Prof. Bonnie J. Johnson FAICP, PhD
Room 207
Bonnie J. Johnson, PhD, FAICP is Associate Professor in the University of Kansas’ Urban Planning Department. She teaches planning theory, land use, and politics, planning, and administration courses. Research interests include: civic bureaucracy, staff reports, television and citizen participation, planners working with city managers, and competitive elections. Before returning to school for her doctorate, Johnson was a practicing city planner for eight years. While at the City of Liberty, Missouri, she was project manager for Liberty’s award winning Blueprint for Liberty: Land Use Plan. The plan was awarded the American Planning Association’s “Outstanding Planning Award” for the best plan in the country.
Education
Ph.D., Political Science, University of Kansas
M.U.P., Urban Planning, University of Kansas
M.A., Political Science, University of Kansas
B.A., Latin American Studies, University of Kansas
B.A., Political Science, University of Kansas
Teaching
My approach to teaching and to the profession of city planning can be summed up with a quote from Tony Hiss about Baltimore’s Peabody Library reading room, of which he writes: “knowledge seems so abundantly available that you feel almost the same kind of gratitude you feel when you stoop to drink from a public fountain: The city doesn’t want me to go thirsty.” I want to instill in my students, who are future city planners, the commitment to caring about citizens and creating cities which provide for the needs of citizens as typified by the well-placed public drinking fountain. In my classes, I do not want my students “to go thirsty.”
Teaching Interests
- City planning and politics
- Sustainability
- Land Use
- Site Planning
- History of planning
- Theory of planning
- Planning processes
Research
My search for effective planning practices results in research projects drawing from my own experiences as a practicing planner and my educational background in the related fields of urban planning, political science, and public administration. All three fields seek to understand how elected officials, public servants, and citizens interact with each other, governmental structures, and bureaucratic agencies to pursue the common good. I am interested in the impact of institutions (elections, types of city government, organizations), culture (organizational cultures, professional cultures, social capital, and civic capital), and individuals (city planners, public administrators, elected officials, citizens) on public policy. This agenda results in research on civic bureaucracy, planning practice, media and planning, and public service.
Research Interests
- Civic bureaucracy
- Planning practice
- Media and planning
- Public service
- Codes of ethics
- Professionalism
Selected Publications
Other Activities
I am active in my neighborhood having been the Indian Hills Neighborhood Association Chair here in Lawrence.
Graduation
Rome - The Piazza Del Popolo