PLSC 416: State and Local Politics

In this course, we will study state and local politics with special attention to issues of the built environment.

Through consideration of urban land use issues, the following general topics will be addressed: the concept of place; racieal and economic segregation (and integration); the place of cities in intergovernmental systems; patterns of interest group dominance in state and local affairs; the challenge of integrating neighborhood, citywide, and regional interests; public-private partnerships; and strategies of coalition-building on behalf of policy and project proposals.

These general topics will be addressed through specific readings and case studies on planning, zoning, design review, infrastructure investment, transportation policy, and growth management.

PREREQUISITES:

This course presumes a basic understanding of the structure of American government and of the principles of American federalism. Ann Bowman and Richard Kearney’s State and Local Government: The Essentials, which is on reserve at the ULV library, provides a guide to these issues. Please consult Bowman and Kearney’s text or another general text on state and local politics as needed.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students will:

  1. Demonstrate critical thinking, writing and research skills with respect to state and local politics and urban land use.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of theories of federalism and urbanism.
  3. Apply theories of federalism and urbanism to specific cases developments, neighborhoods, municipalities, regions, and/or states.

4: Apply an international perspective to urban design and land use policy.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Most course readings can be accessed through Blackboard.

In addition, the following book must be purchased:

Texts must be brought to class on the day they will be discussed.  Students will be considered absent if they do not bring the reading to class on the discussed. Texts from Blackboard must be printed out and brought in hard copy as electronic devices are not permitted in class.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

This course will emphasize critical reading and analysis of the assigned texts. The reading load will be approximately 80 pages per week. Class meetings will be a combination of lectures and discussions. Readings should be completed before the class meeting in which they will be discussed. This enables students to get the most out of the lectures and to participate effectively in discussion.

Discussion: During class discussion you are not expected to have fully developed points of view about the course materials. But you are expected to participate. No one will be penalized for being wrong or imprecise, for expressing uncertainty or frustration, for changing their minds. But it should be clear that you are trying, that you have done the readings and are working toward a mastery of the material.

Questions: None of us, myself included, knows everything about the topics of this class. It is our responsibility to ask others who may know the answer, either in class, in office hours, or over dinner. I expect that you are learning the material, not that you know it. As much as possible, try not to be shy or embarrassed about what you don’t yet know. The biggest failure in learning any material, in college or in life, is to fail to ask questions about things you do not know.

Availability: I expect that all of you, either alone or in groups, will contact me throughout the semester. I am almost always available to discuss the course material, or other life issues. Because I maintain an “open-door” policy, you should not hesitate to stop by my office during office hours–or at other times. If you would prefer to schedule a time during non-office hours, simply contact me by phone or email and we will schedule an appropriate time.

Course Conduct: In order to build and maintain a supportive and productive learning community, students and instructors must treat one another with respect.

For students, this includes but is not limited to:

  • Being prepared to discuss the assigned readings each day;
  • Regular attendance;
  • Notifying the instructor of any scheduling conflicts;
  • On-time arrival to class;
  • Minimizing trips in and out of the room during class;
  • Minimizing side-conversations;
  • Refraining from use of cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Neither laptops nor tablets may be used in class. Cell phones must be turned off AND put away during class meetings. Students who use laptops, tablets, or cell phones will be considered absent.

Failure to adhere to these expectations – especially if students are disrupting others’ learning or creating an unwelcoming environment – will result in disciplinary measures. For more on University policies on appropriate classroom conduct, see the University of La Verne Catalog.

For instructors, responsibility for building and maintaining a supportive and productive learning community includes but is not limited to:

  • Being accessible to students;
  • Communicating clear expectations for student success;
  • Addressing students respectfully, including use of preferred names and pronouns;
  • Returning graded work in a timely fashion;
  • Creating a open exchange of ideas to which all students are encouraged to contribute;
  • Facilitating the interrogation and critical analysis of ideas, including interrogation of the instructor’s views, biases, and values.

Students are encouraged to report violations of University policy, including sexual misconduct and social justice incidents here: https://laverne.edu/student-affairs/incident-report-wellness-referral-form/.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

This is a discussion course. It follows that the value of our meetings will hinge on your advance preparation and on your willingness to engage the issues actively in class. When you are doing the readings, keep in mind that you will be expected to participate in the debates outlined in the readings, reject some positions, embrace others, and defend the choices you make.

Grades will be based on the following:

  • In-Class Writing: 30%
  • CRA project:  20%
  • Midterm: 15%
  • Final Exam:  25%
  • In-class participation:  10%

In-Class Writing: Once or twice during most class sessions I will ask you do some in-class writing (5 minutes), typically at the beginning and/or at the end of class. At the beginning of class, I’ll ask you to answer one of the study questions that we have not yet discussed in class. At the end of class I’ll ask a question about the material we just discussed. You should write 2-4 sentences, answering the question as comprehensively as you can, demonstrating knowledge of the reading and incorporating critical analysis. Here are some examples of how you can incorporate critical analysis into your answer:

  • Draw a connection or a distinction
  • Identify objections or alternatives
  • Identify assumptions or gaps in reasoning
  • Provide intellectual or historical context
  • Situate your answer in the context of the author’s larger argument
  • Relate your answer to something in contemporary politics

These assignments will be assessed on a scale of 1-10. A grade of 7-8 indicates that the student has answered the question accurately. An “8-9” is indicative of an accurate answer with some critical reflection on the question. A “9-10” indicates critical reflection as well as specific reference to the text. A “6-7” indicates that the answer in some way misrepresents the text or does not answer the question.

CRA Project: Every California municipality used to have a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). For budgetary reasons, the CRAs were shutdown during the Great Recession. Cities have responded to this problem by finding different ways to address questions of development and redevelopment. For this project, students will choose from among the municipalities in Southern California and investigate its approach to the problem of development and redevelopment. Based on this research, students will write a 10-page paper and give a 15-minute, in-class presentation. Students should interview government officials, developers, and concerned citizens; attend any relevant public meetings; collect photos and/or video; and study governmental and non-governmental documents on urban land use and its history in the municipality. At a minimum, students are required to interview one city official, one member of the business community, and one resident.

In large municipalities, you will want to limit your research to one or two development projects. For this assignment, you should consider:

  1. the historical context of development in the municipality
  2. the goals and objectives of development in the municipality
  3. the constraints on and barriers to development
  4. the process by which development progresses
  5. the long- and short-term consequences of development

An outline of your project will be due on date given in the schedule below. Your outline should be approximately 250 words. It should state your topic and sketch a preliminary account of how you will address the five topics indicated below.

For your in-class presentation you should make use of visual aids such as handouts, overheads, photos, maps, charts, and/or video. Depending on the size of the class and the distance to the site, it might be possible and useful to arrange class field trips as part of these presentations. You should speak for about 15 minutes and then field questions. When you design your slides, please make sure that you put very little text on each slide you use. Slides that include a large amount of text are not effective. If you put a large amount of text on a slide (e.g. a quotation), you need to give the audience time to read the text.

CRA papers must be submitted to SafeAssign. They are due by midnight on the date given on the schedule below. You will need to submit a five-page installment of your paper on the date given below. This could be any section of paper. The purpose is to make sure you have begun to investigate the five questions given above. The final installment is due by midnight on the date given below.

Exams: The midterm will pose a series of short-answer questions based on the course materials. The final exam will do the same and will also ask you write an essay in response to a specific political problem. You will be asked to apply the materials we have studied to this political problem.

If you need disability accommodations for an exam or other assignment, please see the instructor as soon as possible. Information regarding disabilities, including learning disabilities, will remain confidential. If you are not sure whether you need special accommodations, please contact the Accessibility Services Department. Information about location and contact numbers can be found here: https://sites.laverne.edu/disabled-student-services/.

Attendance and Participation:  Attendance and punctuality are basic requirements for a productive discussion. Beyond that, each student’s frequency and quality of contribution to the class discussion will be assessed and reflected in the class participation score.

Attendance policies:

  • Students may miss up to four classes without penalty. Students who miss more than four classes will suffer a deduction of one-third of a grade (e.g. a B+ becomes a B). Students who miss more than six classes will suffer a full grade deduction (e.g. a B+ becomes a C+).
  • Students who are in class but do not have the assigned reading will be considered absent.
  • Multiple instances of tardiness may result in a deduction of one-third of a grade.

Late Assignments: Late assignments may be submitted for partial credit, but no assignments will be accepted after the last day of finals week.

SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS AND REQUIRED READINGS:

AUG 19: Introduction

James Howard Kunstler (https://youtu.be/Q1ZeXnmDZMQ?si=Qj-lsmLk6qHtS9bb),  Edward Glaeser (https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/triumph-of-the-city/246868)

Rebecca Gordon, “The Cost of Housing In America has become Untenable”

  • Why has the cost of housing in America become untenable?
  • What policies could be adopted to reduce the cost of housing?

UNIT 1: ON PLACE

AUG. 21: The Importance of Place

Goldhagen, Welcome to Your World, ch. 7

  • What, according to Goldhagen, is a non-place place? Anthony
  • What are positive freedoms? Why is good design an “essential factor” in positive freedom? Rania
  • Why, according to Goldhagen, are buildings in the Netherlands so well-designed? Amyah,

Eric Klinenberg, Palaces for the People

  • What is infrastructure? Maggie
  • What is social infrastructure? Samantha
  • How can physical infrastructure double as social infrastructure? Vanessa
  • What happens when social infrastructure becomes degraded? Lindsey
  • What was the Pruitt-Igoe housing project? Why did it fail? Madison
  • Describe the “broken windows” theory of crime. Hiba
  • What is informal surveillance? Why is it effective at preventing crime? Elaine

David Leonhardt, “In Climbing the Income Ladder, Location Matters”

  • What is the relationship between geography and upward mobility? Victoria

Robert D. Putnam, “What Makes Democracy Work?,” pp. 101-107

  • What is the best predictor of good regional government in Italy? Fabricio
  • What is ‘impersonal credit’?  Why, according to Putnam, was it born in Northern Italy? Juan

AUG. 26: The Importance of Place (cont’d)

Bill Bishop, The Big Sort, pp. 50-55, 72-77

  • How has the American population been shifting, according to Bishop? Del
  • What happens to political discourse in communities with large political majorities?  What happens to political participation? Matthew

Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, “The flâneur on and off the streets of Paris,” pp. 22-32

  • What is a flâneur? Where did he originate? Jorden
  • Why was the flâneur seen as a deviant? Elizabeth
  • Why is flânerie a masculine activity? Anthony
  • Could one be a flâneur outside of Paris? Outside the arcades? In La Verne? Samantha
  • Why did flânerie decline? Rania

Margaret Kohn, “Public Space in the Progressive Era,” pp. 81-98

  • What is the Olmstedtian vision, and is it relevant today? Maggie
  • Why did Progressives want to create public space? Amyah
  • Why does Kohn prefer Addams’ vision to Olmsted’s? Vanessa
  • What does Kohn mean when she says that the Progressive approach was “excessively disciplinary?” Lindsey
  • What is the contact hypothesis?  What does the empirical evidence say about it? Madison
  • When is contact most likely to erode prejudice?  When does contact enforce prejudice? Hiba

AUG. 28: Film: Roger and Me

  • On What basis does Michael Moore believe GM owes it to Flint to keep jobs there? Elaine
  • Are there any circumstances under which a company has an obligation to keep jobs in a particular area? Victoria

SEPT. 2: Wanted and Unwanted Land Use 

Frank J. Popper, “Lulus and Their Blockage,” pp. 13-27

  • What is a LULU? Think of one or two specific examples. Perhaps you have had some experience with a LULU. Fabricio
  • Popper indicates that a LULU dispute could become a constitutional issue (p. 15). On what grounds? Juan
  • How can LULU blockage be overcome? Del
  • What is the ‘point system’ that Popper discusses? What are its advantages and disadvantages? Matthew

Jerusalem Demsas, “Community Input is Bad, Actually”

  • Why, according to Demsas, is community input “disastrous” with respect to local land use issues? Jorden
  • Who tends to show up for community meetings? Elizabeth

Bryan D. Jones and Lynn W. Bachelor, The Sustaining Hand, pp. 55-6, 60-62, 67-70, 73-108, 109-122 (skim pp. 90-103)

  • What made 1979-80 such a critical time for the American auto industry? Amanda
  • What factors did GM consider in choosing a location for its new plant? Andrew
  • What is the ‘purple horse’ approach (p. 79), and how did GM use it to its advantage? Victoria
  • What, according to Jones and Bachelor, were the deciding factors in GM’s decision to build their plant in Detroit? Vanessa
  • What was the Citizens’ District Council (CDC)?  How were its members selected?  What purpose did it serve? Madison

George Corsetti, “Poletown Revisited”

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of Michigan’s “quick take” law, according to Corsetti? Del
  • What was the net effect of the GM plant on Poletown? Anthony

UNIT II: ON ZONING

SEPT 4: Zoning: Where it Comes From and How it Works

M Nolan Gray, Introduction, Part I, and Appendix, pp. 1-47, 183-94

  • What is the argument of the book? Maggie, Elaine
  • What do zoning ordinances prescribe?Amanda, Samantha
  • What, according to Gray, has the purpose of zoning been? Andrew
  • How did cities manage land use before zoning? Fabricio, Amyah
  • Go to the zoning map for your city as Gray recommends on p. 36. What zoning district do you live in? What are the more common zoning districts in your city? How are they distributed? Hiba, Jorden
  • How do zoning ordinances manage use? Elizabeth
  • How do zoning ordinances manage density? Rania
  • As Gray explains in the Appendix, what doesn’t zoning do? Matthew, Lindsey

SEPT. 9:  Zoning: Impact on American Land Use

M Nolan Gray, Part II, 51-105

  • By what mechanisms does zoning increase housing costs? Victoria
  • What are SROs? How could they address the problem of homelessness? Vanessa
  • Explain what it means to build “as of right” (or “by right”) and by “variance.” Madison
  • How do cities make everyone in the country richer? Del
  • How was zoning used as an instrument of racial segregation? Anthony
  • What is exclusionary zoning? How do its practitioners write it into the zoning ordinance? Maggie
  • Why is sprawl bad for the environment? Amanda
  • How does zoning force us to use cars for transportation? Andrew

Will Wilkinson, “An Essay on NIMBY Entitlement”

  • What is Mayor Mirisch’s argument for detached homes? Why does Wilkinson believe it is a straw man argument? Fabricio
  • What is the “actual argument”? Hiba
  • On what basis does Wilkinson argue that exclusionary zoning is form of structural racism? Elizabeth

Podcasts “The Problem We All Live With,” This American Life 

UNIT III: FEDERALISM

SEPT. 11: Takings

Supreme Court of the United States, “Kelo v. City of New London“

  • What is the Takings Clause?  Under what conditions may the government take private property? Rania
  • When is the government prohibited from taking private property? Matthew
  • How did the city of New London justify taking private property in this case? Lindsey
  • Does this taking meet the ‘public use’ restriction? Jorden
  • What is the basis of Justice O’Connor’s dissent? Elaine
  • How does this case differ from Berman and Midkiff? Samantha
  • Does this decision render meaningless the distinction between ‘public’ and ‘private’ property use?  What limits remain on the Takings Clause? Amyah
  • James Madison wrote:  ‘That alone is a just government which imparitally secures to every man, whatever is his ’ Do you agree?

Shaila Dewan, “A City Invokes Seizure Laws to Save Homes,” NY Times

SEPT. 16: What Do Local Governments Do Best, and What do They Do Worst?

Paul Peterson, City Limits, pp. 22-24, 29-31, 131-35, 150-52, 156-62, 167-73, 178-81

  • What is an ‘export industry’ in Peterson’s language?  Why are they so crucial to the flourishing of a city? Del, Anthony, Maggie
  • What are Peterson’s three ‘policy types’?  Give an example of each. Amanda, Andrew, Fabricio
  • Why do you think local politicians tend to be less ideological than national ones? (City Limits, p. 172) Hiba, Elizabeth, Rania

SEPT. 18: What Do Local Governments Do Best, and What Do They Do Worst? (cont’d)

Paul Peterson, The Price of Federalism, pp. 16-49

  • What are the ‘functional perspective’ and the ‘legislative perspective’? Victoria, Vanessa, Madison
  • Why, according to Peterson, do local governments handle developmental policies best?  Why does the federal government deal best with redistributive policies? Matthew, Lindsey, Jorden

SEPT. 23: ROSH HASHANAH (NO CLASS)

SPET. 25: The Effects of Government Policy on Economic Segregation and Suburban Sprawl

Dreier, Mollenkopf & Swanstrom, Place Matters, ch. 4

  • In general, what causes sprawl? Elaine, Samantha
  • How is land use policy affected by the fact that it is controlled by local government? Amyah, Victoria
  • What is the ‘free market perspective’? Vanessa, Madison
  • What is public choice theory? Del
  • Why do Dreier et al. consider the free market to be a myth? Maggie
  • How did federal policy help make the automobile king? Andrew
  • How did military spending encourage sprawl? Hiba
  • How did federal home ownership policy encourage sprawl? Rania
  • How has the federal government attempted to remedy economic segregation? Lindsey
  • What was the New Federalism? How did Ronald Reagan react to it? Elaine

Podcast: “House Rules,” This American Life

SEPT. 29: CRA OUTLINES DUE BY MIDNIGHT

SEPT. 30: Local Political Systems as Regimes

Clarence Stone, Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988, pp. 3-6, 160-74, 186-96, 210-14

  • What is an urban regime? Amyah
  • What do urban regimes do best? Samantha
  • Who were the members of the Atlanta urban regime in the 1960s?  What were their policy preferences? Jorden
  • Should poor blacks have opposed Andrew Young?  Why didn’t they? Matthew
  • Why does Stone believe that community organizations generally fail?  On what basis do Berry et. al. disagree? Elizabeth
  • According to Stone, why are urban regimes poor at ‘social learning’? Fabricio

Jeffrey Berry, Kent E. Portnoy, and Ken Thomson, The Rebirth of Urban Democracy, pp. 46-53, 135-50, 157-58

  • What factors account for the success of community organizations? Amanda
  • Under what conditions will developers consult with neighborhood groups? Anthony

UNIT IV: PLANNING

OCT 2: YOM KIPPUR (NO CLASS)

OCT. 7: Alternatives to Zoning 

M Nolan Gray, Part III, pp. 109-158

  • What is single-family zoning? On what basis does Gray oppose it? Victoria
  • What are minimum parking regulations? On what basis does Gray oppose them? Vanessa
  • What are minimum lot size and floor area regulations? On what basis does Gray oppose them? Madison
  • What currently illegal housing typologies does Gray want to legalize? Del
  • What role does Gray envision for the federal government in reforming zoning? Anthony
  • What should American planners learn from the Japanese example? Maggie

Dave McKibben, ‘To Some, Affordable Housing Means Nightmare Neighbors,” LA Times

Peter Y. Hong, “L.A. Is Least Diverse Area in State, Study Finds,” LA Times

Henry Grabar, “The incredible shrinking megacity: How Los Angeles engineered a housing crisis,” Salon

  • How, according to Grabar, has Los Angeles engineered its own housing crisis? Amanda

Gillian White, “Zoning Laws Exacerbate Inequality,” The Atlantic

  • How does zoning contribute to economic inequality? Andrew

Matt Levin, “5 Reasons California’s Housing Costs are So High”

  • Why are California’s housing costs so high? Fabricio

Benjamin Schneider, “Liberal America’s Single Family Hypocrisy”

  • Why, according to Schneider, are liberals hypocrites when it comes to single-family homes? Hiba

Reddit Post on Building Housing in Los Angeles

  • How do parking requirements add to the cost of housing in Los Angeles?

Jerusalem Demsas, “The Obvious Answer to Homelessness”

  • What is the primary cause of homelessness? Why don’t the standard explanations hold up? Rania

Sasha Abramsky, “Other Countries Know Housing is a Human Right. Why Doesn’t America?”

  • Why do Denmark, Greece, and the UK have so few people living on the streets?

Eric Levitz, “New ‘Luxury’ Apartments are Good, Actually”

  • Does building more housing always bring down the cost of housing? When doesn’t it? Matthew
  • What policies are needed to fully address the housing crisis? Lindsey

Podcast on the Affordability Crisis, New York Times

OCT. 9: The Evolution of American City Planning

Donald Krueckeberg, ed., Introduction to Planning History in the United States, pp. 3-6; M. Christine Boyer, Dreaming the Rational City: The Myth of American City Planning, pp. 63-70

  • What is urban planning?  When did it originate in the United States?  What made it necessary? Jorden
  • What is/are the purpose(s) of urban planning? Elaine
  • What happens when cities are unplanned? Samantha

Mike Davis, “How Eden Lost Its Garden,” pp. 59-91

  • What was Olmstead’s vision for Los Angeles?  Why didn’t it come into being? Amyah
  • Why did Los Angeles decide to pave the river? Elizabeth
  • Why does Los Angeles have less park space than any major city in America?
  • Why were environmentalists and preservationists more successful in the Bay Area than they were in Southern California?

OCT. 14-16: FALL BREAK

OCT 21: The Evolution of American City Planning (cont’d)

James Scott, “The Case Against High-Modernist Urbanism: Jane Jacobs”

  • What is High-Modernist Urbanism, and what were Jane Jacobs’ criticisms of it? Victoria, Elaine
  • Why is “experienced order” more important than “visual order?” Vanessa
  • What creates “social order,” according to Jacobs? Madison, Samantha
  • What are the conditions of the urban diversity Jacobs favors? Del, Amyah
  • What distinguishes Jacobs’ planner from Le Corbusier’s? Anthony

Michael Mehaffy, Cities Alive

  • What is a Jacobs spillover? Maggie
  • Why was Detroit so successful in the auto industry? Amanda
  • In order to understand cities, what are the most important habits of thought? Andrew
  • Why is urban design more like gardening than carpentry? Fabricio
  • Why, according to Jacobs, is statistics not a particularly useful tool in urban design? Hiba

OCT. 23: Film: Citizen Jane

OCT. 28: Alternative Planning Visions

James Scott, “Seeing Like a State:  Conclusion”

  • Given that planners cannot predict the future, what rules for development does Scott recommend they follow? Elizabeth, Jorden
  • How does planning undermine metis? Rania, Lindsey

Mike Field, “Two Simple Sentences Could Reshape Suburban America”

  • Which two sentences could reshape suburban America? What would they change? Matthew

Tristan Cleveland, “The Responsibility of the Building to the Street”

  • What are the characteristics of streets that attract pedestrian traffic?

OCT. 30: MIDTERM

NOV. 4: Can Land Use Become Inclusionary?

William A. Fischel, “How Serrano Caused Proposition 13,” The Journal of Law and Politics, pp. 607-36

  • How did the Supreme Court rule in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez?  How did the California Supreme Court rule in Serrano v. Priest? Victoria, Samantha
  • What did Proposition 13 mandate? Amyah
  • How are Serrano and Proposition 13 linked, according to Fischel? Madison, Vanessa
  • What is the Tiebout mechanism?  How did Serrano affect it? Del
  • In what sense did Serrano causeProposition 13? Anthony

Jerusalem Demsas, “Tax the Land”

  • What’s a land tax? How does it differ from a property tax? Maggie, Elaine
  • What are the advantages of a land value tax system? Amanda

Timothy Noah, “Your House Makes More Money than You Do”

  • Why do our houses often make more money than us? Andrew

Joe Garafoli, “California can’t be a haven for others until it builds more housing for everyone”

  • In what sense is California a sanctuary? In what sense is it not? Fabricio

Conor Dougherty and Soumya Karlamangla, “California Fights Its NIMBYs”

  • What is California doing to address the housing crisis? How are municipalities resisting these efforts? Hiba, Elizabeth

Podcast: “Reivisonist History: A Good Walk Spoiled”

UNIT V: URBAN SPRAWL

NOV. 6: The Private Community Revolution and the Privatization of Public Space

CRA Presentation: Hiba and Rania

Henry R. Richmond, “Comment,” pp. 53-64

  • What is Portland’s ‘Urban Growth Boundary’? Victoria
  • What effect has it had on development?  On housing? On transportation? Vanessa

Alex Krieger, “The Costs—or Have There Been Benefit, Too?—of Sprawl”

  • What, according to Krieger, are the arguments against sprawl?  Are any of these arguments valid?  Why or why not? Madison

Duany, Plater-Zyberk, and Speck, “Suburban Nation”

  • What’s wrong with cul-de-sacs? Del
  • What’s wrong with being a “soccer mom?” Anthony
  • Who are the victims of sprawl? Maggie

NOV. 11: NO CLASS: VETERAN’S DAY

Growth Management: Combatting Sprawl

Evan McKenzie, Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government, pp. 9-16, 186-7, 192-97

  • What is a CID?  Why are they politically powerful? Rania
  • On what basis do CIDs resist taxation? Matthew
  • What are the disadvantages of exempting CIDs from taxation? Jorden

Evan Halper, “Communities Say Keep Out—By Bluffing,” LA Times

Evan McKenzie, “Gated Communities”

NOV. 13: Growth Management: Combatting Sprawl (cont’d)

CRA Presentations: Anthony

Edward Glaeser, “Why Has Sprawl Spread?,”  in Triumph of the City, pp. 165-197

  • Why are some of the most progressive places in the country inhospitable to middle-income Americans? Amanda, Andrew
  • What were the causes of sprawl before the automobile? Samantha
  • How did critics and consumers respond to Levittown?  Why? Fabricio
  • How did federal policy hurt they city? Hiba, Elizabeth
  • What accounts for the success of the Woodlands, according to Glaeser? Amyah
  • Why did a million people move to Houston? Rania
  • Why is housing so cheap in the Sunbelt? Matthew

Edward Glaeser, “Is There Anything Greener Than Blacktop?,” in Triumph of the City, pp. 199-222

  • Why is the eco-narrative of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax a “fallacy?” Lindsey
  • What are the unintended consequences of environmentalism? Jorden
  • Why is city living greener than country living? Elaine

NOV. 14: FIRST INSTALLMENT OF CRA PAPER DUE BY MIDNIGHT

UNIT VI: TRANSPORTATION POLICY

NOV. 18: Transportation Policy

CRA Presentation: Del, Elizabeth, and Andrew

Martin Wachs, “The Evolution of Transportation Policy in Los Angeles”

  • Why was the L.A. rail system phased out in the 1920s and 30s? Victoria, Madison
  • How have aesthetic preferences affected transportation policy in L..A.? Vanessa, Del
  • Why has L.A. decided to rebuild a rail system?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of that system? Are there preferable alternatives? Anthony, Amanda
  • How do motorists avoid paying their fair share of transportation costs?  How might they be compelled to pay their fair share? Maggie, Andrew

NOV. 20: Transportation Policy

CRA Presentation: Elaine and Lindsey

Anthony Downs, Still Stuck in Traffic, pp. vii-ix, 1-13, 37-38, 50-57, 76-90, 101-116

  • What is the market-based approach to congestion relief?  What is the regulatory-based approach? Elizabeth, Fabricio
  • What are Downs’ supply-side strategies for relieving congestion?  What are his demand-side strategies? Hiba, Rania
  • What is the principle of triple convergence? Matthew, Jorden
  • Does expansion of public transit generally alleviate traffic congestion?  How about expansion of freeways? Lindsey, Elaine
  • What are the arguments for and against peak-hour road pricing? Samantha, Amyah

NOV. 25: Transportation Policy (cont’d)

CRA Presentation: Madison and Matthew

Anthony Downs, Still Stuck in Traffic, pp. 117-179

  • Why does expanding public transit rarely ease traffic congestion? Victoria Matthew
  • What, according to Downs are good reasons for expanding mass transit? Vanessa, Lindsey
  • Why do Americans prefer to travel in personally-owned vehicles (POVs)? Madison
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of light rail and bus rapid transit? Del, Jorden
  • What would encourage greater use of existing public transit? Anthony, Elaine
  • What are HOT lanes? Maggie

NOV. 27: THANKSGIVING

DEC. 2: Transportation Policy (cont’d)

CRA Presentation: Vanessa, Samantha, Fabricio

Anthony Downs, Still Stuck in Traffic, pp. 180-199, 298-320, 336-354

Eric Jaffe, “10 Tired Traffic Myths That Didn’t Get a Rest in 2015”

Yonah Freemark, Why Can’t the United States Build a High-Speed Rail System?, Atlantic Cities

Caitlin Liu, SigAlert on the Roadway to Love, LA Times

DEC. 4: Parking  

CRA Presentation: Victoria, Maggie 

Donald Shoup, “Parking and the City”

Michael Manville, “How Parking Destroys Cities”

Michael Schneider, “L.A. should stop requiring developers to waste space on parking”

Freakonomics podcast episode: Parking is Hell

  • What’s wrong with “free curb parking?” Amanda, Samantha, Hiba
  • What is performance-based parking (dynamic pricing)?  How does it improve performance? Andrew
  • How might residents and business owners be convinced to accept performance pricing? Fabricio
  • What are minimum parking requirements?  Why do Shoup and Manville want to remove them? Hiba
  • What is SF Park? How does it work? Elizabeth
  • 40% of the vehicles parked at meters are not paying to park. Why? What might be done about this problem? Rania, Amyah

UNIT VII: WATER

DEC. 9: Water

CRA Presentation: Colin

“At Last, Logic on Water,” LA Times

D.J. Waldie, “The City and the River,” pp. 51-70

William H. Fain Jr., “Finding a Heart: the L.A. River,” LA Times

Sue Fox, “New Water Law is Unlikely to Halt the Region’s Planned Home Projects,” LA Times

Robert Gottlieb, “Lawns,” pp. 36-40

Freakonomics podcast episode: How Stupid Is Our Obsession with Lawns?

  • What did SB 221 mandate? Lauren
  • What would Assembly Bill 1015 mandate? Nick
  • Are these bills likely to slow development? Melissa
  • What do Waldie and Fain propose to do with the L.A. River? Cody
  • What are the environmental costs of lawns? What can be done about this problem? Paula

DEC. 11: CRA Presentations & FINAL EXAM: 9:50-12:35

CRA Presentations: Jorden & Amyah

DEC. 19: CRA PAPERS DUE BY MIDNIGHT

STYLE GUIDE:

The Department of History and Political Science mandates that all submitted work adhere to the Turabian/Chicago style delineated in Kate Turabian, et. al., A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, University of Chicago Press (available at the Wilson Library Reference Desk). Here you can find a quick and useful guide to the Turabian/Chicago style for citations.

Here are a couple of websites that will automatically format citations in Chicago style for you: https://www.citationmachine.net/ and http://www.citethisforme.com/.

EXAM PROCTORING GUIDELINES:

One seat space between students when possible.

No bathroom breaks except in the case of illness or emergency.  Student should discuss this circumstance with the proctor prior to the start of the exam.

No materials on the desk except for pens/pencils, bluebook or writing paper and exam.

Under no circumstances can students access electronic devices during the exam.

Exam proctors will note any violation of these rules and those will be considered in the final grade.

GRADING:

Your work will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

A—designates work of extraordinarily high quality; reflects unusually thorough and comprehensive understanding of issues at hand; presents a clearly identifiable thesis and argument that demonstrates cogent and creative development and support of ideas.

B—designates work of high quality; reflects clearly organized and comprehensive understanding of issues and hand; presents substantive thesis and argument with evident development and support of ideas.

C—designates work which minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment; reflects some organization and development of ideas, but develops argument in superficial or simplistic manner; may only address part of the assignment or be otherwise incomplete.

D—designates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements set forward in assignment; demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to development of ideas, grammar, and spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or simplistic; may indicate that student has not done reading assignments thoroughly.

F—designates work that does not meet ANY of the standards set above or which is not handed in.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Integrity: Having integrity means being honest and principled and, perhaps most importantly, it means being honest and principled no matter what. It is one of the most important qualities a person can have. It is what allows other people to perceive your word as true. Having integrity confers trust, which is essential to a successful personal and professional life.

To demonstrate integrity in this class, it is essential that you present work as your own only when you have yourself produced that work.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a highly unethical practice which will result in the immediate failure of this course and disciplinary action which could lead to expulsion from the University. If you are having problems in the course please come and talk to me about it rather than doing something that could put your entire college career in jeopardy. You should also take advantage of the resources of the Academic Success Center.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following:

  • The direct copying of any source, such as written and verbal material, computer files, audio disks, video programs or musical scores, whether published or unpublished, in whole or part, without proper acknowledgment that it is someone else’s.
  • Copying of any source in whole or part with only minor changes in wording or syntax, even with acknowledgment.
  • Submitting as one’s own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report or other assignment that has been prepared by someone else. This includes research papers purchased from any other person or agency.
  • The paraphrasing of another’s work or ideas without proper acknowledgment.

Artificial Intelligence: The above sections on integrity and plagiarism apply to the use of artificial intelligence programs like Bard or GPT-4.

In this class, I ask that you complete your work without using AI-generated sources. If you do use AI, you should use it in the same way you would collaborate with another person. You should talk to AI in the same way you would talk about your ideas with me or anyone else. However, all work you submit must be your own. You should submit anything that was not written directly by you with proper citation (including quotation marks). Never copy and paste your conversation with an AI assistant.

Please do not use Grammerly, since it will appear in the Plagiarism/AI scanner as a type of AI. Use your own voice.

Faculty reserve the right to make use of Artificial Intelligence detection software to detect AI-generated writing in student assignments. Including anything you did not write in your assignment without proper citation will be treated as an instance of plagiarism and a violation of academic integrity.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER

The Academic Success Center provides free one-on-one peer tutoring to graduate and undergraduate students in a wide variety of courses and subjects. Please make liberal use of the ASC if you need assistance with any of the assignments for this course. To make an appointment, use the quick start guide, stop by ASC on the second floor of the Campus Center, or call (909) 448-4342. Answers to frequently asked questions are available here.

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