PLAN 1010

If you are looking for an easy class that you dont have to attend- this is the one. Your entire grade for the class consists of a midterm, a paper, and a final exam. The midterm and final are in the same format where you are given terms to compare and contrast. A study guide is sent out before each exam with terms to know, as long as you have an idea of what each term means you will do fine on the exams. The community analysis paper is long and boring (15 pages) BUT can be done fairly quickly because all the information is pulled from online. Use chatgpt to give you a general paper outline and ideas to talk about and you will easily be able to fill all 15 pages. While he takes "attendance" on canvas, you can say you are in class from anywhere. I didnt go to a single class after the midterm and still got an A on the final. You dont need to be present in lecure to do well- most of the concepts are common sense and you should already have a pretty good understanding of.

This class is overall not too difficult - there are readings before every class (but no one really does them). There is a midterm, a final, and a final paper. The midterm wasn't too bad, you essentially have to know the meanings of many core concepts and then compare/contrast them and write some about bigger thematic issues. The final paper is the real problem and why I would not necessarily recommend this class unless you need to take it or are extremely interested in urban planning. The paper is a long research paper effectively analyzing the urban planning system, problems, and potential solutions of your hometown (if you end up taking this class DO NOT underestimate this assignment and start working on it like a month ahead). Other than that, Professor Beatley is very passionate about the topic (especially birds), and he is quite nice and willing to talk with you if needed.

If you think you will be interested in its content, this course is a good choice. It gave a great overall introduction to the different elements of urban planning. There is only one graded assignment - a paper about planning in your hometown. I recommend getting a head start on this assignment and conducting appropriate research to get a good grade. The exams consist of essay questions where it is important to demonstrate the content you have learned. Make sure to cover key points that Beatley addresses in class, and use some of his examples.

Beatley was a good professor. He gave active lectures and spoke from knowledge and his experiences. I found his lectures to be entertaining, and I learned a lot in this class.

I personally did not enjoy this class. If you don’t have an interest in urban planning or in the school of architecture then I wouldn’t recommend. Tim is an amazing professor, but class usually just consists of him lecturing about trees and bike accessibility. He recorded attendance during the fall; unsure if he’ll continue to do that. The exams weren’t too bad, if you know the basic concepts you’ll be fine. Lots of reading for this class. #tCFS24

PLAN 1010 is a class that I looked greatly forward to coming into college as I applied as an Urban Planning major in the A-School. Professor Beatley is incredibly knowledgeable and nice, but his lectures are not technical and dive into the mechanics of urban planning at all. It is truly the definition of a survey intro course. He talks about examples he is passionate about but does not analyze them very deeply.

The course does not dive into the theory or tools of urban planning. Terms such as zoning and transit-oriented designs are thrown around, but they are not elaborated upon. The readings are long and often dry (as they often go surface-level or are not practical while being ideological). The tests are ok as long as you listened in class. The final paper is rather interesting as you examine the urban planning of your own city/town, but there is not much from class to be applied in analyzing your own place (as none were really taught).

I liked Professor Beatley so much that I ended up working for him. He's one of my favorite professors, and by far the most passionate about his subject of interest. While his lectures get a little dull, and he almost never gets to the end of his slide deck, he makes up for it with fantastic stories and interesting examples.

This class is VERY easy. The essay at the end was a breeze, although some may find it long. So, if you're interested in sustainability and planning and just want to try it out, this is a great way to go.

I'm really interested in urban planning, and this course was incredibly boring. We didn't actually learn any urban planning tools or concepts through meaningful explanations, we just looked at photos of other cities and the professor would ramble about them. This course made me less interested in urban planning and lectures were so boring. Could be a great course if the lectures were more interesting. Would not recommend this class unless you need it for A-school pre-req.

I personally found a lot of value in this course. The subject of planning is so applicable to every aspect of your community that you’ll find a place for almost everything you learn. Professor Beatley is also super nice and cares a lot about his subject (as he’s also a widely published author). He covers a variety of topics throughout the course that I wanted to attend each and every lecture. I know some people may find his lectures dry, but there is something magical about seeing what you learn come into practice. I made sure to attend each of his lectures, which helped me understand each concept for the exam much more thoroughly. Besides the midterm and final, there’s only one assignment in the course which is an analysis paper. Because it’s a much longer term assignment, he gives you a direction to put together your sources. Even though you don’t need to attend lectures, I believe it can only help you in your research and deepen your appreciation for the field as a whole. Would absolutely recommend!

Tim is such a wholesome man and is very passionate about urban planning. Although the lectures are pretty boring, you can zone out for 95% of the lecture and still get the general gist of what is happening. I would usually pay attention to the things I found interesting and then do other work when I didn't. He also provided the key terms that will be on the exam on the final slide of each PowerPoint which you can look up pretty easily. Most people never showed up and still did pretty decent in the class. I never did the readings unless I was interested in a topic, and I still got an A. Also, his class has a pretty easy midterm and final along with a paper that I did the night before. Tim offers a decent amount of easy extra credit like movie night and coming to tour the downtown mall. If you want an easy A and hear a wholesome man talk about the stuff he is passionate about, this is the right class

Professor Beatley is an amazing guy that is very passionate about what he teaches and is willing to help anyone pass this class (the lectures are very dry although). He does assign VERY long readings, but it is not necessary to read them at all (also, he has all of the readings online either in his syllabus or on Collab, so no need to buy any textbooks!). He hosts movie nights and even a tour of downtown Charlottesville! Not a lot of people go to them, but really consider going, you learn a lot! The exams aren't hard at all, just get the definitions from google and study them about one-two weeks prior to the test. You also have plenty of time to do the final paper, it's very easy and quite interesting. I recommend this class to anyone, no matter what major.