This document provides guidance for a case law analysis assignment on intellectual property. It outlines the purpose of the assignment, which is to have students read and analyze a real court decision on intellectual property law. Students are instructed to summarize the key details of the case, including the parties involved, background, specific legal disagreement, and the court's ruling. They are also asked to evaluate concepts like dissenting opinions and whether they agree with the decision. The analysis should be no more than two pages and follow APA style guidelines.

1. Case Law Analysis - Intellectual Property
In this unit, you will select a case law pertaining to the topic
of intellectual property.
Each case law analysis allows you to express yourself as clearly
and fully as possible in dissecting a court decision. The purpose
of the assignment is two-fold:
1. To give you the opportunity to read a real court decision.
2. To challenge you to think about how you would have decided
the case. In your case law analyses, you must be able to
navigate the court's decision and summarize it; you are not
expected to act as a judge or an advocate.
Using your selected court decision, prepare an analysis that
responds to the following:
1. Articulates the importance, context, purpose, and relevance
of law in a business environment:
. Identify the parties who are before the court.
. Provide a brief background to the problem. Summarize the
facts in no more than 2–3 paragraphs.
. Identify what is the specific disagreement between the parties.
. Explain the ruling of the court in no more than 1–2
paragraphs.
· Evaluates key judicial concepts that influence the decisions
related to business:
. Was there a dissenting opinion? If so, explain why some of the
judges or justices disagreed with the majority in the decision.
. Do you agree with the court's decision? Why or why not?
You may choose any court case, either state or federal, as the
basis for your case law analysis; however, the case should be
applicable to the assignment topic. The recommended Web sites
for researching and locating a case are listed in the Resources
area.
Your analysis should be no more than two pages, double-
spaced. References and citations are to adhere to APA
formatting and style guidelines. Prior to submitting your

2. assignment, be sure to review the scoring guide to ensure you
have met all of the grading criteria.
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Community Driven Urban Design: Social Practice Tactics for
Addressing Issues of the Built Environment
ABSTRACT:
Several professionals in the field of architecture and urban
design employ creative tactics focused on social impact, civic
dialogue, and grass roots placemaking. Drawing on socially
responsible urban design theory, as well as principles of arts-
based civic engagement and social change, these efforts have
gained momentum in the 21st century due to a variety of
economic, governmental, social and technological factors. This
research capstone will include an extensive literature
review through two courses – PPPM 523 Urban Revitalization
and an independent reading course on “bottom-up”
urban design with Professor Philip Speranza – as well as web-
based document analysis of select case studies. The
purpose of this study is to locate these tactics within current
urban redevelopment policy and arts-based community
development theory, and outline elements of best practice as a
means of advancing the field of community driven urban
design.
KEYWORDS:
Urban revitalization, urban designers, built environment,
placemaking, civic engagement, social impact.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:

3. Problem Statement
The economic downturn over the last decade has had a
significant effect on the health and vitality of urban
areas. Cities in the United States struggle with many challenges
that stem from the built environment. These
issues include space equity, food access, transportation
planning, residential uprooting, public dialogue, and
cultural identity. In addition to the institutional and
conventional (top down) methods of urban revitalization,
many individuals in the field of art and culture are taking a
grass roots approach to addressing problems of
the built urban environment. Among these creative types are a
number of professionals in the field of
architecture, urban planning, and civil engineering. These
individuals, who will be here on referred to as urban
designers, are disregarding conventional channels in order to
focus their efforts on individual projects aimed
at engaging community members in civic dialogue and
collaboratively shaping their built environment.
Although socially responsible urban design is not a new
concept, due to the recent economic recession,
shifting urban demographics, and advancements in web-based
technology, there has been a recent growth in
the number of documented community-based urban design
projects. This type of community-driven and
socially conscious methods of urban design, as a form of arts-
based civic engagement and social change, lacks
sufficient cohesion as a field. Animating Democracy argues that
practitioners in the field of arts-based civic
engagement and social change “are not frequently connecting
their work, sharing information, or learning
from other’s experience…The impact of the work is often
unexamined, isolated, or invisible. This prevents
the work from garnering the public attention and support it

4. deserves” (2012).
Purpose Statement
This capstone research seeks to bring visibility to this form of
urban design practice and its practitioners, as
well as contribute new information to the current body of
knowledge in the following ways: First, it will
identify common objectives among these urban designers – what
are they trying to solve? Secondly, it will
position this work in the context of contemporary urban renewal
strategies and municipal policies. Thirdly, it
will create a resource for urban designers and their communities
by documenting the strategies/tools they are
using and themes of best practice. Lastly, the study will define
the field and begin to map the parameters of
this type of work with the intention of highlighting both the
attention to methods and the impact. The
majority of existing literature on the subject of urban design
and social practice has been written by scholars
in the field of architecture and urban planning. By exploring
this trend within the context of arts-based
development, I will expand the current understanding of this
topic, encourage new connections, and provide
further recommendations for mapping the field.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Architecture and Social Practice
Architecture and urban planning are not fields typically
associated with critical pedagogy and social justice.
However, critical practices within the field of architecture have

5. a long history and span a wide range of
applications. This study will draw from history and theory of
socially responsible design. “An architecture of
social responsibility resists dominant social trends in order to
promote social justice and “radical democracy”
and works toward liberation by helping groups achieve a spatial
voice in new forms of community and
solidarity, conceived within difference” (Dutton & Mann, 1996,
p. 159). In 1993, Pratt Institute and
Architects/Designers/Planners held an international convening
to address the definition of socially
responsible design. The definition that was generated stated:
Socially responsible design celebrates social, cultural, ethnic,
gender and sexuality differences…seeks to
redistribute power and resources more equitably; change
society; continually calls into question its own social,
cultural, and philosophical premises and, through a continuing
dialectic, seeks to ensure that its ends are
consistent with its means; seeks in its process, to develop
strategies for public intervention and participatory
democracy. Socially responsible design recognizes that only
those people affected by an environment any
right to its determination (Dutton & Mann, p.17)
This framework of socially responsible design will guide this
study’s analysis of the urban designer’s role in
contemporary urban revitalization initiatives, as well as define
common objectives and tactics.
Interdisciplinary Placemaking
This study is rooted in concepts of placemaking established by
Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of
Great American Cities (1989), and William Whyte (1980),
known for his pioneering research on pedestrian

6. behavior in the urban public space. Whyte was instrumental in
the creation of Project for Public Space (PPS),
a national nonprofit organization that uses planning, design and
educational programming as a means of
creating and sustaining public spaces that build strong
communities. PPS defines placemaking as “a multi-
faceted approach to the planning, design and management of
public spaces. Put simply, it involves looking at,
listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work
and play in a particular space, to discover their
needs and aspirations” (2012). PPS recognizes that authentic
placemaking is only possible when it combines
the technical and creative aspects of urban design with the
unique cultural and social needs the community.
Lynda H. Schneekloth and Robert G. Shibley, in Placemaking:
The Art and Practice of Building Communities (2005),
argue that the fields of architecture, urban planning, civic
engineering, and landscape design embody the
professional appropriation of placemaking, and have
traditionally denied the rest of the community
participation in a fundamental mode of human expression. If,
however, professional placemakers recognize
the scope and implications of their actions, they have great
potential to affect positive change. This study will
use this community-driven, interdisciplinary placemaking
theory to define social practice urban design. The
urban designer, as a professional placemaker should: a) make
‘dialogic space’ by facilitating respectful and
open discussion; b) conduct exercises of ‘confirmation’
(affirming aspects that are working) and
‘interrogation’ (critically analyzing conventions and
challenges); and c) employ ‘framing action’ by allowing

7. these insights to guide and inform subsequent actions. This
recommendation is “based on a worldview that
assigns legitimacy to every person’s experience of living, to the
potential competence and compassion of
human action, and to the fundamental importance of place as an
actor in living well” (Schneekloth and
Shibley, 2005, p. 8).
The methodology of Jacobs, Whyte, Schneekloth and Shibley
placemaking resonates with the social activism
tactics and educational theory of Brazilian educational theorist
and social activist, Paulo Friere. Although
Schneekloth and Shibley don’t reference Friere directly, they
draw on non-elitist forms of leadership and
encouraging critical questioning of one’s surroundings in order
to deconstruct the forces at work. Friere
(2005) writes, “the educator’s role is fundamentally to enter in
to dialogue…about concrete situations and
simply to offer him the instruments with which he can teach
himself” (p. 43). The production of knowledge
and process of meaning making is, thus, rooted in dialogue and
shared practice. This capstone research will
draw attention to urban design tactics that reflect Frierian
ideology. It will differentiate and promote the work
of urban designers who encourage free flowing exchange of
responsibility and vision, from urban designers
who adhere to institutional boundaries and conventional
expectations.
The act of communal placemaking requires a high level of trust,
open collaboration, and accountability,
grounded in critical thinking and shared responsibility. Without
authentic dialogue and respect, exercises in
collaboration between urban designers and their communities
can be artificial and meaningless. Identity by
Design (2005), a guide to urban design practice by two

8. professors at Oxford Brookes University, Georgia
Butina Watson and Ian Bentley, focuses on the mediation
between physical and imagined community identity.
Between the two of them, Watson and Bentley are well versed
in architecture, city planning, urban
regeneration, urban morphology, cultural studies, and public art
policy. Published over ten years after
Schneekloth and Shibley’s Placemaking, Identity by Design
makes the assertion that professional urban designers
can be agents of civic and cultural transformation. The urban
designer possesses a thorough knowledge of the
morphological elements, including topography, hydrology,
linkage networks, block, land plots and building
structures, and therefore it is their duty to “organize these
elements and the relationships and interfaces
between them, so as to foster positive support for our place-
identity agenda: maximizing choice, constructing
rootedness of imagined community, overcoming nostalgia,
supporting a sense of transcultural inclusiveness
and co-dwelling with the wider ecosphere, for as many users as
possible” (p. 262). Watson and Bentley
illustrate a progression in the professional and academic
understanding of and appreciation for cultural
placemaking in the last decade. This study will identify and
describe case studies that illustrate this
progression in community focused urban design tactics.
Watson and Bentley advocate for a new definition of
Modernism as it pertains to the urban design sector.
“Modern design” has become too preoccupied with aesthetic and
the latest technological advancements (p.
310). As a result of U.S. industrialization, conventional urban
design strategies have become siloed. “The art
of promoting constructive interaction among people in public
places has been nearly forgotten. Planners,
architects, and public administrators have focused more on

9. creating aesthetic places and on providing
unimpeded movement and storage of automobiles than on
creating places that encourage social interaction”,
writes Tom Borrup (2006) in The Creative Community Builder’s
Handbook (p. 75). To be truly modern, designers
must “use the best knowledge we have to face up to current
design challenges – today certainly including
problems of place-identity – and have the courage to move in
whichever direction that may lead” (Watson &
Bentley, p. 270). Culturally and socially relevant urban design
focuses on the link between place and identity.
Further investigation of the Modernism, as it applies to
disciplines within urban design, will be developed
throughout the course of this study.
Watson and Bentley define place-identity as “the set of
meanings associated with any particular cultural
landscape which any particular person or group of people draws
on in the constructions of their own
personal or social identities” (p. 6). To support and expand
architects and urban planners’ role in leading civic
dialogue around issues of the built urban environment, it is
critical to confront society’s narrow definition of
professional urban designer. An individualistic approach to
urban design and art making, motivated by
superficial, purely aesthetic, purely function, or other detached
factors, prevents constructive collaboration
between artists/designers and their community. As Watson and
Bentley recommend, this study will conduct
‘close readings’ of progressive design interventions in public
spaces and reexamine the relationship between
professional urban designers and their communities (p. 34).

10. Creative Intervention in the Urban Environment
This study will apply David Pinder’s (2005) interpretation of
the role of the artist to the role of the urban
designer. Pinder, Professor of Geography at the University of
London, examines ways in which artists can
defend public space through creative and inspired interaction
with the city. He challenges the common
assumption that artists serve merely to beautify and inspire
urban renewal projects and proposes another role.
“It is not simply an issue of asking what artists can do in a
narrow instrumental sense to bring about
progressive urban change, but rather of opening up through such
practices the potential for collaboration,
interventions, re-imaginings that disrupt and expand senses of
both the city and self” (p. 404). Like Pinder, I
will draw connections between psychogeography and
situationist theory, and apply them to the task of urban
exploration and revitalization. For example, intentional,
accidental, and subversive pedestrian path-making
contributes to the identity and vitality of urban communities.
Walking, he explains, is a powerful tool for
access, discovery, and action. Mapping exercises and
storytelling are creative approaches to uncovering the
hidden values and assumption of a city.
“To intervene through creative practice in public space today in
New York and other cities is to enter into a
crucial struggle over the meaning, values and potentialities of
that space at a time when democracy is highly
contested ” (p. 398). The responsibility of the creative
placemaker must be to create a safe and supportive
platform for this struggle and potential conflict to take place.
The Animating Democracy Toolkit (2008) provides a
useful definition of civic dialogue that applies to the work of
the creative placemaker. Civic Dialogue is “two

11. or more parties with differing viewpoints working toward
common understanding in an open-ended, most
often face-to-face format” (p. 14). The complex dimensions
within each urban setting make it impossible for
a city’s collective understanding to ever be complete and fully
resolved, but experimentation and dialogue will
always be vital to spark to revitalization and change.
Urban Design as Arts-based Civic Engagement and Community
Development
By locating urban design within the field of art-based
community development and civic engagement, this
study will integrate community arts concepts with that of urban
planning and design. Bill Cleveland (2011),
Director of the Center for Art and Community Development,
defines art-based community development as
“arts-centered activity that contributes to the sustained
advancement of human dignity, health, and/or
productivity within a community” (p. 4). According to
Cleveland’s Ecosystem of Arts-based Community
Development (see Appendix A), this field is made up of four
types of arts-based activity categories. The
diagram positions urban planning/design within the “build and
improve” category. Arts-based community
development, as Arlene Goldbard explains, “inevitably responds
to current social conditions: the work is
grounded in social critique and social imagination” (2010,
p.22). Goldbard, like many community cultural
development practitioners and the placemaking scholars
previously mentioned, draws on the pedagogy of
Friere. Friere’s approach to education, often referred to as
“critical pedagogy”, empowers participants
through the transformative power of language. By helping
people to name the source of their oppression,
they begin to decode and deconstruct their reality and enter into

12. the conscious process of reshaping their
environment.
This study seeks to describe the tactics of urban designers are
engaging the community in critical thinking
around social issues of the built urban environment. Animating
Democracy defines arts-based civic
engagement as:
The artistic process and/or art /humanities presentation provides
a key focus, catalyst, forum or form for
public dialogue/engagement on the issue. Opportunities for
dialogue/engagement are embedded in or
connected to the arts experience. In addition, the arts may
provide a direct forum to engage in community
planning, organizing, activism, and therefore is a form of arts-
based civic engagement (2012).
Urban design, being an artistic process, by this definition, has
the potential to be a tool for civic engagement
and social change. This study will focus on urban designers who
are using their knowledge and skills to a)
educate ordinary citizens on the languages of the built
environment and urban space; b) design shared space
aimed at foster a vibrant and just community; and c) empower
communities to shape the future of their own
neighborhoods and cities.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
My research approach is heavily influenced by the knowledge
and skills I gained as an intern for Animating
Democracy. As a program of Americans for the Arts, Animating
Democracy works to “bring national

13. visibility to arts for change work, build knowledge about
quality practice, and create useful resources. By
demonstrating the public value of creative work that contributes
to social change and fostering synergy across
arts and other fields and sectors,” the program strives “to make
the arts an integral and effective part of
solutions to the challenges of communities and toward ensuring
a healthy democracy” (2012). Much like the
mission of Animating Democracy, my capstone research seeks
increase visibility, build knowledge about
quality practice, and become a useful resource. My
investigation will specifically focus on the arts-based
activity of creative community-driven urban design tactics.
Working on the Art & Social Change Mapping Initiative, I
conducted a detailed inventory analysis of the
current Directory of Profiles, an online database of artists,
organizations, and project doing arts-based civic
engagement and social change. One gap that I identified was
work from the field of architecture urban design,
and civil planning. Based on my preliminary research on
community-driven urban design, I have identified a
significant number of individuals, organizations, and projects
that would make a valuable contribution to
Animating Democracy’s Directory of Profiles.
The purpose of this research capstone is to describe, analyze
and begin to map the tactics of urban designers
who are addressing issues of the built environment as they
relate shared public space through civic dialogue,
community engagement, and grass roots placemaking. This
study will identify common objectives of these
community-driven tactics, as well as intended outcomes. My
approach to this research captsone will combine
interpretivist theory with an action research approach. I seek to
understand problems of the built

14. environment and urban design tactics as they stem from each
individual community. I accept that my
approach and interpretation of urban revitalization initiatives
and designer tactics will be informed by my own
experiences – both positive and negative – living in an various
urban settings. I place a strong value on shared
space in urban communities and I adamantly believe that
community members should have a voice in the
design and revitalization of their space.
I have identified a lack of cross-sector research on the topic of
community driven urban design, so this study
will serve to advocate on behalf this work on a variety of
professional platforms: city sponsored urban
revitalization, urban design, and community arts. I will conduct
research with the explicit goal of improving
the strategies, practices and knowledge of the environments
within which the community driven urban design
can thrive. I will attempt to highlight the need for this type of
work and promote for further research. This
research is meant to foster debate and discussion so that change
can occur. This action research approach will
enable this study to become an advocacy tool that will further
the advancement community-driven urban
design. This study seeks to elevate this type of work within the
field of arts-based civic engagement, a field
which is currently underrepresented. This study is particularly
unique in that it will integrate theoretical
perspectives from city planning, urban design, and community
arts development. By situating my research
within these fields and identifying implications for the field, I
will increase awareness of and support for this
work.

15. This capstone research will address the primary question: How
are professionals in the field of urban design
addressing urban revitalization through creative and innovative
design tactics driven by community
engagement and focused on building social capital, sparking
civic dialogue, and grass roots placemaking? Sub
questions include: What political, economic, institutional, and
social forces affect the vitality of the built urban
environment? What current factors are shaping efforts to
revitalize urban areas? How are professionals in the
field of urban design responding to this insufficiency of
institutionalized channels of urban revitalization?
What are the major social and civic needs they are addressing?
What tactics are they using? How has it been
tried and tested? To what end and to what effect are their efforts
making an impact? Where has it been
unsuccessful? What are some exemplary project examples?
Definitions
Urban: This study will use the United States Census Bureau’s
(2012) definition of urbanized areas of
populations greater than 50,000, with a population density
greater than 1,000 people per square mile.
Urban revitalization: Renewed and improved community
engagement, economic vitality, physical landscape,
and/or social justice within an urban neighborhood or city.
Urban redevelopment: To differentiate formalized
institutionalized planning strategies, this term will refer
to official civic urban renewal initiatives.
Urban designer: For the purpose of this study, “urban designer”
will refer to any individual with academic

16. training and/or professional experience working in the fields of
architecture, landscape architecture, civil
engineering, or urban planning.
Built environment: The physical attributes and features of an
urban area that were designed and constructed
by humans – public and private, ecological and artificial,
sanctioned and unsanctioned.
Civic engagement: “Civic engagement refers to the many ways
in which people participate in civic,
community, and political life and, by doing so, express their
engaged citizenship…the defining characteristic
of active civic engagement is the commitment to participate and
contribute to the improvement of one’s
community, neighborhood, and nation. Civic engagement may
be either a measure or a means of social
change, depending on the context and intent of efforts”
(Animating Democracy, 2012).
Arts-based community development: “Arts-centered activity
that contributes to the sustained
advancement of human dignity, health, and/or productivity
within a community” (Cleveland, 2011, p. 4).
Placemaking: “A multi-faceted approach to the planning, design
and management of public spaces. Put
simply, it involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions
of the people who live, work and play in a
particular space, to discover their needs and aspirations”
(Project for Public Space, 2012).

17. Delimitations
The research capstone will address issues of urban revitalization
and urban design as it relates to urban
communities within the United States. This will ensure that
issues of national policy and government will be
remain consistent, therefore increasing the impact of this
research on policy change. For the purpose of this
study, I will only concentrate on issues of urban design as they
relate to the built environment of shared
public space. This will include spaces such as streets, pathways,
plazas, parks, community gardens, cultural
districts, and other public gathering spots. I will not focus on
residential design or green building design –
both of which fall under the umbrella of socially responsible
urban design. This will narrow the scope of
investigate and produce deeper exploration and stronger
conclusion. Although efforts of urban revitalization
often involve the fields of social services, law enforcement, and
health services, I will not address the
revitalization efforts being done in these sectors. I will
concentrate primarily on the urban design sector. This
study is specifically concerned with strategies of urban
revitalization that use the built environment as a
platform for problem solving and/or vehicle for social change,
which is best examined in relation to shared
space.
Limitations
Due to the nature of capstone research, this study will not
involve any field research and will rely entirely on
synthesizing previously published material and publicly
available documents. I will not be conducting
interviews, observations, or surveys with urban designers or
community members. This will make it

18. impossible to guarantee a comprehensive analysis of each
individual case study or measure their full impact. It
will, however, allow me to gain a broad and extensive view of
the field as a whole and draw conclusions
across a wide range of examples and theories of practice. The
purpose of this study is to define an emerging
phenomenon and lay the groundwork for future field research.
RESEARCH DESIGN:
As stated above, this research capstone will attempt to answer
the central question: How are professionals in
the field of urban design addressing urban revitalization through
creative and innovative design tactics driven
by community engagement and focused on building social
capital, sparking civic dialogue, and grass roots
placemaking? The study is designed to examine the question
through various lenses, including U.S. urban
revitalization policy, urban design theory and practice, and arts-
based community development. My primary
method of data collection will be an extensive literature review.
The content of this literature will be guiding
by my participation in two courses during Winter Term 2013:
PPPM 523 Urban Revitalization and an
independent reading course on “bottom-up urban design” with
Professor Philip Speranza. PPPM 523 Urban
Revitalization is designed to examine “the main debates
surrounding redevelopment and considers those
debates within a larger framework, to familiarize future
practitioners with this always-important and
controversial and now changing field within planning. The
course first develops that framework, to frame
debates surrounding redevelopment in the context of economic,
political, institutional and social forces
shaping redevelopment” (2012, p.1). This course will enable me
to critically assess current institutionalized

19. urban revitalization efforts in the U.S. Identifying deficiencies
and challenges may highlight reasons why some
urban designers are trying alternative tactics. A thorough
background in urban revitalization policy will allow
me to suggest ways that community driven urban design tactics
can inform conventional strategies and affect
policy change.
Philip Speranza is an assistant architecture professor at the
University of Oregon, as well as a practicing
architect. In his academic classes and his professional practice,
he seeks to strengthen community engagement
and identity of place, practicing what he calls “bottom-up”
urban design. “In his research, teaching and
design, Speranza seeks to understand how design can support
urban participation across time while it also
reflects and strengthens local identity. To that end he
investigates methods of digital and analog media
including drawing and diagramming to integrate open-ended
frameworks for participation, testing new
systems of future possibilities” (2012). I will work with Philip
to develop a set independent reading materials
and course objectives that will enable me to explore
foundational literature, as well as contemporary theory of
“bottom-up” urban design. Additional meetings with Philip
prior to the beginning of Winter Term will be
necessary to identify a focused reading list and a specific set of
learning objectives. Capstone courses begin
January 7, 2013 and run through March 22, 2013. For a detailed
research timeline, refer to Appendix B.
In addition to the two capstone courses, I will conduct web-
based case study analysis and document analysis.

20. Through online investigation, I will review and document broad
range of community driven urban design
projects with the goal of extracting common themes regarding
objectives and design methods. The findings
from the two capstone courses will inform the analysis of these
individual projects and deepen the evaluation.
I will aggregate these case studies on a personal research blog.
This research blog will serve as a data
collection tool, as well as a platform to document and reflect.
As a result of maintaining a research blog
throughout the process that highlights exemplary models, this
site will become a contributing resource to
practitioner and stakeholders in the fields of urban design, civil
planning, and community arts.
FINAL OUTCOME:
A possible outcome of this study may be contributing content
new to the Animating Democracy’s website,
specifically the Art & Social Change Mapping Initiative
portion. As previously mentioned, I identified that
one of the gaps in their collection of arts for change work is
urban design work is urban design. Drawing
from my case study collection and analysis, I could expand the
amount of community driven urban design
work represented in the Directory of Profiles. This could be
accomplished through information sharing with
Animating Democracy staff and/or an invitation strategy. The
results of my capstone research may provide
me with enough relevant content to contribute a “Special
Collection” focused on civic engagement urban
design, presenting a series of ten or more case studies,
accompanied by multi-media/visual content. As a
Special Collection, this feature would highlight profiles within
the site, as well as highlight connections
between the work of Animating Democracy and the fields of

21. architecture, urban planning, and design.
Another opportunity may include publishing a summary of my
findings in a “Working Guide Trend Paper”.
Animating Democracy’s trend papers, “are a growing collection
of new and extant papers by leaders in and
chroniclers of the field. Papers offer snapshot descriptions of
various types of arts for change work within the
arts, community development, civic engagement, and social
justice fields, as well as work focused on
particular issues” (2012). I have already begun to discuss these
possible outcomes with Animating Democracy
staff and will continue to keep in communication with them
regarding my research findings.
RESEARCH PROPOSALCommunity Driven Urban Design:
Social Practice Tactics for Addressing Issues of the Built
EnvironmentABSTRACT:KEYWORDS:INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND:CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKRESEARCH
METHODOLOGY:RESEARCH DESIGN:FINAL OUTCOME:
Definition
The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify the
need to study a research problem and to present
the practical ways in which the proposed study should be
conducted. The design elements and procedures for
conducting the research are governed by standards within the
predominant discipline in which the problem
resides, so guidelines for research proposals are more exacting
and less formal than a general project proposal.
Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews. They
must provide persuasive evidence that a need

22. exists for the proposed study. In addition to providing a
rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology
for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the
professional or academic field and a statement
on anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the
study's completion.
How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal
Your professor may assign the task of writing a research
proposal for the following reasons:
• Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a
comprehensive research study;
• Learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature
to ensure a research problem has not
already been answered [or you may determine the problem has
been answered ineffectively] and, in so
doing, become better at locating scholarship related to your
topic;
• Improve your general research and writing skills;
• Practice identifying the logical steps that must be taken to
accomplish one's research goals;
• Critically review, examine, and consider the use of different
methods for gathering and analyzing data
related to the research problem; and,
• Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help
see yourself as an active participant in the
process of doing scholarly research.
A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in

23. designing a completed research study, with sufficient
information that allows readers to assess the validity and
usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements
missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study
and your analysis of those results. Finally, an
effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and,
therefore, it is important that your writing is
coherent, clear, and compelling.
Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and
the methodology you choose, all
research proposals must address the following questions:
1. What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in
defining the research problem and what
it is you are proposing to research.
2. Why do you want to do it? In addition to detailing your
research design, you also must conduct a
thorough review of the literature and provide convincing
evidence that it is a topic worthy of study.
Be sure to answer the "So What?" question.
3. How are you going to do it? Be sure that what you propose is
doable. If you're having trouble
formulating a research problem to propose investigating, go
here.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Failure to be concise; being "all over the map" without a clear
sense of purpose.
• Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review.
• Failure to delimit the contextual boundaries of your research
[e.g., time, place, people, etc.].

24. • Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the
proposed research.
http://libguides.usc.edu/aecontent.php?pid=83009&sid=1756237
• Failure to stay focused on the research problem; going off on
unrelated tangents.
• Sloppy or imprecise writing, or poor grammar.
• Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on
major issues.
Structure and Writing Style
Beginning the Proposal Process
As with writing a regular academic paper, research proposals
are generally organized the same way throughout
most social science disciplines. Proposals vary between ten and
twenty-five pages in length. However, before
you begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems
unclear, ask your professor whether there are
any specific requirements for organizing and writing the
proposal.
A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:
• What do I want to study?
• Why is the topic important?
• How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my
class?
• What problems will it help solve?
• How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research
already conducted on the topic?

25. • What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the
time available?
In general, a compelling research proposal should document
your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate
your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the
intention of leaving your readers feeling like--
"Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see how it
turns out!"
In general, your proposal should include the following sections:
I. Introduction
In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is
most often written by scholars seeking grant
funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting
approval to write a doctoral dissertation. Even if
this is just a course assignment, treat your introduction as the
initial pitch of an idea or a thorough examination
of the significance of a research problem. After reading the
introduction, your readers should not only have an
understanding of what you want to do, but they should also be
able to gain a sense of your passion for the topic
and be excited about the study's possible outcomes. Note that
most proposals do not include an abstract
[summary] before the introduction.
Think about your introduction as a narrative written in one to
three paragraphs that succinctly answers
the following four questions:
1. What is the central research problem?
2. What is the topic of study related to that problem?
3. What methods should be used to analyze the research

26. problem?
4. Why is this important research, what is its significance, and
why should someone reading the proposal
care about the outcomes of the proposed study?
II. Background and Significance
This section can be melded into your introduction or you can
create a separate section to help with the
organization and narrative flow of your proposal. This is where
you explain the context of your proposal and
describe in detail why it's important. Approach writing this
section with the thought that you can’t assume your
readers will know as much about the research problem as you
do. Note that this section is not an essay going
over everything you have learned about the topic; instead, you
must choose what is relevant to help explain the
goals for your study.
To that end, while there are no hard and fast rules, you should
attempt to address some or all of the
following key points:
• State the research problem and give a more detailed
explanation about the purpose of the study than
what you stated in the introduction. This is particularly
important if the problem is complex
or multifaceted.
• Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly
indicate why it is worth doing. Answer the

27. "So What? question [i.e., why should anyone care].
• Describe the major issues or problems to be addressed by your
research. Be sure to note how your
proposed study builds on previous assumptions about the
research problem.
• Explain how you plan to go about conducting your research.
Clearly identify the key sources you intend
to use and explain how they will contribute to your analysis of
the topic.
• Set the boundaries of your proposed research in order to
provide a clear focus. Where appropriate,
state not only what you will study, but what is excluded from
the study.
• If necessary, provide definitions of key concepts or terms.
III. Literature Review
Connected to the background and significance of your study is a
section of your proposal devoted to
a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related
to the research problem under
investigation. The purpose here is to place your project within
the larger whole of what is currently being
explored, while demonstrating to your readers that your work is
original and innovative. Think about what
questions other researchers have asked, what methods they have
used, and what is your understanding of their
findings and, where stated, their recommendations. Do not be
afraid to challenge the conclusions of prior
research. Assess what you believe is missing and state how
previous research has failed to adequately examine

28. the issue that your study addresses. For more information on
writing literature reviews, GO HERE.
Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that
this section is intelligently structured to enable a
reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your study in
relation to that of other researchers. A good
strategy is to break the literature into "conceptual categories"
[themes] rather than systematically describing
groups of materials one at a time. Note that conceptual
categories generally reveal themselves after you have
read most of the pertinent literature on your topic so adding new
categories is an on-going process of discovery
as you read more studies. How do you know you've covered the
key conceptual categories underlying the
research literature? Generally, you can have confidence that all
of the significant conceptual categories have
been identified if you start to see repetition in the conclusions
or recommendations that are being made.
To help frame your proposal's literature review, here are the
"five C’s" of writing a literature review:
1. Cite, so as to keep the primary focus on the literature
pertinent to your research problem.
2. Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and
findings expressed in the literature:
what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches
to analyzing the research problem?
http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview
3. Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies,
approaches, and controversies expressed in

29. the literature: what are the major areas of disagreement,
controversy, or debate?
4. Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive,
and why? Which approaches, findings,
methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and
why? Pay attention to the verbs you use
to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts,
demonstrates, argues, etc.].
5. Connect the literature to your own area of research and
investigation: how does your own work draw
upon, depart from, synthesize, or add a new perspective to what
has been said in the literature?
IV. Research Design and Methods
This section must be well-written and logically organized
because you are not actually doing the
research, yet, your reader must have confidence that it is worth
pursuing. The reader will never have a
study outcome from which to evaluate whether your
methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus, the
objective here is to convince the reader that your overall
research design and methods of analysis will correctly
address the problem and that the methods will provide the
means to effectively interpret the potential results.
Your design and methods should be unmistakably tied to the
specific aims of your study.
Describe the overall research design by building upon and
drawing examples from your review of the literature.
Consider not only methods that other researchers have used but
methods of data gathering that have not been
used but perhaps could be. Be specific about the methodological

30. approaches you plan to undertake to obtain
information, the techniques you would use to analyze the data,
and the tests of external validity to which you
commit yourself [i.e., the trustworthiness by which you can
generalize from your study to other people, places,
events, and/or periods of time].
When describing the methods you will use, be sure to cover the
following:
• Specify the research operations you will undertake and the
way you will interpret the results of these
operations in relation to the research problem. Don't just
describe what you intend to achieve from
applying the methods you choose, but state how you will spend
your time while applying these methods
[e.g., coding text from interviews to find statements about the
need to change school
curriculum; running a regression to determine if there is a
relationship between campaign advertising
on social media sites and election outcomes in Europe].
• Keep in mind that a methodology is not just a list of tasks; it
is an argument as to why these tasks add
up to the best way to investigate the research problem. This is
an important point because the mere
listing of tasks to be performed does not demonstrate that,
collectively, they effectively address the
research problem. Be sure you explain this.
• Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls
in carrying out your research design and
explain how you plan to address them. No method is perfect so
you need to describe where you believe
challenges may exist in obtaining data or accessing information.
It's always better to acknowledge this

31. than to have it brought up by your reader.
V. Preliminary Suppositions and Implications
Just because you don't have to actually conduct the study and
analyze the results, doesn't mean you
can skip talking about the analytical process and potential
implications. The purpose of this section is
to argue how and in what ways you believe your research will
refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in the
subject area under investigation. Depending on the aims and
objectives of your study, describe how the
anticipated results will impact future scholarly research, theory,
practice, forms of interventions, or
policymaking. Note that such discussions may have either
substantive [a potential new policy], theoretical [a
potential new understanding], or methodological [a potential
new way of analyzing] significance.
When thinking about the potential implications of your study,
ask the following questions:
• What might the results mean in regards to the theoretical
framework that underpins the study?
• What suggestions for subsequent research could arise from the
potential outcomes of the study?
• What will the results mean to practitioners in the natural
settings of their workplace?
• Will the results influence programs, methods, and/or forms of
intervention?
• How might the results contribute to the solution of social,
economic, or other types of problems?

32. • Will the results influence policy decisions?
• In what way do individuals or groups benefit should your
study be pursued?
• What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed
research?
• How will the results of the study be implemented, and what
innovations will come about?
NOTE: This section should not delve into idle speculation,
opinion, or be formulated on the basis of unclear
evidence. The purpose is to reflect upon gaps or understudied
areas of the current literature and describe how
your proposed research contributes to a new understanding of
the research problem should the study be
implemented as designed.
VI. Conclusion
The conclusion reiterates the importance or significance of your
proposal and provides a brief
summary of the entire study. This section should be only one or
two paragraphs long, emphasizing why the
research problem is worth investigating, why your research
study is unique, and how it should advance existing
knowledge.
Someone reading this section should come away with an
understanding of:
• Why the study should be done,
• The specific purpose of the study and the research questions it
attempts to answer,
• The decision to why the research design and methods used
where chosen over other options,
• The potential implications emerging from your proposed study

33. of the research problem, and
• A sense of how your study fits within the broader scholarship
about the research problem.
VII. Citations
As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources
you used in composing your proposal. In a
standard research proposal, this section can take two forms, so
consult with your professor about which one is
preferred.
1. References -- lists only the literature that you actually used
or cited in your proposal.
2. Bibliography -- lists everything you used or cited in your
proposal, with additional citations to any
key sources relevant to understanding the research problem.
In either case, this section should testify to the fact that you did
enough preparatory work to make sure the
project will complement and not duplicate the efforts of other
researchers. Start a new page and use the heading
"References" or "Bibliography" centered at the top of the page.
Cited works should always use a standard
format that follows the writing style advised by the discipline of
your course [i.e., education=APA;
history=Chicago, etc] or that is preferred by your professor.
This section normally does not count towards the
total page length of your research proposal.

34. Develop a Research Proposal: Writing the Proposal. Office of
Library Information Services. Baltimore County
Public Schools; Heath, M. Teresa Pereira and Caroline Tynan.
“Crafting a Research Proposal.” The Marketing
Review 10 (Summer 2010): 147-168; Jones, Mark. “Writing a
Research Proposal.” In MasterClass in Geography
Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning. Graham Butt,
editor. (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015),
pp. 113-127; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah. “Writing a Research
Proposal.”International Journal of Public Health and
Clinical Sciences 1 (September/October 2014): 229-240;
Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal:
Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and
Behavioral Sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press,
2005; Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal. The Lab
Report. University College Writing Centre.
University of Toronto; Punch, Keith and Wayne McGowan.
"Developing and Writing a Research Proposal."
In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key Skills.
Nigel Gilbert, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006),
59-81; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal.
International Network on Personal Meaning.
Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals:
Conferences, Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab
and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal.
University Library. University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_writing.
html
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_writing.
html
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-
writing/academic-proposal

35. http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_W
ong.htm
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/752/01/
http://www.library.illinois.edu/learn/research/proposal.htmlDefi
nitionHow to Approach Writing a Research ProposalStructure
and Writing Style
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Department of Political Science and Public Affairs
Research Methods & Statistics Spring 2019
Assignment 4 & Final Project Report
Final Project Report
Using the template as a guide, prepare a written report
summarizing the planning and expected
outcomes of your project, incorporating any revisions or
clarifications as indicated in feedback from
earlier assignments. Incorporate an introduction, expected
project outcomes, conclusions and
references. All written work should be submitted in MS
Word/PDF format on D2L Dropbox.
Assignment 4 & Final Report Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
Introduction (1-2 pages): Background and statement of research
problem;

36. explains justification for the study; explicit statement of project
objectives/research questions and purpose of the study;
boundaries are clearly
delineated.
2.0 pts
Project Background/Information (2-3 pages): Description of
project context;
information sources and resources; and background literature
review. 4.0 pts
Approach/Method (1-2 pages): Description of project design;
sampling
procedure and selection of subjects (if applicable); data
collection methods,
tools and techniques; ethical considerations; Justification for
method of data
analysis; appropriate to the nature of the data collected;
effective summary and
presentation of evidence.
6.0 pts
Expected Outcomes and Conclusion (1-2 pages): Discuss the
expected
outcomes in regard to the project objectives/your research
questions; review
the potential significance of research project - the potential
implications and
applications of the outcomes; describe any expected project
limitations.
6.0 pts
References and citations are complete and consistent. 1.0 pts

37. General Style: Attention to overall readability (grammar,
spelling, flow) 1.0 pts
Total Points: 20.0