PLAN 3500

I don't know if I can truly recommend this class. In retrospect, I enjoyed the course and its content quite well (it was titled introduction to urban design), but the execution was mediocre at best. The course consisted of weekly readings with a 600 word discussion post, 2 10 minute PowerPoint presentations (1 midterm and 1 final), and a 14-page final paper we could work on with a partner. None of these materials were graded throughout the semester and I still don't know what constituted my final grade. In a way, I felt like this course was entirely graded on vibes. We met once a week for 2 and a half hours which felt like a waste of time. Course sessions didn't have much direction and we would often spend time watching recorded lectures of other professors from YouTube. The readings weren't bad, but it seemed like we were trying to dissect them more than they deserved. Prof. Jafari is not a very engaging professor and she doesn't give positive affirmation during discussions (something she is self aware of). Not to mention, she is straight up rude to certain students throughout the course. I feel like if this course wasn't once a week and we didn't spend so much time watching recorded lectures it would've been much more fruitful. At the end of the day, this class felt like one where I should've been guaranteed an A because of how opaque the grading was and the sheer lack of material we worked through during class and that just wasn't the case. This isn't an objectively bad course, but I feel like there are definitely better options.

#tCFS24