Undergraduate Catalog

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Planning and Community Development (CMTY) Undergraduate Programs

359 STEWART HALL/(320) 308-3160
www.stcloudstate.edu/communitydevelopment

Also see School of Public Affairs description and requirements.

Chairperson: David L. Wall
Program Director: Aspasia Rigopoulou-Melcher
Faculty: Rigopoulou-Melcher, Ugochukwu, Van Assche, Woldeamanuel
Office Manager: Hartkopf

The Department of Geography and Planning provides the following degree-granting program: Planning and Community Development. The program in Planning and Community Development also provides Liberal Education courses in Goal Area 5 (History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences); Goal Area 8 (Global Perspectives); and Goal Area 9 (Civic Engagement and Ethics). The program in Planning and Community Development is a partner in a commitment to foster the study, development, and enhancement of sustainable communities, with particular focus on Minnesota.

Community outreach is also an important dimension of the Department. Our goal is to establish partnerships with other institutions and organizations that will permit the Department to sponsor community-oriented symposia and workshops, to serve as a resource center for community concerns and issues in the upper midwest, and to provide students from the department with hands-on experience working directly with local communities.

Programs

• Planning and Community Development
• Heritage Preservation
  

Planning and Community Development is a dynamic field of study that strives to improve the social, economic, and environmental qualities in our communities. It focuses on the design and implementation of programs designed to make a community a better place to live and work. Working to enhance a sense of place and sense of community is central to this field, as are the principles of sustainable development, social and environmental justice. Planning and Community Development integrates the following key elements:

• The characteristics of rural, suburban, and urban communities, emphasizing their heritage, built and natural environments, economic and social conditions, and cultural features;
• The issues confronting communities, such as suburban sprawl, affordable housing, downtown revitalization, environmental quality, social justice, traffic congestion, aging populations, neighborhood cohesion, and heritage preservation, to name but a few;
• Strategies to address these community issues, which can combine aspects of community organization and partnerships, urban and regional planning, citizen participation, community design, economic development, advocacy, and sustainable development.

Planning and Community Development is an applied major. Through class activities, community-based research projects, guest speakers, and a required full-semester professional internship experience, students gain the necessary tools and experience to be successful in this field. The program strongly emphasizes communication and leadership skills. Students of Community Development learn to speak, write, and interact effectively, both as individuals and in groups.

Graduates of this program are well prepared to help communities in a number of important areas, including:

• City and regional planning
• Community preservation and design
• Local economic development
• Sustainable development
• Neighborhood/community organization
• Housing
• Downtown development
• Environmental management
• Transportation planning
• Human/social services
• Community economic development

Students interested in learning more about Planning and Community Development are encouraged to talk with the program director/advisor.

Admission requirements for students declaring a B.A. major or minor in Planning and Community Development include:

• Have earned at least 12 semester credits overall, nine of which must be from SCSU;
• Have achieved an overall GPA of 2.55 or higher in all coursework at SCSU
• Have earned a "B-" or higher in CMTY 200 (if course is repeated, including withdrawals, the second attempt must be from a different instructor).

Bachelor of Arts

Major (60)

Students need to take the Core and choose a planning track.

A.  Core (42): Required of all majors

      1.  Planning Core (36):  CMTY 200, 333, 394, 350, 367, 369, 464, 454 or 363, 493, 494, GEOG 315

      2.  Diversity Core (6):  Choose one class from each category

           GERO 435 or 411; CMTY 470 or 475

      Completion of CMTY 350 with a grade of C or better fulfills the upper division writing requirement.

B.  Planning Tracks

      Choose one of the following specialization tracks.

      1.  Physical Planning (18)

           a.  Track Core (15):  CMTY 422, 428, 450, 451, 452

           b.  Track Electives (3):  Select one course

                 CMTY 363, 410, 466, CMST 341, ENGL 332, FIRE 378, GEOG 416, 457, HIST 447

      2.  Environmental Planning (18)

           a.  Track Core (12):  CMTY 422, 450 or 451, 452, GEOG 492

           b.  Track Electives (6):  Select two courses

                CMTY 410, 428, 455, 466, CMST 341, ECON 351, ENGL 332, ETS 363, 367, 468, GEOG 303, 372, PSY 323

      3.  Economic Development Planning (18)

           a.  Track Core (12):  CMTY 363, (if it has not been taken in the core or substituted), 422, 450, ECON 365

           b.  Track Electives (6):  Select two courses

                CMTY 410, 452, 455, 466, ECON 465, FIRE 378, GEOG 271, 385, 396, 497, HIST 447

      4.  Public Planning (18)

           a.  Track Core (12):  CMTY 363, 422, 451 or 450, 452

           b.  Track Electives (6):  Select two courses

                CMTY 410, 455, 466, ECON 461, GEOG 457, HIST 447, POL 312, 313, 380, 481, 483, 484, 489

      5.  Planning and GIS (18)

           CMTY 422, 451 or 452, GEOG 350, 406, 416, 462

      6.  Diversity Planning (18)

           a.  Track Core (15):  CMTY 422, 452, 455, GEOG 493, POL 487

           b.  Elective (3):  Select one course

                CMTY 410, 466, 470 or 475 (whichever has not been taken as part of the Diversity Core), CMST 341, ENGL 332, ETHS 313,

                HIST 447, GEOG 270, 471, GERO 405, WS 405

Minor (24)
Core (15)
CMTY 200, 333, 350, 394, 464

Specializations Distribution (9)
CMTY 367, 369, 410, 422 or 428, 452, 455, 466, 450 or 451

Note: Up to 6 credits can be double-counted with another major or minor

Minor in Heritage Preservation (24)

The Heritage Preservation minor provides students with an understanding of the importance of a community's heritage in its design and development, a systematic understanding of American architectural and landscape forms, and specialized knowledge of heritage preservation as it relates to opportunities to synthesize and apply this knowledge to community projects and programs.

Core (18)
CMTY 200 or 410; 350, 394, 450, 451; 464 or 367

Electives (6): Select  two courses from the following:
CMTY 333, 455, GEOG 270, 457, HIST 447

Note: Up to 6 credits can be double-counted with another major or minor