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Changing Cities Dynamics of the American City Urban Geography Urban Transportation Analysis Urban Community Organizing & Citizen Action Selected Issues in Urban Studies Policy Analysis San Francisco Political Issues Research Methods Data Analysis Urban Politics Politics, Law & Urban Environment Sustainable Development In Cities Race, Poverty, and the Urban Environment Alternative Urban Futures Urban Economics Urban Anthropology
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Urban Ethnography |
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The purpose of this course is to introduce students to
the excitement of trying to understand city life and the challenge of
trying to make cities more socially just and environmentally
sustainable. The course introduces the basic dimensions of urban
analysis--historical, economic, political, social, cultural, spatial and
then provides broad overview of metropolitan change in the United States
over the last half century. We then look more closely at the impact of
globalization over the last decade, using San Francisco as a key
example. Critical issues are identified, including reducing poverty and
social inequality, creating strong communities and providing affordable
housing, making cities more environmentally sustainable (reducing
sprawl, developing “smart growth,” and other “green city” initiatives),
and building effective citizenship in a global city. We look at
strategies for addressing these issues and agencies and organizations
which are involved in promoting change. The course emphasizes personal
experience and reflection as well as social science analysis. (LeVeen,
Silverman, other lecturers) URBS 400/HIST 489: Dynamics of the American City (3 units) This is the required introductory course for all Urban Studies majors and minors. It should be taken during the first semester of a student's participation in the Urban Studies Program. In URBS 400 students learn about urban history, social science perspectives on cities, and urban issues. Topics include how American cities evolved, the disciplinary perspectives historians, political scientists, geographers, sociologists, economists, and city planners apply to the study of cities. Classic and cutting-edge writings about the city, and urban issues such as poverty and inequality, environmental protection, urban transportation, and housing affordability. Special attention is given to social class, gender, and ethnic diversity in urban America. (LeGates, Pamuk, Nguyen, Silverman, other lecturers) URBS/GEOG 432: Urban Geography (4 units) This is a core course that focuses on space in the city, in which locational principles as they relate to societal constraints are examined. The emphasis is on physical structure, the where, why, and so what of buildings, districts, and the relative location of these components. Past patterns are examined in detail as a prelude to examining the patterns of the present city. The order of the classical city, the medieval city, and the city of the industrial revolution is examined in relation to its physical organization, and this spatial structure is then related to the societal and institutional forces that affect this shaping. This is essentially a liberal arts approach to the city. (McGee, Guo, Geography department) Urban Transportation Analysis stresses the analysis of problems and the application of metropolitan planning methodology. The transportation consumption function is described. Interrelationships among urban transportation systems, human behavior and metropolitan land use patterns are analyzed. The concept of a balanced transportation system is presented. An analysis is made of the effects of the automobile and mass transit on patterns or urban activities. Trip generation, trip distribution, modal splits and trip assignment are modeled. Alternatives are evaluated. (Henderson, Geography department) URBS/SW 456: Urban Community Organizing & Citizen Action (3 units) This course examines the theory and practice of community organizing. In what ways can people articulate their interests and effect social change? Topics include: turning community concerns into specific issues, how to put an organization together, leadership development, strategy and tactics, negotiations, use of the media, and fundraising in the organizing process. This course includes speakers presently involved with community organization efforts in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Students are required to observe, analyze, and report on a community organization’s activities. (School of Social Work)
This course applies the sociological perspective to urban phenomena, looking at the process of urbanization and urbanism as a way of life. It starts with early urban forms and moves toward the city in the modern industrial nation. It covers such topics as the social structure of cities, the social psychology of urbanites, the rural to urban shift, and the relationship between city form and social organization. (Bettinger, Sociology)
URBS 475: Selected Issues in Urban Studies (3 units)
This
is the "variable topic" course in Urban Studies which allows
the program to offer special courses on topics of particular interest.
Most recently it was used for “Cities and Civilization.”
URBS/PLSI 480: Policy Analysis (4 units) This course is designed to introduce students to the common language of policy analysis. It covers core analytical concepts used by policy analysts and introduces basic methods of doing policy analysis. It discusses rationales for public policy and limits of government intervention in markets. It covers generic methods of doing policy analysis in organizational settings like cost benefit analysis, stakeholder analysis, and goals/alternatives matrices. The course introduces students to what policy analysis is, what policy analysts do, and different settings where policy analysts work. Students select a policy problem and identify policy options based on a careful analysis of the issue following standard problem solving methods: develop a problem statement, do a literature review, identify alternatives, identify tradeoffs, and develop recommendations for action. Students present the results of their policy analysis projects in class using PowerPoint slides. Class discussions use exemplary and current policy analysis reports produced by policy organizations (e.g., PPIC, GAO, RAND) on energy policy, infrastructure policy, land use policy, housing policy, social policy, etc. This course provides a solid foundation for students who work on client-serving projects in the senior seminar. (Pamuk, Sheldon-MPA)
This course examines the politics of economic development
and affordable housing in San Francisco. This provides a window into the
broader dynamics and conflicts which mark politics in general in San
Francisco, as well as providing insight on several of the most critical
issues for working men and women in the city and region. The course
develops a historical perspective in order to better understand the
players, the stakes, and the results which continue to frame the debates
of today. It pays special attention to the struggles over high-rise
development, the demand for affordable housing as part of new development,
and the different movements seeking to define healthy neighborhoods and a
livable city. Students participate in research projects generated through
discussion with non-profit and community-based organizations working on
those issues. The course is usually co-taught by Brian Murphy, a political
scientist who is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Urban
Institute at SFSU and a team of community practitioners such as Sharen
Hewitt, Liason to the San Francisco Housing Authority for the SF
Department of Human Services, and Calvin Welch, Program Director of the
San Franciso Information Clearinghouse and a long-time activist. (Murphy
and other lecturers) URBS/PLSI 492: Research Methods (4 units)
This course is the second course in the Urban Studies research methods requirement. It should be taken after completing URBS 492 or equivalent (e.g., PlSI 300). It is structured as a 2-hr lecture and 2-hr computer lab course. It is designed to introduce students to a range of commonly used quantitative methods of data analysis in urban policy, planning, and public administration. The course emphasizes the use of various practical methods appropriate to analyzing planning and policy problems and building a conceptual framework for reasoning about planning and policy issues. Methods for analyzing primary and secondary data are introduced. Statistical formulas are downplayed. The course starts by introducing spatial analysis of data using ArcView GIS. Then, students analyze San Francisco demographics and housing conditions at the neighborhood level using U.S. census data with Excel tables and charts. Population projection methods (e.g., cohort-survival model) and county-level employment projections (e.g., economic base analysis) are introduced. A third of the course covers standard descriptive and inferential statistics. Students learn to do hypothesis testing, univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis using SPSS and learn to apply these tools in social science and public policy analysis. (Pamuk, Silverman)
URBS/PLSI 512: Urban Politics (4 units) This course provides an introduction to urban politics and
policy making. It is intended to provide students with the knowledge and
analytic tools with which to understand and operate within the political
system through which so much of the quality of urban life is determined.
The historical evolution and current range of formal political
institutions are examined, with particular emphasis upon the political
causes and consequences of formal institutional variations. Patterns of
participation, influence, and power and their variation by class, race,
and ethnicity are discussed, with particular attention to the recent
efforts of minority groups to gain access to established urban political
system. Substantive problems confronting urban political systems and
policies which have been addressed to them are analysed; and the
relationships between urban, regional, state, and federal policy systems
are examined. Finally, policy recommendations and political strategies for
change are explored. (Political Science) URBS/PLSI/513/GEOG 668: Politics, Law & Urban Environment (4 units) This course introduces students to the American legal system and how it affects cities. The role of lawyers, planners, citizens, and judges in managing urban growth, resources, and the environment. Topics include: private nuisance law, zoning, subdivision law, condemnation and inverse condemnation, growth management, development rights transfers, NEPA, and CEQA. Students prepare legal urban policy reports or participate in a moot court to practice legal argumentation. (LeGates)
URBS 514: Sustainable Development In Cities The purpose of this course is to provide students with an academic arena in which to explore issues related to sustainable urban development. The term “sustainable development” is used widely by numerous organizations, including: the Sierra Club, Urban Habitat, the United Nations, Shell Oil, and Monsanto. Each of these organizations defines the term differently. In this course, the term “sustainable urban development” is defined as: planning and policy approaches and appropriate technologies that can be used to minimize a city’s impact on the environment while providing urban residents with the infrastructure and services they need to sustain a high quality of urban life. The course focuses on ecologically and socially responsible planning and management of the urban infrastructure in five critical areas: water supply and management, waste minimization and management, energy production and use, transportation, and food systems. Main readings for the course are from the textbook Alternative Urban Futures: Planning for Sustainable Development in Cities throughout the World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). Supplementary readings are provided in a course reader compiled by Professor Pinderhughes each semester. Each class session is framed by assigned readings and a set of questions designed to guide reading and in-class discussion for each session. (Pinderhughes)
This course focuses on understanding the environment, environmental issues, and social movements organized in relation to the environment by examining natural resource utilization, land use planning and policy, and struggles for environmental justice through the critical analyses and lens of race and class. We will focus on four broad themes: First, how complex, multifaceted processes associated with colonialism, urban development, urbanization, and industrialization have led, and continue to lead, to social and environmental problems and inequalities. Second, how social and economic inequalities play a role (both historical and contemporary) in decisions about the location of environmental pollutants and toxics. Third, how pollution and other assaults on the environment affect different groups of people and have a disproportionate negative impact on low-income people and communities and, on people of color and communities of color around the world. Fourth, how people around the world struggle for environmental and social fairness and justice. Each class session is framed by assigned readings and a set of questions designed to guide reading and in-class discussion for each session. (Pinderhughes)
URBS 530: Alternative Urban Futures (3 units) The purpose of this course is to speculate about the probable and possible future of cities and urban society. Interest in the challenges cities face as a result of patterns of industrial urban development and increasing social and economic inequality have increased rapidly in recent years and play a major role in discussions about the future of urban areas. In order to systematically examine a wide range of issues that will impact the future of urban areas, this course is organized around two broad themes affecting the future of cities: (1) problems resulting from patterns of urban industrial development and (2) solutions to these problems that are within our reach. Each class session is framed by assigned readings and a set of questions designed to guide reading and in-class discussion for each session. (Pinderhughes, Binger)
This course
focuses on the economic conditions of cities and suburbs. It examines
some of the major social and economic problems facing large American
cities and their surrounding metropolitan regions. It looks at how
cities have developed over time and what causes them to grow. It looks
at how and why land is used for different economic functions within
cities. It looks at local housing markets and transportation systems
connecting housing to jobs and other attractions. It also considers some
of the economic causes for the concentration of poverty in inner cities
and looks at policies to fight poverty. Finally it speculates about
where American cities are headed in the 21st century. To analyze these
issues, this course considers location decisions made by individuals and
firms within a regional market economy: the benefits as well as problems
created by clustering in cities. Mainstream microeconomic analysis is
used to look at the role of market forces and equilibrating tendencies.
(Potepan, Economics)
URBS/ANTHRO 555: Urban Anthropology (4 units)
Anthropology
of cities. Cultural communities within contemporary cities. Adaptation
of migrants to urban culture. Urban kinship networks and family
structures in urban settings. Assimilation and acculturation.
Participation by urban groups in the formal and informal economy.
Preservation of ethnic, religious, and nationality-based identities.
Application of anthropological insight to the solution of urban problems
including employment, family policy, substance abuse, and economic
development. (Anderson,
Anthropology)
URBS/ANTHRO 557: Urban Ethnography (4 units)
Students
are trained in participant-observation fieldwork techniques and
undertake research projects in inner city communities in the Bay Area.
(Anthropology) URBS 560: Urban Poverty and Policy (4 units) Urban poverty remains one of the most intractable and tragic problems facing contemporary America. Compounding the genuine and increasing difficulties in addressing this problem is the nature of the public debate, which has generated more rhetorical slogans than useful insight. There is a desperate need for informed and thoughtful policy analysis which rigorously analyses the causes and possible solutions to this problem. This course will help you develop that analysis: examining the nature and experience of urban poverty, critically reviewing alternative theories of the causes of poverty and their policy implications, and carefully examining the lessons to be learned from past policy efforts. Particular attention is given to the role of education, employment, and family status; gender and race; metropolitan location; and global economic restructuring in shaping the problem and thus the solutions. The role of politics in shaping the policy debate and its outcomes will be analysed. The ultimate goal of the course is to help you effectively assess the present debate about poverty policy and to develop your own recommendations for more effective policy. Prerequisite: Eng 214 or equivalent. (LeVeen)
The family is the central institution for economic
support, nurture, care and the production and socializing of children in
American society. While most people associate the family with these
functions, governments see families as the most significant vehicle for
the transmission of social values, provision of dependent care and for the
achievement of broad political and social goals, ranging from political
indoctrination to labor market behavior. States are directly affected by
how blood ties are defined, roles and responsibilities of family members
are determined, issues of custody are decided, property is inherited, and
social responsibilities are distributed. This course examines the
relationship between the state and the family in American social policy.
It examines specific policies that affect families and how the interests
of the State are served by these policies. It considers whether the United
States has a “family policy” and whether all families benefit equally from
existing families policies. The course focuses on the legal and moral
concept of “rights,” looking specifically at children’s rights, parent’s
rights, medical rights, immigrants’ rights, and more generally, family
rights. It also examines specific aspects of economic, labor, immigration,
and welfare policy and their effects on families. (Pinderhughes,
lecturers) URBS/LABR/PLSI 570: Urban Health Policy (3 units) The US health system spends more on health than any other country in the world, yet we rank 20th in infant mortality, and we are the only industrialized country in the world without a universal health program. Our increasingly market-driven health care system threatens access and quality of care, yet costs continue to rise. Our public hospitals are overwhelmed by the growing number of uninsured and underinsured while at the same time their traditional revenue sources are shrinking. Yet crisis has brought opportunity: new proposals for universal health programs are being developed in states around the country (e.g. California’s Health Care Options Project), and incremental policy initiatives to expand coverage (e.g. children’s health insurance programs) and improve quality (e.g. minimum nurse staffing ratios). This course provides an overview of the structure and dynamics of the US health care system as a basis for understanding the causes of the present crises and evaluating proposed solutions. The problems of “vulnerable populations”—the uninsured, immigrants, members of minority groups, special needs populations—are examined. The experience of other countries is considered as a source of suggestions for change. (LeVeen) This
is an introductory course to housing and community development policy in
the United States. The objectives of the course are to provide students
with an understanding of how housing markets function, how government
and community-based institutions affect housing outcomes, and explore
designing housing policies that are consistent with community-based and
sustainable community principles. It
is organized to acquaint students with basic housing planning and
community development concepts (e.g., affordability, rent burden,
overcrowding) to critically compare housing market operations and
institutions across localities (e.g., cities, states, countries), and to
understand the consequences of alternative government policy choices.
Course includes field trips to San Francisco nonprofit housing
projects. It features
housing professionals as guest speakers, and films (e.g., DSNI, Boom:
The Sound of Eviction). (Pamuk) URBS/HED 582: Homelessness and Public Policy (3 units)
Homelessness
in the US has reached epidemic proportions. A personal crisis for
homeless individuals, it is also an economic and moral crisis for the
society which allows it to develop and fester. Who are the homeless, why
are they homeless, and what can be done about it? This is an on-line
course which includes a service-learning component requiring about 40
hours of volunteer work in an organization dealing with the problem of
homelessness. Given the fact that San Francisco is "home" to
thousands of homeless people, that this city's homeless are among the
most politicized and organized in the nation, and that the city has
generated a wide range of policy responses, much of the class will be
grounded in the experience of homelessness in San Francisco.
(Health
Education)
URBS/PLSI 603/604: Public Service Internships and Seminar (4 units) See
Internships for course description.
URBS/GEOG 651: Urbs/Geog 651 San Francisco Bay Area
Environmental Issues
Introduction
to the mission and work of environmental management organizations.
Managing our air, water, soil, wildlife and aesthetic resources.
Emphasis on land use and transportation concepts.
Field projects are integral to the course.
Class work, three units; laboratory, one unit.
URBS/GEOG 652: Environmental Impact Analysis (4 units)
The
methodology of understanding, analyzing, and evaluating environmental
impacts in a systematic way. Introductory
framework for preparing, organizing, or reviewing environmental impact
statements. An integrated
approach to the understanding and
evaluation of cultural and physical environmental inter- relationships.
Synthesis of substantive materials on human environmental
processes. Detailed review
of the methodology used for evaluating impact proposals, including the
systems approach. Reconciliation
of physical resource potentials with human needs, including problems of
social development impact and environmental quality protection. (Geography) URBS/GEOG 655: Environmental Design (4 units)
The
major focus of this design course is to better understand the
relationships among physical‑spatial patterns and environmental
behavior (especially in an urban context), in order to create design
solutions which attain planning objectives.
With this goal in mind, design philosophy and related planning
assumptions will be surveyed and design techniques for analyzing
development patterns will be introduced.
Students will formulate diagrammatic plans for the geographic
organization of activities. The
spatial design of employment locations, residential areas,
transportation networks, open space, and a variety of services will be
analyzed and evaluated in the field and class. (Geography,
Irregular) URBS/GEOG 658: Land Use Planning (4 units) This
course presents the basic institutions, practice, and methodology of
land-use planning. It analyses the relationships of planning to
socio‑economic objectives within the context of market and
political forces. The
planning process includes descriptions of existing conditions,
identification of problems, statements of objectives, collection of
information, analysis of socio‑economic and location factors,
simulation of changes, evaluation of alternative plans,
implementation of development and conservation programs, and
incorporation of feedback information.
The history and scope of land‑use planning,
conservation, and development from local to regional levels is surveyed. The comprehensive plan,
location analysis, zoning,
and negotiated development are all discussed. In a systematic way,
students learn how to work in public and private
decision‑making fields related to land‑use planning
conservation and development. (Geography)
URBS/SW 660: Nonprofit Organizations in Urban Life (3 units) A
growing number of urban needs are now met by nonprofit organizations. This
course analyses nonprofit organizations as the "third way" to
serve urban society in social services, the arts, housing, environmental
and community advocacy. It covers management topics such as: the board,
the law, consumers and donors, government relations, income, grants,
volunteers, decision-making, innovation and role change. It is designed
for students who, through the pursuit of professional careers and/or
social and political action, expect to be substantially involved with
nonprofit organizations. (Urban
Studies lecturers)
The
Urban Studies Senior Seminar is a practicum
in urban planning and policy that is the required capstone course for
graduating URBS majors. The
course consists of 6-8 projects in which students act as consulting
teams to real-world clients in the external community.
The students have an opportunity to select from a wide range of
projects identified through an RFP process prior to the beginning of the
semester. The class meets
in a workshop format and features practitioners from the community as
guest speakers. The
course is designed to teach students to solve urban planning and policy
problems by combining theory, methods, substantive knowledge, and skills
in the context of a client-serving project.
Students have an opportunity to practice working in a team and
prepare a written professional report.
The students also have an opportunity to present their findings
to a professional jury including the clients and URBS faculty at the end
of the semester in order to learn how to deliver a professional report. In
this course students gain hands-on experience in solving real-world
urban planning or policy problems by 1) applying theory
learned through core (e.g., 400) and disciplinary URBS courses; 2)
applying methods (e.g.,
research methods, data analysis, policy analysis) learned through 492,
493, and 480; 3) applying substantive area knowledge
(e.g., housing, land use, law, health, poverty, sustainability) gained
through electives; 4) applying skills
(e.g., web-page construction, PowerPoint presentation, SPSS, GIS,
spreadsheets, collaborative team work);
5) combine theory, methods, substantive area knowledge and skills
in the context of client-serving projects in the external community; 6)
work effectively in a team; and 7) communicate findings in the form of a
written and oral professional report.
The
course must be taken as close to graduation as possible.
Since it is offered only in the spring, students planning to
graduate during the following fall must take it during the spring.
Prerequisites:
Because
the Senior Seminar is essentially a culminating experience, students
should have completed almost all of the core requirements before taking
the Senior Seminar; in particular, students must have completed research
methods (492), data analysis (493), the foundation course (policy
analysis or land use planning), as well as at least two of the core
disciplinary courses. It is
also highly recommended that students have already completed an
internship before taking the Senior Seminar.
Finally, because of the heavy workload in the Senior Seminar,
students are required to consult with their advisors regarding the
appropriate course load during that semester. Advisor approval is required to enroll in this course. Senior seminar projects in 2001 and 2002 included 1) a land use study for Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC); 2) a land use study for Mission Economic Development Association (MEDA), 3) a housing feasibility study for Geneva Valley Development Corporation (GVDC); 4) a housing feasibility study for Mission Housing Development Corporation, 5) a study of smart growth Strategies in California for the Urban Land Institute (ULI), 6) and a community planning analysis for South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN). Power Point slides produced by senior seminar students are at:
http://bss.sfsu.edu/pamuk/classes/seniorseminar.html URBS 686: Fieldwork in Urban Analysis (1-4 units)
This
is a flexible course intended for students who wish to undertake a
directed fieldwork or other research project.
It is intended to meet the needs of several distinct groups of
students: a) Editors and
article writers for URBAN ACTION, the Urban Studies student journal b)
students who want to apply their substantive knowledge and research
skills to a specific piece of urban research, and c) small groups of
students who wish to organize a one-time study group or project group.
Urbs 686 is for advanced upper division students who are familiar with
research methods and the subject matter they wish to study in detail. URBS 699: Independent Study in Urban Studies (1-3 units)
Independent
studies may be undertaken by students interested in reading in a
particular urban area not adequately covered in any available Urban
Studies course. Students
interested in an independent study must obtain the consent of and work
regularly with a specific Urban Studies instructor.
Photos Courtesy of Mark Larson
(markylarson@yahoo.com) All Rights Reserved.
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