Order Description
Title of essay: Critically discuss the view that challenges for planning theory and professional practice are concerned with new and re-theorisations of sustainability, governance and governability, uncertainty, conflict and political complexities.

Teaching objectives of the assessment:

1. To highlight the theoretical and practical issues associated with implementation of integrated planning policies in practice.
2. To demonstrate an understanding of how the anticipated skills and ethical expectations of a planner have evolved over time to incorporate various governance systems in planning.
3. To demonstrate an understanding of how planners interact with various stake holders in formulating, implementing and reviewing plans, and how the planning process is characterised by effort, success and failure and how planning theory explains such outcomes.
4. To understand complexity in professional planning practice
5. To foster a strong culture of critical thinking.
6. To enable students to reflect on the arguments for and against spatial planning
7. To enable students to reflect on the linkage between planning and sustainability

Learning outcomes of the assessment:

Upon completion of this assignment, students should be able to:

1. Identify various contemporary issues in planning that embrace the concept of governance in resolving planning and development issues
2. Identify the complex skills required in planning
3. Identify various contemporary and historical examples from various published material to demonstrate the dynamic skills required for planners and the role of context in interpreting spatial planning issues.
4. Critically discuss different or contrasting theoretical views in interpreting development challenges and engagement with stake holder
5. Integrate various planning and related theories to develop a coherent critical argument that engages the developments of planning theory to those of governance and ethics in the profession of spatial planning
6. Demonstrate an ability to write a well argued and appropriately referenced essay using appropriate academic material avoiding use of non-academic internet material.
7. Demonstrate an understanding of how planning system integrate sustainability concerns
8. Demonstrate an ability to write a well-argued and appropriately referenced essay using appropriate academic material avoiding use of non-academic internet material.