Online Course in Planning and Land Use Ethics

Patricia Salkin, director of the Government Law Center at the Albany Law School and author of the Law of the Land blog, which I often refer to, is teaching an online ethics in planning and land use regulation course for Rutgers University's Bloustein Online Continuing Education program. The course lasts from May 26 to July 3, and costs $295. She knows her stuff, so the course should be very helpful. Here's the course description:

This course will explore the ethical responsibilities of the various players in the land use game, from planners to lawyers to other professionals (e.g., engineers and architects) and municipal officials. The American Institute of Certified Planners Code of Ethics will be discussed as applied to a series of hypotheticals for discussion, and course participants will review a series of reported court decisions involving questions of ethics in the land use context. Strategies for ensuring ethical conduct public sector clients will also be discussed. In this course:

1) Participants will be able to identify potential ethics issues and ascertain whether they are professional and/or legal;

2) Participants will be able to conduct a self-analysis of the ethical dilemma and arrive at various options for action/non-action;

3) Participants will be able to engage in meaningful conversation with their clients about various potential ethical issues to avoid them to the greatest extent possible.

Note: City Ethics has no relationship, financial or otherwise, with Rutgers University, AICP, Prof. Salkin, or Albany Law School.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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