This course will explore urban design, transportation planning, housing design, the landscape, community activism, and the role they play in the development of our city. In a series of four walking tours of San Diego neighborhoods, we will examine ongoing local issues and the role of the built environment in these issues, as well as consider the development of the city within the push-pull relationship of conservation/preservation and growth. Through in person interaction with our physical space, you will encounter how policy, its implementation, and the informal nature of the city influence your life in San Diego.
Note: Each walking tour stands alone — sign up for one, some, or all four!
More details on each session:
Two hour walking tour through Bankers Hill and Balboa park exploring the history of the early development of San Diego and the political, social, and economic drivers that shaped the form of the city and its architecture from 1880-1920.
Walking tour around Barrio Logan focusing on the ways racialized and minority communities experience urban development by looking at the creation of Chicano Park. We will examine how community action can influence the feel and shape of an area and compare and contrast it to the patterns of development seen in the previous walk through Bankers Hill and Balboa Park.
Two hour exploration of Mission Valley via the Green Line, starting and ending at Old Town Station. We will explore how transportation systems, housing developments, and the natural environment interact along the San Diego River. Plan to explore a couple access points along the river as well as discuss the past, present and future of transit and housing development in San Diego. Note: This tour is planned to take 2 hours but due to the nature of public transit, please consider it may go slightly longer!
For our ‘final’, we will be planning a project in tactical urbanism. What is Tactical Urbanism, you may ask? It is the act of community-led DIY installations or improvements to our city infrastructure. This can be done to solve a neglected problem (like painting a crosswalk) or to demonstrate alternative land uses (such as setting up an impromptu poetry reading in an empty parking spot).
Sign up either as a volunteer or an attendee for this final project! Details TBD but we will be picking something doable and fun and likely in one of the higher foot-traffic neighborhoods around Balboa Park.
Megan Walker has her BA in political science, BS in urban planning, and MS in urban studies with 11 years of experience in urban planning focused in transportation planning and historic preservation. She has a passion for exploring how our built environment impacts people's lives and the impacts of both good and bad urban design.
Dorrie Bruggemann studied Cognitive Sciences for her BA and works in climate change activism. In her work and life, she is deeply engaged with the question of how to utilize the tools that activism, culture, community, design, and relationship building provide to promote human flourishing.
Want to join? Fill out the application form below!