This course should probably be called "Site Plan Analysis" because its purpose is to start you on the path of becoming a "site analyst" or trained observer and critic of how sites are designed and programmed (used). The course is doing more than teaching site plan review (taking city guidelines and applying them), but it is not going to bring you up to the level of "site designer". For example, landscape architects go to school for five years or more and they still have to learn a great deal of site planning and design on the job.
However, in one semester we can delve into the elements of design (point, line, shape, form, color, texture, tone, letterform), the principles of design (balance, contrast, cropping, hierarchy, figure-ground, scale, proportion, pattern), and these big questions: What makes great public spaces? What makes great neighborhoods? And What makes great streets? As we get into the basics of design thinking and designing great places, we will learn about the process behind the design of sites, the importance of context, and how to use technical and design skills to steer development in the direction of "greatness." Planning is all about communication and while other planning courses concentrate on oral presentations or report writing, this class will focus on building visual communication capabilities.