Blog

Our PhD program has three preliminary exams, which is A LOT compared to other schools. Fortunately I got them ALL DONE in a short timeframe. 

Prelim I - Planning Theory (written August 5, 2018)

Exam questions: 

This is a one-week examination which begins at 8:00 am CST on Monday, July 30, 2018. Your response should be typed and double-spaced. You may use your books and notes but you may not consult with anyone on this exam. If you consult with others you automatically fail. You are free to come and go during the examination period. As this is a double-blind evaluation, your name should be on a separate sheet. Do NOT write your name on any of your response pages. Please make sure to label each answer corresponding to the appropriate section and questions. Provide a written response to both of the following questions. This exam (including this instruction sheet and article) is 6 (six) pages total.

1.  What is planning? What is the appropriate geographic scope of planning (e.g. neighborhood, city, region, nation)? Who should plan i.e. who should be a planner? What is the role of a planner? The answers to these questions are continually under debate and shape the field of planning.

Define and explain what rational planning theories say about planning in reference to the above questions. Then present at least two (2) critiques of rational planning theories. Some ideas that may help you are incrementalism, regionalism, communicative/collaborative planning, advocacy planning, and insurgent/radical planning.

2. A recent article in Planning 1 magazine highlighted storytelling as an essential tool for practicing planners. The author emphasized the complexity and abundance of data now available for planners and community members and the challenges that are presented for information legitimacy and application in planning decisions.

What does planning theory have to say about this, and what are the implications for planning practice? In your response, include your understanding of how planning theory and practice interconnect with one another.

Click here to view my response to Prelim I

Prelim II - Research Specialization (written August 18, 2019)

(This one feels like answering nine questions because each question has so many subquestions! My brain almost crashed after writing for 70 hours in 7 days!😵‍💫 Thank you professors ☹️)

I prepared an Annotated Bibliography before taking this exam, and here is a Literature Index for the annotated bibliography. 

Exam questions: 

1. Your essay for this question will have three parts. Part 1. Define travel behavior and health behavior. How do the fields of transportation and public health each theorize behavior? How to the different theoretical frameworks compare to one another? Part 2. Evaluate the potential for interventions in the built environment (i.e., transportation and land use systems) to shape health behaviors. Part 3. Building on Part 2, what other domains of intervention should be considered in policy and planning to influence transportation-related health behaviors and how would this work?

2. Location-efficiency is a concept with multiple policy and planning implications for cities across the globe. Begin this essay by defining location-efficiency and briefly discussing its relevance for urban sustainability in the context of population diversity (e.g., income, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and physical ability). Next, assume you were advising a city’s mayor and planning department on steps that could be taken to improve location-efficiency within the municipality through a combination of land use policy and capital investment in the city’s transportation system. What attributes should be measured to understand existing conditions as well as the potential to optimize co-benefits from future community interventions? What metrics and data sources – including their strengths and weaknesses – could advance this effort? What are the potential barriers to an analysis of this type?

3. First, describe your understanding of health equity. Compare health equity from planning and public health perspectives. How are they alike and in what ways do they differ? How is health equity operationalized in planning research? How is it measured? How do we know if health equity has been improved?

Second, critically discuss the rationale underlying specific planning interventions aimed at improving health inequities. What causal links are assumed? What does the research literature support? What further research needs to be done? 

Third, based on your readings, what transportation planning intervention is most likely to improve health inequities related to obesity prevention? Please provide a strong evidence-based argument supporting your choice. 

Click here to view my response to Prelim II

Prelim III - Research Design and Statistical Method (written August 21, 2018)

(This exam has 9 pages of questions asking me to design a research and answer some statistical questions within 48 hours, but it's an easy one 😎)

Click here to view my response to Prelim III

Planning Theory (2nd ed.) 

Philip Allmendinger, 2009

UK: Palgrave Macmillan

270 pages; $47.00 paperback

ISBN 978-0-230-22365-3 paperback 

Reviewed in the Spring of 2018, when I was preparing for my PhD prelim exam I - Planning theory. 

This book considers both theories of planning and theories in planning – what planning theories are and how to go about them. The first two chapters, “What is a theory?” and “The current landscape of planning theory,” set out the foundation of the book. Starting from a philosophy of science perspective, Allmendinger took a post-positivist position, indicated the subjective and normative aspects of science, and repeatedly emphasized that “all theory is to greater or lesser degree normative, socially constructed, political, and not value-free.” (p. 12, 23, 42) Planning is situated in the grey area of the two sciences – the predominantly reductionist natural science and the mostly relativist social science. 

Allmendinger then proceeds to discuss seven schools of thought in seven separate chapters: systems theory/rational comprehensive, critical theory and Marxism, neo-liberal planning, pragmatism, advocacy, postmodern, and collaborative planning. These are what he termed the “indigenous planning theory.” In each chapter, a school of thought is briefly introduced first, followed by how it can be translated into planning practice. The author did not deliberately follow a chronological sequence – some of the thoughts are rethought and recurrent, for example, the rational approach was rethought by post-modernism, and pragmatism is a recurrent theme in later chapters such as advocacy and collaborative planning. The theory in one chapter is not necessarily a response to the criticisms of its previous chapter, which echoes another claim by the author, that theory is “discourse”. The development of planning theory is non-linear, thus implying that we have no reason to completely abandon any of these theories. 

Given such organization of indigenous planning theories, there are multiple ways for readers to compare and explore the relationship between them. Readers can use their own external criteria of evaluation to rank these theories, for example, degree of coherence, the strength of planners' power, and how difference is perceived, to name a few. In general, the systems/rational approach is apolitical, technocratic, instrumental, and planners-centric, which is widely adopted in the 1960s. Marxism and critical theory then emerged in the 1970s, with an emphasis on market mechanisms and planning as a state activity, where planners are turned into “puppets”. New-liberal planning tries to seek a balance between liberalism and conservativism, caused by the market failure and economic crisis in the 1970s. However, this approach lack coherence and a plan may be easily changed in the middle of the process. Turning to pragmatism, planning starts to become more participative and collaborative, and the concern of coherence and difference emerges. Pragmatism lays out the foundation for public participation planning methods, advocacy planning, and collaborative planning. They concern more about the act of planning itself, rather than the outcome of a "planned society", as they acknowledge the uncertainty of the future. The chapter “After modernity” discusses post-modernism, post-structuralism, and complexity, which reflect on the rational system planning approach back in chapter 3, with more awareness of social outcomes and the role of planners being rethought as advocates. Post-modernism incorporates many aspects of theories as it concerns both space and society, and leaves new challenges for planners, and the author carefully gave several prescriptions for planners in the conclusion part. Post-modernism is Allmendinger's expertise, and he is the author of another book “Planning in Post-modern Times”.

This book is aimed at students and practitioners of planning. Indeed, it should be one of the “must read” books for planning students due to its objective and clear writing style, and it also helps practitioners to reflect on their planning practices. Planning is a practical social science. The author has made a good connection between theory and planning practice, by discussing how different theories are applied in the context of planning. Unlike some planning theory books which focus a little more on cities (e.g. Campbell and Fainstein, 1996), Allmendinger’s writing is focused on the act of planning itself. Although he argues about “time and space” in the first chapter, the background introduction regarding urban space is very few. For students who would like to know more about the urban process and spatial background of planning practice, they may refer to Campbell and Fainstein (1996) and Bridge and Watson (2002). 

Compared to another classic planning theory book, “A reader in planning theory”, edited by Faludi (1973), Allmendinger took another path. Instead of adopting a normative-positive distinction of planning theory like Faludi (1973) did, he made the claim that “all theory is to greater or lesser degree normative”. This claim seems to be useful in terms of structuring the following chapters that posit planning in the context of normative discourses. However, this claim also seems to be overly ambitious and arbitrarily made, whereas the unpacking of theory from a philosophy of science foundation, in fact, requires more scrutinization. He simply refers to several historical moments in the philosophy of science - by introducing Hume, Popper, Kuhn, and Feyerabend’s interpretation of science, to give readers a feeling that science is becoming increasingly subjective and normative as it develops. By saying “all theory”, he seems to make the Set of theory too big, deliberately blurring out the boundary between natural and social sciences, which is unnecessarily obscure. Philosophers of science may not be very satisfied of his categorization of theories, nevertheless, it is still an excellent textbook for planners. 

Reference: 

Allmendinger, P. (2001) Planning in Post-modern Times. London: Routledge.

Allmendinger, P. (2009) Planning theory (2nd edition). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Bridge, G. and Watson, S. (2002) City Reader. Malden: Blackwell. 

Campbell, S. and Fainstein, S. (1996) Readings in planning theory. Oxford: Blackwell.  

Faludi, A. (1973) A reader in planning theory. Oxford, New York, Toronto, Sydney: Pergamon Press. 

August 18, 2017, Athens. Traveling in Europe with childhood friend on her 27th birthday. 

The journey has reached the last stop - Athens. 

Seeing Greece like this is a mixed feeling. The phrase "Glory that was Greece" is like thunder in my ears, but when I really come here, I feel a sense of déjà vu that it is obviously not its best time. Suddenly, sympathy overflows, and I feel that people are pitiful, cats are pitiful, and everything is pitiful. Despite

this, I still love this place deeply: the Acropolis overlooking Athens is better than any beautiful castle in Europe, the Ionic columns are so soft, and the dilapidated city nightlife is so rich. People are surviving, but they are still elegant, happy and glorious. 

This day is my friend's birthday. I began to recall the summer when I celebrated my first birthday together when I was fourteen years old. We went from elementary school together to studying for a doctorate together. Where did the time go? Suddenly a faint sadness came over me.

Drinking and wandering on the street at night, it seemed like I was back to a night in Wuhan in the 1990s/early 2000s. The picture is so real. I have traveled to nearly thirty countries over the years, some developed and some underdeveloped. I have been home so many times, and every time I can feel the rapid changes in my motherland, and the development of the city is like a montage. Now, whenever I walk down some foreign street, I always think of what China used to be like.

Greece is an important place, and I will come back again.

I had a fascinating trip to the Brazilian Amazon in the Spring of 2016, supported by a Mellon Fellowship in Architecture, Urbanism, and the Humanities. Here is an introduction to Manaus' urban growth, the largest city in the state of Amazonas today. 

As an isolated but prosperous metropolitan area in Latin America today, the fate of Manaus is tied together with the natural resources and the geopolitical occupation of the Amazon forest. The nucleus of Manaus today, located on the left back of Rio Negro in the Amazon forest, was initially constructed as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro in 1669 by Portuguese captain of artillery, Francisco da Mota Falcaõ (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, 2016). Although the land has been the target of interests of Spanish, Dutch, French, English, and Irish conquerers, Portuguese rules have long been exercised in the region (ibid). In 1848, Manaus was legally recognized as the city of Barra de Saõ José do Rio Negro. In 1856, the city was officially granted the name ”Manaus”, after a previous indigenous tribe, Manaós, dominated the Rio Negro valley (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, 2013, 2016). 

It can be concluded that Manaus' urban growth has experienced two major stages. First is a stage of resource exploitation that causes the first wave of economic growth. The rubber boom from 1870 to 1920 opened up a singular market for rubber extraction. The state revenues from taxation were further reinvested in the facility building for rubber exploitation in the Amazon interior, with the federally supported colonization of the jungle interior remaining uncontrolled (Jacobs et al., 2012, p. 132). However, such a singular rubber market was fragile. The removal of the seeds of the rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) via London to Southeast Asia caused the Amazon to lose its rubber monopoly in 1910 (Hecht & Cockburn, 2011, p. 294). 

The second stage that brought the economic boom and spatial growth in Manaus that allowed Manaus to surpass its competitor, Belém, another big port city in the north of the Amazon forest, is the development of the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) in 1967. The integration of global trade and the disintegration of production systems generated a new spatial division of labor (Jacobs et al., 2012, p. 129). Taking advantage of the jungle’s symbolic and financial values, the commodities type has shifted from traditional natural resources to sustainable commodities in the age of globalization and planetary urbanization, which fostered "ecological entrepreneurialism" (Kanai, 2014). The Amazonas-Marriot agreement of carbon trading is an example of ecological service in global networks (see Kanai, 2014: 2390). Manaus has experienced rapid spatial expansion in the past three decades. The political-economic order is shifting from market-centered to state-led neoliberalism, benefiting the mega-infrastructure construction such as the Manaus-Iranduba Bridge while also causing social resistance and uneven urban expansion. Today, Manaus is the largest city in the state of Amazonas, with an estimated population of 2,094,391 in 2016. (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, 2016) In 2007, Amazonas state initiated the Região Metropolitana de Manaus (RMM) framework, which mobilizes mega infrastructure construction and ecological entrepreneurialism, which Kanai (2014) argued as a case of Global City-Region (GCR) formation in the Amazon forest. Under such a new political-economic order, Manaus has plenty of space for future expansion. 

December 19, 2014, arriving in Ljubljana, Slovenia as the first stop of my East Europe trip. 

I fell in love with this place at first sight. A few days before Christmas, the snow had just stopped. When I walked out of the airport, I saw the black and white forest in the distance. I spent the whole evening in the castle, and when night fell, I could see the twinkling lights of the whole city. 

I heard the children's chorus in front of the church when I walked on the road during the day. Many pedestrians on the road saw my Asian face and wanted to take a photo with me out of curiosity. At night, the streets were filled with the smell of wine, and hot wine seemed to have become a must-have drink for locals in winter. 

Shoes and umbrellas were hung on the wires. I stopped to appreciate the band performance when I strolled along the river. There was a huge Christmas tree in the central square, and there were vendors selling wine and a magical food called cevapcici...

This city is small and comfortable, and the people are simple. It forms a sharp contrast with the fast-paced and high-pressure metropolis. For a moment, I felt that life should be like that. 

December 24, 2011, Wuhan, written on a pieceful Christmas Eve after a successful piano performance. 

Put on the headphones, Bach's Cantata flows peacefully in my ears. On such a night, nothing can be more harmonious than this sound. Although I can't understand the language I hear, I don't want to deliberately understand it. What a pure feeling it is, taking me away from all the busyness and tension, quietly swimming in this beautiful sea of ​​music, enjoying the happiness brought by this natural sound. I always recall the past Christmas Eves on Christmas Eve, those people, things, and scenes are vivid and worth remembering. Many years have passed, freedom and happiness have gradually become indestructible in my heart, but I still habitually look at the endless stream of people like a child, and like a ruthless city passer-by, lonely and happy. 

This morning, I was no longer awakened by the nightmare of the piano crashing on the stage. I felt relieved, but also empty and uneasy. I thought that I would never change my mind, but Schubert's sonata has not stopped and will not stop. I couldn't help but think of the park design I did last semester. Today, I seem to understand the intention even more. The four perfect movements created at the end of life are so suitable to describe a person's life.

I remember that when the host announced the program, my hands were sweating. In order to calm myself down, I kept recalling the scenes of practicing alone in Room 403. Classes, master planning, transportation planning, and various trivial tasks filled my schedule so much that I couldn't calm down. I could only practice the piano in the precious hour after dinner. Unconsciously, I also established a deep friendship with the Kawai grand piano that I used to be unable to play. In that process, I seemed to experience all kinds of emotions in the world - even loneliness. Just when I was eager to confide my inner world but there was no one in the audience, I really felt lonely for the first time. It was a kind of loneliness that was not understood by the whole world. I wanted to roar but couldn't make any sound. There was also the infuriating problem of playing while distracted, which had no solution at all. All kinds of chaotic trivialities rushed into my brain like waves, and you could only weakly block them without knowing what you were playing. In addition, it was also a painful thing to be unable to make those heavy keyboards produce heavy sounds due to lack of sleep and being very hungry but unable to eat anything. Fortunately, those tragedies did not diminish my love for that great work. Finally, one day, I felt the existential philosophy in that music. The feeling was very obvious - not interpreting the composer, not imitating anyone, but purely expressing myself, but not recklessly and casually. Perhaps it was a kind of resonance with the composer. Looking back on the works I studied seriously in college, from Rachmaninoff's etudes to Schubert's late sonatas, this seems to be a transformation and an improvement - both technically and emotionally. In each work, I can see my own shadow. Although the content of the music is different, it does not mean that I am different from my previous self, but it represents that those different works have made me know a different self.

These are unforgettable memories in life. But will they become eternal memories? If one day, I no longer love playing the piano, or even music, how terrible it would be, and life would probably be meaningless. I know that only by giving up can I pursue, but I never want to say goodbye to something I love deeply. I also believe that no matter what it is, as long as I do my best, I can find fulfillment, and music is not the only one.

There are still many people I want to thank, and I really want to write a long speech to thank them one by one. But on such a Christmas Eve, please forgive me for indulging myself again. At the end of the year, I finally found that 2011 was a year of pursuing perfection, busy and fulfilling, all of which are worth remembering forever.

On Christmas Eve, my heart is always peaceful and quiet. On this Christmas Eve, I suddenly felt that it was the fairy tale "The Little Match Girl" that left such an impression on me. I remember my primary school teacher said that this story exposed the darkness of capitalist society. But when I was young, I only felt the truth, goodness and beauty of human nature, and a hint of happiness in sadness. A senior spent Christmas Eve alone watching fish in Huagang Park, and he was the only one in the entire scenic area. I hope I can do the same next time. At the same time, I also like the atmosphere of urban life - behind the pressure and prosperity is a free soul. Walking through the crowd, I saw a little girl selling matches. She lit a match, and a bright flame floated in the cold air. Then, a star fell.

November 30, 2011, Wuhan, after finishing the exam on "Introduction to Urban Design" and listening to Pollini's version of Schubert's Sonata No. 20 in A Major. 

Some people say that there is no perfection in the world. From a materialist's perspective, this makes sense. Science tries to explain things that are already perfect in people's beliefs. It constantly explores the appearance of things and then finds that the world is imperfect. I remember a saying in middle school that "this error can be ignored". As a science advocate, I never doubted it and thought it was natural. Therefore, in my mind, I also recognized the imperfection of the world. 

However, whether it is the East with its mysterious inland civilization or the West with its romantic oceanic civilization, the worship of the perfect universe by people in ancient times laid the foundation for the existence of " beyond perfection " - since the universe itself is already perfect, then "beyond perfection" has room to be created. It was an era that was neither imprisoned by religion nor constrained by nature like the scientific revolution. It was a state of true harmony with nature. People had supreme spiritual ideals or will to power. So much so that today, many people with land complexes and advanced ideas reflect on history and hope to return to the earth, bringing about the trend of modern ecologism. At the same time, they are not to be outdone in theoretical and technical research, such as the "ecological security pattern" theory of landscape master Yu Kongjian. However , the social background of a specific period determines a specific ideology. After all, modern society is much more complicated, and we can no longer return to the life picture of the past.

It is feasible to try to capture "beyond perfection" in art - precisely because art carries those spiritual ideals that exist in people's will but are invisible and intangible. During the Renaissance, the emerging bourgeoisie opposed the feudal system under the banner of "reviving classicism" on the one hand, and respected humanity, human rights, and humanity on the other. "The perfect scale of humankind" is actually a microcosm of the recognition of the perfection of the universe. Art pursues technical accuracy, which can be seen from the perfect construction technology of the buildings left over from the Renaissance that have stood in Europe for thousands of years; art never deliberately pursues absolute accuracy, and "allowing free and flexible expression techniques" brings unique charm to art. Such soil breeds "beyond perfection".

From this, we can see that "beyond perfection" does not need to be based on "absolute perfection", but must "approach perfection" and have an catching side; at the same time, the perceiver can only feel it after rational analysis, practice or careful consideration. "Beyond perfection" has several objective components, namely "technical accuracy", "humanistic care" and "catching", and the subjective elements are "perceivers" and "perceivers' thoughts".

Music and "Beyond Perfection"

The above viewpoint was actually put forward after I listened to Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major (Op. D959 ) performed by Pollini - I discovered the existence of "beyond perfection" in music.

I love freedom, promote egoism and humanism, and approve of individual will. At the same time, I am fascinated by the orderly, logical, and even absolute aesthetic spirit of classicism, because it is a pure spirit. Although I have listened to some classical music, I still seem to be at the stage of "having some feeling for piano music". Listening to piano works is an interesting thing - not only can I try to figure out the meaning of a piece of music, but I can also see the projection of the performer's personal emotions; playing the piano is also an interesting thing - I can use the piano as a singing tool to communicate directly with the composer, even though the technical limitations sometimes bother me.

Bach's music is so holy, pure and supreme - it is the art of the Baroque period, exquisite and rich in layers. The wonderful counterpoint, the balance of harmony and disharmony is perfect. This reminds me of Alberti's words: "Beauty is the harmony of parts, no matter what the theme, these parts should be coordinated in such proportions and relationships that nothing can be added, subtracted or changed unless it is intentionally destroyed."

I used to think that Gould's performance of Bach was perfect. But how do I know that he is not beyond perfection? I think it is absolutely illogical to hastily conclude based on feelings without deeply studying the ideas behind the work and comparing various interpretations. Perhaps I have a better say about Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major.

It has been about a year since I learned about Schubert's late sonatas, compared the meanings expressed by various interpreters while listening, and then practiced the first movement of D959 without knowing how complicated it is . Just think about it, how many more years can I squander in my life! When I really practiced, I found that the lack of rich connotations caused by a lot of repetitions and a single level always bothered me - why can Brendel and Pollini's performances have such rich sound levels, but when it comes to me, it is full of meaningless blanks, and the perfomance seems to have never existed in the listener's mind.

If Brendel led me into my inner world through Schubert's music, then Pollini made me discover the existence of "beyond perfection" in music. As mentioned earlier, "beyond perfection" is not based on "absolute perfection" and cannot be transfigured only through the emotion. For pianists, even if the technical error reaches a state that cannot be captured by others, it can only be "approaching perfection"; to transcend perfection, it needs the support of approaching perfection technique and enough artistic appeal to let the listeners understand through their minds rather than their eyes.

I think Pollini has done this. I have heard him play Beethoven and Chopin before, and I feel that he can present romanticism in a proper way, with extremely high technical precision and bright and colorful timbre. His performance is not as exciting or moving as Horowitz's, but it is very accurate, clear, calm, and faithful to the original intention of the composer. He rarely projects his subjective emotions into the sound of the piano - these aspects make me extremely appreciate and even admire him. Brendel, who is 11 years older than Pollini , commented: "The Italian pianist is not willing to express what the composer should have written." Comparing Brendel and Pollini's recordings of Schubert, although both respect the score, the performances are completely different. Brendel is more "intense" and his sound is more vivid, while Pollini is more restrained. Brendel pays more attention to details, while Pollini pays attention to the whole. In many places, Brendel made slow or crescendo, while Pollini handled it calmly and expressively - there is no need to pursue gorgeous effects in details, but to emphasize the inner layering of harmony. For me, a listener, between Brendel and Pollini, they are both"beyond perfection".  Because from a technical point of view, Pollini is closer to perfection than Brendel, and from a emotional point of view, Brendel's "strong treatment of certain parts" is more touching to me than Pollini's "grasp of the whole piece of music".

Of course, I want to thank the two interpreters, they are both my spiritual mentors. I think I am also lucky. Although Schubert's D959 once made me miserable, through constant listening, comparative analysis and practice, it also made me feel and think, and I have a new understanding of piano playing. Of course, I will not imitate anyone's performance, I would like to talk to Schubert alone.

For the perceiver, who is the subjective element of "beyond perfection", the process of thinking is so important. Although this process is full of loneliness, things that transcend perfection will bring people great power and passion. Appreciating art with a relaxed mood and a positive thinking state of mind will eventually enable perceivers to understand the world through listening.