Submitted by James A. Kushner, Professor of Law, Southwestern University School of Law.

Professor Kushner teaches Comparative Urban Planning Law as both a law school class and a geography class. He notes in the introduction to the course prospectus that the term "law" is meant to reinforce the idea that planning theory and policy also require implementation and that the law is a method of implementation (through regulations, codes, tax incentives, and other regulatory devices).

The Comparative Urban Planning Law Seminar focuses on five policy areas: growth management, infrastructure financing, housing and affordable housing, transportation, and urban revitalization. Within each of these areas, Professor Kushner overlays principles associated with smart growth. Kushner includes critiques of smart growth approaches from a variety of perspectives including market orientation, ideological, and legal.

See more examples of course prospectuses that teach smart growth concepts at colleges and universities.

• Comparative Urban Planning Law Seminar (PDF)(18 pp, 208 K)