URBS 4/502—Urban Analysis
Term: Spring, 2009
Lead Instructor: This course is team-taught by many members of the department. Dr.
Raymond Asomani-Boateng will be lead instructor for this class.
Class hours: Thursdays: 2:00 pm-4:45pm
Office Hours: Mondays: 10:00am-4:00pm
Required Text:
DANDEKAR, HC. 2004. The Planner’s Use of Information, 2nd Ed. Chicago: APA
Press.
Recommended Text:
Drunkard Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, Leonard Mlodinow, 2008 Patheon
Books
Floyd J. Fowler, Jr. Survey Research Methods
Outcomes:
This course is designed to develop the skills needed to gather, analyze, and present
information for resolving applied problems in local government and community settings.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1. Communicate orally (using power-point & graphics) and in writing (memos, issue
papers, research reports, and case studies).
2. Solve practical problems using (and modifying) spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel is
the department standard).
3. Gather and organize data (using focus groups, sampling frames, surveys &
questionnaires, and benchmarking)
4. Analyze data using statistical tools
5. Frame a question and arrive at a solution using non-statistical quantitative tools
(forecasting, benefit/cost, and GIS)
Course Calendar:
Week
Topic
Introduction to course &
conventions used in course
Basics
1/22
Oral communication (powerpoint) & Graphics
1/29
Written Communication
(memo, issue paper, research
report, case study)
Gathering Data
2/5
Analysis using Excel
2/12
Sampling (random, stratified,
area—point, area, line)
2/19
Survey & questionnaire design
2/26
Benchmarking
Statistical Analysis of Data
3/5
Focus groups
3/19
Descriptive statistics & the
normal curve
Other Quantitative Analysis
3/26
Population & other forecasting
4/2
Benefit/Cost analysis & fiscal
impact assessment
4/9&16 GIS for urban analysis
4/23
Writing for Scholarly
Publication
4/30
Evaluation and Review
Reading
Assignment
1/15
Dandekar, Ch. 8 &
10
Dandekar, Ch. 9
Exercise
Exercise
Excel Project
Dandekar, Ch. 2
Exercise
Exercise
Dandekar, Ch. 4
Dandekar, Ch. 3
Focus Group Project
Descriptive statistics
exercise
Forecasting Project
Fiscal Impact Project
GIS exercise
Exercise
Requirements:
Classwork
This is primarily a case-study and discussion class, although we may indulge in the
occasional lecture and demonstration. You are expected to do the reading assigned from
the text and linked to the course calendar, and be prepared to discuss them in class on the
assigned date. Attendance at all class meetings is presumed.
Memos
Students will submit a memo for each unit, applying the tool to a concrete problem and
interpreting the application of that topic. The memos should follow the format described
in “The Basics.” The body of the memo should be 1-2 pages, although there may be
attachments. Memos should be sent to the instructor on e-mail. Graduate students
Course Expectations:
Attendance & Class Participation:
Students play an important role in educating and challenging each other. This can only
happen if there is consistent attendance. We expect you to attend, and we may take the
class roll. Unexcused absence (prior notification is required—even if the lead instructor
is not available, voice mail and e-mail always are) can result in loss of points toward
one’s grade. You are paying for this class—make sure to get your “money’s worth.”
Most importantly, this is an excellent foundation of knowledge for future activities, and it
is a chance for you to learn, teach, and grow with others.
Grading:
There are no examinations in this course. Undergraduate students will be graded on the
weekly assignments (Skills memo assignments) whilst Graduate students will be graded
on both the Skills memo assignments (80%) and a project assignment (20%).
The final grade may be based on a curve, but students can expect an A if they achieve at
least 90%, a B with 80%, etc.
Other Matters:
Extra Credit: In general, we do not encourage extra credit in this class. We would rather
that you put the extra effort into your regular assignments.
All assignments are due on the assigned date. Partial credit may be given for assignments
that are less than one week late, unless other arrangements have been made in advance.
Written reports are expected to be free of grammatical, spelling, and content errors. They
should be submitted in typewritten, standard formats (APA, MLA, URSI Style Sheets).
You must familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy. We
encourage you to draw on the ideas of others—but you must also identify when you do so
(you gain “brownie points” for citing the work of others!). Plagiarism is a serious breach
of academic behavior and will result in an F for the course.
We will help you in whatever manner humanly possible. However, once the semester is
over, there is not a great deal we can do. If there is something that you don’t understand,
are having problems with, or need help on, please get in touch with us as early as
possible.
Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If you
area student with a documented disability, please contact us as early in the semester as
possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services
Office at 507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).
Bibliography
Each unit includes its own bibliography. The following is a list of general references
about the use of quantitative data (some are classics), and might be useful for several of
the units:
ADAMS, SV et alii. (2001) Statistics: Cliff's Quick Review. NY: Wiley Publishing,
Inc.
ALONSO, W. (1964) "The historic and structural theories of urban form: Their
implications for urban renewal," Land Economics, 40, 227-231.
APPLEBAUM, W. (1952) "A technique for constructing a population and urban land-use
map," Economic Geography, 28, 240-243.
ARROW, K., et alii (n.d.) Urban Processes. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.
ATKIN, R.H., J. JOHNSON & V. MANCINI (1971) "An analysis of urban structure
using concepts of algebraic topology," Urban Studies 8(3): 221-242
CADWALLADER, M. (1996) Urban Geography: An Analytical Approach. NY: Prentice
Hall.
CARTWRIGHT, T.J. (1993) Modeling the World in a Spreadsheet. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press.
CHAMBERS, J.C., S.K. MULLICK, & D.D. SMITH (1975) "How to choose the right
forecasting technique," On Management. NY: Harper & Row.
CHAPIN, F.S. (1968) "Activity Systems and urban structure: A working schema,"
Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 34, 11-18.
CHAPIN, F.S. & R.K. BRAIL. (1969) "Human activity systems in the metropolitan
United States," Environment and Behavior, 1, 107-130.
COLEMAN, J. (1973) The Mathematics of Collective Action. Chicago: Aldine.
FARRAH, M. (1969) Neighborhood Analyses. Trenton, NJ: Chandler-Davis Pubs.
FILIPOVITCH, A.J. (1987) Urban Analytical Tools. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
FORRESTER, J.W. (1969) Urban Dynamics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
GOLDBERG, M.A. (1972) "An evaluation of the interaction between urban transport and
land use systems," Land Economics, 48, 338-346.
GORDON, S.I. & R.F. ANDERSON (1989) Microcomputer Applications in City
Planning and Management. New York: Praeger.
HAUSER, P.M. (1965) Handbook for Social Research in Urban Areas. Paris: UNESCO.
ISAACS, R.R. (1963) "The neighborhood theory: An analysis of its adequacy,"
Sociometry 26 (2), 230-246.
KLOSTERMAN, R.E. (1994) "An introduction to the literature on large-scale urban
models," Journal of the American Planning Association, 60(1), 41-44.
KLOSTERMAN, R.E., R.K. BRAIL & E.G. BOSSARD (1993) Spreadsheet Models for
Urban and Regional Analysis. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Urban Policy Research.
MARCH, L. & P. STEADMAN (1971) The Geometry of Environment. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press.
MEYERS, D. (1988) "Building knowledge about quality of life for urban planning,"
Journal of the American Planning Association, 54 347-358.
NELSON, H.J. (1955) "A service classification of American cities," Economic
Geography, 31, 189-210.
OTTENSMANN, J.R. (1985) BASIC Microcomputer programs for urban analysis and
planning. NY: Chapman & Hall.
PUTMAN, S.H. (1972) "Intra-urban employment forecasting models: A review and a
suggested new model construct," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 38, 216230.
SHEVKY, E. (1955) Social Area Analysis. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
SIMPSON, B.J. (1985) Quantitative Methods for Planning and Urban Studies.
Hampshire, England: Gower Publishing Co.
SWANSON, C.V. & R.J. WALDMANN (1970) "A simulation model of economic
growth dynamics," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 36, 314-322.