curriculum and teaching  

Internal and External Analysis 

Internal: What are our goals for the Academy? 

  • Urban Planning/BIA involvement
  • Localizing SDG’s 
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  (EDI) 
  • Simplifying Legislation –  focus on the impact grass root organizations can have

We then need to lay out a plan as to how to properly address and educate people on these topics in London. 

External: 

  • Urban Planning/BIA involvement

Purpose: to better educate the public on growth management policy, developmental processes, and effective economic community development. 

Motive: to allow marginalized communities, youth in London, and older generations to have a better understanding of the Urban Planning process and provide them the tools and knowledge to have an effective voice in Urban Planning debates. 

Format: A four month program where individuals take two courses. 2 classes per week – 2 hour classes. Program runs February – May & August – November. 

Topics Taught: 

  • Evolution of Urban Planning: From Dirt Roads to Skyline Pathways
  • Indigenous Communities and Urban Reserves: Why Indigenous Representation in Cities Matter
  • Active Transportation & Accessibility: Walkability, Cycling, and Marginalized Groups 
  • Aging in Place: 8-80 and What Does it Mean?
  • Business Improvement Areas: Sustainable Economic Development on a Micro-level

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Have all participants be able to have a foundational knowledge of each topic
  • For students (secondary students) enrolled: have a pass fail exam for these courses and let that be used as a course towards graduation requirements 
  • Have the knowledge taught in these courses be translatable to local issues

Urban Planning Certificate: Pass three of five courses offered at the Academy 

  • Localizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)s

Purpose: For citizens to gain a better understanding of what the SDGs are/their function and most importantly, why their engagement is needed for them to succeed

Format: Fill Summer Gap – June & July – 2 Topics – Overview & Engagement – 1 Each Month – 4 week Courses – Once a week for 2 hours

Topics Taught:

  • SDGs and their purpose
  • Creating and tracking indicators
  • Citizens curating data to keep city accountable (Progress Tracker – Brazil)

Learning Outcomes:

  • Have citizens understand the basics of each SDG and how the localization process will create a ripple effect
  • Understanding that tracking progress is based on the indicators used
  • Show them how they can help keep track of progress by inputting data themselves and keeping the city accountable (Progress Tracker – Brazil)
  • Legislation (SEMINARS?) HARJ ? 

Purpose: Use case studies to show citizens how organizing can help influence policy change (Oakland, California).

Format: Optional Addition to Fall Semester. 3 Courses, One each month, Once a week, 1 hour. 

Topics Taught:

  • How to increasing cultural and social capital 
  • Community Engagement 
  • Organized Movement (process of becoming a nonprofit)
  • Collaborative Work           

Learning Outcomes: 

  • Instill knowledge of how to expand your network and therefore your cultural and social capital
  • How to hold community engagement events
  • The process of registering as a nonprofit with the group of people that have been able to come together
  • Learning ways of working with city’s department and council 

EDI 

Purpose:

  • Embrace and teach culturally sustaining pedagogy within the Academy civic education curriculum

Format:

  • Three-hour informal workshops with guest lecturers from different community stakeholders 

Topics Taught: 

  • Intersectionality within City Planning: Learning about city planning from an intersectional perspective as a way to cultivate a deeper understanding of city planning and citizen engagement outside of traditional city planning discourse. 
  • The importance of community outreach and diverse knowledge systems: Work with local community stakeholders to create a curriculum of city planning that encompasses local narratives and cultural understanding. 

Learning Outcomes:: 

  • Create “homeplaces” within the academy where cultural affirmation and community knowledge can be built. 
  • Build and support community capacity for cultural organizing. Cultural organizing in turn offers insight into civic engagement and learning.
  • Continue dialogue on transparent and EDI protocol, strategies within the Academy 
  • Get community involvement by not only teaching civic engagement/ city planning but also learning from the communities themselves. Outreach should utilize “homeplaces” so that communities can voice and share their knowledge and experiences on their terms and through their own culturally relevant language.
  • Build and sustain relationships with community stakeholders/ local organizations.
  • Create more opportunities for the diversification of city planners. 
  • Foster counter- storytelling from communities. Counter-storytelling provides authentic narratives of urban spaces that are culturally and socially relevant.

Recommendations/Key Observations

 

Assessing Effectiveness of our Curriculum: Three-Tiers 

First Tier Outcomes: 

  • Individuals start to act in a way that directly correlates with the teachings of the Academy
  • More outreach and better education on an individual level that can be measured in social, cultural, and political capitals. A more educated individuals

Second Tier Outcomes: 

  • A cascading effect of first tier outcomes where enough individuals have gone through the Academy where we can start to see more civic engagement in London. 
  • More capacity to handle new outreach and education programs where initiatives and projects start to flourish
  • There may be more individual efforts at the start but as more individuals go through the Academy we see more participants and more collaboration

Third Tier Outcomes: 

  •  Community collaboration and programs are becoming common and are tangible. We can start to physically see the difference in London
  • City of London embraces the Academy and how we tackle community issues changes to a community level change

Risks and Mitigations 

Risks: 

  • We are not a diverse enough of a group.
  • We do not understand the issues of the community well enough.
  • People do not know about the Academy.
  • Our agenda does not coincide with existing political agenda of people in positions of political authority.
  • Being genuine with citizens and not having them feel as though they are being used by us for our own purposes.
  • We do not have enough of a workforce to actually teach these courses that people are enrolled in.
  • Low level of course enrollment due to lack of community awareness.

Mitigation: 

  • Constantly have an open advertisement that is specifically targeted for EDI (Theodora)
  • Understand what work is being done and needs to be done through proper. collaboration with community members. Constantly survey the public for ongoing or new issues that exist.
  • Make sure that we spend a good amount of time on self promotion, make sure that people know we exist.
  • Have a constant line of communication with community stakeholders and the City of London to make sure we know what they want taught or what gaps exist in their agendas.
  • Foster relationship with nonprofits and provide them a platform for free advertisement and events through teaching.
  • Guest lecture certain topics so the burden of a whole course is not on the shoulders of one person.
  • Make sure courses are fun. Have activities, events, and volunteering aspects in every course. We want this to be a positive experience.