UAP5224: Quantitative Techniques in Planning

Urban Affairs and Planning
Dr. Kris Wernstedt

Course Hours

Mondays 7.00-9.45pm

Course Overview

This subject —also sometimes confusingly called Research Methods in Planning and Policy— is an introductory course in planning-analytic methods. It aims to use common data sources to expose students to a range of quantitative methods that planners may use in their work and, importantly, to the nitty gritty of interpreting results yielded by the application of these methods.

The class features lectures, in-class demonstrations and assignments, and out-of class assignments, both individual and group.

Material surveyed covers a wide variety of methodological approaches —statistics, cost-benefit analysis, project evaluation, economic base modeling, and decision analysis, among others— with the plurality of course time on statistics.

Grading

• 10% Problem Sets: 2 sets of problems at 3% for 1st set and 7% for 2nd set, both individual assignments.
• 30% Project Assignments: 3 assignments at 10% for each assignment, with 1 being individual and 2 being either individual or group as preferred.
• 20% Class Study: class project report with oral presentations and written report.
• 30% Final Project: long-term individual project with 1-page proposal and oral presentation.
• 10% Class Participation: showing up and fighting comatose leanings is part of it, actively participating is the other.

Basic Bibliography

• J. M. Kenneth, L. B. Jeffrey and J. Bohte, Applied Statistics for Public andNonprofit Administration, Wadsworth Publishing, 6th edition 2005.
• Other reading on VT Blackboard.

Additional Bibliography

• B. Dretzke, Statistics with Microsoft Excel, Prentice Hall, 3rd edition 2004.
• G. Blake and R. W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, Longman, 2000.

Students are also requested to acquire a pocket calculator (cheap and cheesy is fine).

Published by Julián Urbano on January 1 of 2007