Rampal. Unfortunately, MMP failed to stand out from all the rest to prove its soundness.

Replacing place in planning history

Variations are due to happen in the course of Planning History, though there has been an unusual outburst of changes in recent times. Two factors seem to be at the outset of these changes: the crucial growth of global urbanization; and the actual tendency for cities presenting a complex of ‘place’ centralities. Undoubtedly, central to alterations in Planning History are the special conditions of contemporary society, with almost 80% of whose members living in urbanized environments. But next to it comes the extraordinary increase in the production of newly invented ‘places’ under the most diverse forms: entertainment places, themed malls, revamping of historical settings, and so on. This pervading tendency led to changes in planning attitudes, seen as historical in face of their global claims. However, many of the innovative theoretical issues now linked to the concept of place have not been thoroughly examined in the Planning area so far. Additionally, the concept is now engrossing the research interests of other disciplines, which results in important contributions being introduced to its foundational aspects, hence, establishing a transdisciplinary condition to its essence. In fact, planning theory seems now ripe to ‘replace’ its prevalent understanding of place. This paper intends to suggest some of the directions to follow in such an attempt. Methodologically, it will pursue the directions set by three types of conflicts generated by the variations: controversies, contrasts, and challenges. To approach the variations in terms of the controversies implies to realize the duality in the roles places can perform in today’s societal behaviours: a functional as well as an existential one. Indeed, for some scholars, the new invented places of today are appropriated as new places of urbanity, leading to think that we are on the brink of a situation where the perception of place can influence the perception of ‘urbanity’ – urbanity understood as that unique quality forwarded by cities to their citizens in terms of communication and sociability – ultimately entailing new ways of enjoying the urbanity cities have to offer. Contrasts associated to the variations bring to light a duality present in the Planning discipline itself. Previously, the discipline had that the sense of place would derive exclusively from society’s practices, emerging from them as a social construction, whereas today, besides being a social construction, place is also regarded as an economic construction. This is a condition that sometimes exacerbates inherent social contrasts, producing cities dotted with fragments of exception believed to act upon the urban structure as disintegrative factors evidencing latent differences. Finally, to approach the variations in terms of their challenges will direct the focus towards the planning decisions city’s administrators are faced to take when settling to embark on the placemaking + placemarketing game – or not – a challenge cities increasingly are compelled to adhere to, often at the risk of engaging on demanding competitive practices.

The Value of Public Participation in Land-Use Planning for Redeeming Congestion in South African Municipalities

This paper captures the value of public participation as a redeemer of South African municipalities in land use planning. In this paper, it is argued that there is scant public participation in local government developmental matters, especially in land-use planning. South African municipalities are congested due to lack of public participation in land-use planning in the municipal arena. This is despite the fact that the constitution requires active public engagement in questions of developing local administration. The challenge of inactive public participation endures throughout the IDP, and this is now perceived as a dream wish. It is further argued that it is important to involve the public in land-use, especially in the following categories: commercial, residential, public facilities, industrial, and open spaces. The arguments in this paper were also founded on Patsy Healey's 1997 theory of collaborative planning. Collaborative planning theory has been used to develop ideas and arguments. This is a conceptual paper based on secondary data. The paper relied heavily on current literature on public participation and land-use planning. Despite the arrival of democracy in South Africa, the theoretical findings of this research indicated that there is still apartheid in spatial planning. It is also discovered that the adopted South African apartheid spatial planning continues to overlook community involvement in municipal land-use planning. When it comes to planning, the study proposes that municipal authorities follow the Batho Pele principles. At the municipal level, public engagement should not be passive but interactive and consultative. Finally, the paper advocates for land-use planning reforms and the use of active public engagement to save South African municipalities from congestion.

Characteristics of Foreign Language Education in Italy and Implications: From the Perspective of National Foreign Language Capacity

This article reviews foreign language education in Italy using a national language competence-oriented evaluation approach. Foreign language education is at the heart of the acquisition component of language planning, and assessing foreign language education from the perspective of the purpose of language policy, i.e. the promotion of national language competence, which refers to the sum total of the government’s ability to deal with all language-related issues of strategic interests and allows for a more direct application of language planning theory. Based on the theoretical framework of National Foreign Language Capacity and acquisition planning, this study presents a detailed analysis of the characteristics and problems of Italian foreign language education policy, taking into account its ‘rationality,’ ‘coverage,’ and ‘influence,’ which are three interrelated indicators that allow for a comprehensive and specific assessment of national foreign language competence. By revealing the inadequacies of Italy’s national language proficiency system, the author intends to provide an insight into the gap between the effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation in foreign language education in Italy and to suggest some widespread problems in foreign language education that are similar to those in China.

Planning in Times of Uncertainty

Coastal city-regions are dealing with new wicked problems due to climate change. Therefore, there is a demand for alternative paradigms and methodologies beyond the neoconservative perspective, demanding a transformative planning practice based on a territory-landscape plan as a catalyst for change. Landscape approaches are not ‘new,’ but they have become a driving paradigm in the international realm during the last decades. This paper explores the differences in taking a landscape approach on the Global North and South and discusses how a landscape approach can add value to coastal planning theory, especially when looking for the territories of the 21st metropolis. Conclusions have shown that landscape approaches from both Global North and South can strongly lead to a transformative and adaptive response.

Democratic Discourse in the Digital Public Sphere: Re-imagining Copyright Enforcement on Online Social Media Platforms

Within the current European Union (EU) online copyright enforcement regime—of which Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive [2019] constitutes the seminal legal provision—the role of online content-sharing service providers (OCSSPs) is limited to ensuring that copyright owners obtain fair remuneration for content shared over their platforms (role of “content distributors”) and preventing unauthorized uses of copyright-protected content (“Internet police”). Neither role allows for a recognition of OCSSPs’ role as facilitators of democratic discourse and the duty incumbent on them to ensure that users’ freedom to engage in democratic discourse are preserved. This chapter proposes a re-imagining of the EU legal framework on online copyright enforcement—using the social planning theory of copyright law as a normative framework—to increase its fitness for preserving and promoting copyright law’s democracy-enhancing function.

The framing of power in communicative planning theory: Analysing the work of John Forester, Patsy Healey and Judith Innes

In this paper, I analyse the framing of power in streams of communicative planning influenced by American pragmatism, sociological institutionalism and alternative dispute resolution. While scholars have heavily debated Habermasian communicative planning theory, the broader conception of power across these linked, but distinct, streams of the theory remains to be explicated. Through analysis of 40 years’ of publishing by John Forester, Patsy Healey and Judith Innes – widely cited representatives of these three streams – a broader account of the treatment of power in communicative planning is established. The analysis shows that the streams of communicative planning provide distinct approaches to power with a joint focus on criticising conflictual illegitimate power over and developing ideas for how consensual power with might arise through agency in the micro practices of planning. Even if communicative planning thereby offers more for reflections on power than critics have acknowledged, the theory still leaves conceptual voids regarding constitutive power to and legitimate power over.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Rescue System Design and Traffic Model Planning

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are widely used in disaster relief and road exploration in recent years. This paper mainly studied the emergency response of UAVs after disasters. The UAV response system is mainly suitable for the distribution of necessities and road exploration after geological disasters and tsunamis in coastal areas. By analyzing the problem and making reasonable assumptions, the optimization model was established with the traffic planning theory, and MATLAB software was used to program and solve the problem. An optimal scheduling scheme was presented to solve these problems. The normalization method was used to select a highly capable UAV. Taking the minimum volume of idle space buffer material as the objective function and taking into account the constraints, such as payload of unmanned aerial vehicle, a single objective programming model was established. The results are as follows: Each International Standards Organization (ISO) cargo container has five UAVs B, one UAV C, one UAV F and one UAV H. It provides 188 days of relief requirements with ISO cargo containers’ space utilization of 71.4%. The research shows that the UAV response system has the functions of necessities distribution and road exploration after disasters, and can be used to deal with the emergency response after disasters in coastal areas, and has a wide range of applicability.