Participation and Negotiation

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

140 hours

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.
The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website : http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject was formerly known as Managing Change.

All practitioners in the built environment need at some point to be aware of the strategies and techniques that can be employed to elicit constructive involvement from the public, and to negotiate changes to environments where we live, play, and work. This subject will impart to students the skills involved in encouraging and managing participation in planning and designing the built environment. These skills include:

• Meeting facilitation
• Community consultation and participation
• Cross-cultural learning
• Negotiation, mediation, consensus-building
• Evaluation of community participation processes.

There will be considerable reliance on hands-on exercises based on case studies from around the world. The subject aims to be relevant to urban and social planners, landscape architects, urban designers, architects, property professionals, community developers and environmental activists.

On completion of this subject, students should have:

• Knowledge of community and built environment change processes
• Techniques and skills involved in encouraging and managing participation and consensus-building in the planning and design of changes to our natural, working, and living environments
• Ability to analyse their past and current experiences in built environment processes in light of heightened knowledge and understanding
• Ability to write and discuss clearly and persuasively on topics related to the process of change in the built environment

This subject is intended to improve students’:

• Knowledge of social and built environment change processes in the context of urban governance for sustainability;
• Understanding of techniques and skills involved in encouraging and managing participation and consensus-building in the planning and design of changes to our natural, working and living environments;
• Ability to analyse their past and current professional experiences in light of this heightened knowledge and understanding;
• Ability to write and discuss clearly and persuasively on topics related to the process of environmental change management.

• Participation in 4 small group exercises (20%), due in class
• 3 mini-essays (250-500 words each) (15%), due during the teaching period and immediately after the teaching period
• Group Presentations (15%), due final day of teaching period
• Final Essay (50%) due 10 weeks after final day of teaching period

None specified

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• The ability to engage in interdisciplinary work
• Identification of emergent trends in practice
• Critical evaluation of policies and practices
• Understanding of ethical responses to issues