Courses Taught by Tanya Denckla Cobb

Community Food Systems (3 course curriculum)

Food system planning is an emerging and cutting edge field within planning that is commanding greater national attention every year. The Department of Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia offers several courses on food system planning. Tanya Denckla Cobb and Timothy Beatley launched this area of study in Spring 2006 with a graduate course that is also open to upper level undergraduates.

The courses offered are Planning Applications Courses (PLAC), in which students take on semester-long team projects that apply planning skills to real community issues in the greater Charlottesville region or elsewhere in Virginia. Students are required to incorporate community engagement into their projects, learning from community members to inform and shape their project findings and community-based recommendations. Student projects are very demanding, requiring self-discipline, creativity, ingenuity, team-work and perseverance.

A number of different food system planning courses have been developed over the years, and currently one is offered every spring semester, along with a Morven Summer Institute course. Graduate students therefore have the opportunity to take at least three of these over the course of their two-year program. Undergraduate planners who continue into the graduate program may have time to take more than three courses. For each course, students will be assigned different readings and community-based projects.

Through their course work, students have contributed to building knowledge about the local food system in the greater Charlottesville and other areas. Their work is presented at the end of every semester to the community.

Course Titles:

  • Community Food Systems: Assessment
  • Community Food System: PolicyCommunity Food Systems: Global-Local
  • Community Food Systems: Food Heritage Planning
  • Community Food Systems: Farmers Markets and Applied Food Systems Research (Morven Summer Institute) (co-taught with Paul Freedman, professor in politics)
  • Community Food Systems: Food Justice (co-taught with Kendra Hamilton, lecturer in women, gender and sexuality)
  • Community Food System: Regional Food Heritage Inquiry (Summer Session Independent Study) (co-taught with Kendra Hamilton, lecturer in women, gender and sexuality)

More Information and Food System Course Resources:

Course Descriptions and Student Work
Food Policy Audit - a free tool for public use developed and tested in 2010

Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture
School of Engineering course on food: podcasts, resources, and local information

National Preservation Institute Seminars

Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Tools for Cultural and Natural Resource Projects
Portland, OR – February 24-26, 2010

Laws and regulations related to cultural and natural resources often require participatory processes that can be mired in conflict and misunderstanding. Projects frequently can be more effectively navigated when stakeholders use collaborative processes to identify and resolve problems during consultation. Learn how to design and manage a collaborative process and how to use a range of tools associated with negotiation and consensus building through participatory role-plays, interactive exercises, and case studies.

Confirmation of registration is sent out to registered participants one month prior to the seminar date. The confirmation includes the seminar location, hours, and a list of conveniently located hotels. Seminars generally are held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is recommended at least 6 weeks prior to the seminar to secure a place and to avoid cancellations due to low enrollment.
For more information, go to http://www.npi.org/