Open Educational Resources

Document Type

Assignment

Publication Date

11-20-2025

Abstract

This teaching resource focuses on a multi-week assignment for my URBST 260: Planning & Politics course for the Spring 2026 semester.
The purpose of this assignment is for students to analyze a large-scale planning project within New York City and particularly Queens. This assignment will focus on the Willets Point redevelopment in Queens. By the end of this assignment, students will be able to:

  • Explain the context of Willets Point. That is, students will be able to explain the
    1. actors involved (whether for, against, or indifferent to the redevelopment),
    2. planning and policy tools used to develop the site, and
    3. historical and planning context of the site.
  • Describe how the site is itself situated and how it is situated within Queens; and
  • Critically analyze the (anticipated or unanticipated) outcomes of the Willets Point Redevelopment.

Students will produce a collective “Project Profile” that will consist of three parts. The first part will be a written document that we will draft at the end of week 2. This document will synthesize the main actors involved, tools used, and context of the site. The second part will be a presentation of their group site visits. These summations can be written documents, maps, video or audio recorded observations, or any other format that fits with the information collected from the site visits. The third part is a critical reflection brief. Here, students will offer a critical analysis of the Willets Point redevelopment in a 1-page written document that provides the benefits or burdens of the project for Queens and New York City as well as suggestions for improvement, if needed.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

CUNY OER Funding

CUNY OER Initiative

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