In Fall 1988, Anne Spirn and Gary Smith led the class of fourteen students from six countries: Argentina, China, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand and the United States.
The semester began with a weekend stay in the homes of individual community gardeners, including Hayward Ford, president of Aspen Farms and Blanche Epps of Gesthemane Community Garden. In this way, students got to know their clients (the first assignment was to design an addition to Aspen Farms). Students presented their designs to the gardeners, who chose one for construction, a new "Main Street" for Aspen Farms.
For the rest of the semester, students proposed and designed independent projects for the Mill Creek neighborhood, which they presented at the end of the term.
The students proposed an innovative final presentation. They embraced theater as a medium for presenting their ideas. The final presentation was a scripted performance, "Buried Streams, Vacant Land and Community: Strategies for Landscape Change in West Philadelphia” to which they invited public officials and community residents. The critique was provided by a panel, which included faculty, staff of the Philadelphia Planning Commission and Redevelopment Authority, and a community resident.
