Political Science 422: Urban Politics
Spring 2014
Instructor: Brian Adams
e-mail: badams@mail.sdsu.edu
Phone: 594-4289
Office: Nasatir Hall 122
Office Hours: Mondays 9-10, Wednesdays 10-11, Thursdays 2:30-4:30, and by appointment
Learning Outcomes
 Identify the structure and organization of local governments in the United States.
 Develop analytical skills by writing essays addressing key issues in urban politics
 Identify the effects of the built environment on politics and society.
 Develop research skills through a research paper on comparative urban politics.
 Learn how to assess who holds power within local governments.
 Learn how to analyze urban policy issues.
Text:
Dreier, Peter, John Mollenkopf and Todd Swanstrom. Place Matters (revised edition). University
Press of Kansas, 2005.
Articles and book chapters available through the course blackboard website.
Assignments
First essay (due February 20th): 25%
Second essay (due March 20th): 20%
Research paper or National City project* (due April 24th): 25%
Final examination (May 12th): 30%
Class participation is not a formal part of your grade but I may give students who participate
extensively in class discussions extra credit.
* This course is partnering with SDSU’s Center for Regional Sustainability and National City in their
“Community Engagement for Sustainable Cities” program. Specifically, we will focus on the
development of a Property Management Plan for National City. In addition to discussing this project
during class, students have an option of completing a group project related to National City in lieu of
the research paper.
A few notes on the assignments:
 There is no curve in this class; students will be given the grade that they earn.
 Students will receive letter grades on all the assignments, which will be converted to a 100point scale to calculate a course grade.
 To receive a passing grade, a student must pass all four assignments (in other words, an “F”
on any one of the assignments will result in a failing grade for the class).
 All written assignments (two essays and the research paper) will be submitted electronically
to Turnitin, which is run through blackboard. The papers will be graded and returned
electronically as well.
 You will receive prompts for the essays approximately one week before they are due. You
will receive a prompt for the research paper at least 3 or 4 weeks before it is due.
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There are two types of readings on blackboard. Book chapters can be downloaded directly in
a .pdf format. For journal articles, you will find a link to the article that will take you to a
library database. From that database you can download the article in a .pdf format.
All reading assignments are required.
The final will be an in-class blue-book exam consisting of identification and essay questions.
Course Outline
Note: the instructor reserves the right to change assignment dates and content. All changes will be
announced in class and through e-mail.
All readings other than the Dreier, Mollenkopf and Swanstrom book can be found on the Blackboard
course website. Note that I do not always assign all the pages in an article or book chapter.
Week 1 (January 22nd): Introduction
Week 2 (January 27th and 29th): Machine and reform politics
Readings:
1. Judd, Dennis R. and Todd Swanstrom. City Politics: The Political Economy of Urban
America. Pearson Longman (2008): chapters 3 and 4.
Week 3 (February 3rd and 5th): The organization of local government and suburbanization
Readings:
1. Neiman, Max. “Local Government: Designing and Financing The Cities and Counties of
California.” In Ethan Rarick, ed. Governing California (3rd ed.). Berkeley Public Policy
Press, 2013. Pages 329-361.
2. Schragger, Richard. “Can Strong Mayors Empower Weak Cities? On the Power of Local
Executives in a Federal System.” Yale Law Journal 115, 9 (2006): 2542-2555.
3. Saiger, Aaron J. “Local Government Without Tiebout” Urban Lawyer 41, 1 (2009):
Sections I and II.
Week 4 (February 10th and 12th): Regionalism
Readings:
1. Place Matters, pages 216-260
2. Dahl, Robert A. “The City in the Future of Democracy” American Political Science
Review 61 (1967): 953-960 and 963-967.
Week 5 (February 17th and 19th): The politics of land use and redevelopment, part I
Readings:
1. Eisinger, Peter. “The Politics of Bread and Circuses.” Urban Affairs Review 35, 3 (2000),
pp. 316-333.
2. Deener, Andrew et al. “Planning Los Angeles: The Changing Politics of neighborhood and
Downtown Development.” In David Halle and Andrew A. Beveridge (eds.). New York and
Los Angeles: The Uncertain Future. Oxford Univ. Press, 2013. Pp. 385-412.
3. Readings on National City TBA
First essay due February 20th (sumbit to Turnitin anytime)
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Week 6 (February 24th and 26th): The politics of land use and redevelopment, part II
Readings
1. Propheter, Geoffrey. “Are Basketball Arenas Catalysts of Economic Development?”
Journal of Urban Affairs 34, 4 (2012): 441-459.
2. Erie, Steven P., Vladimir Kogan and Scott A. MacKenzie. Paradise Plundered: Fiscal
Crises and Governance Failures in San Diego Stanford University Press. Pp. 176-211
Week 7 (March 3rd and 5th): Urban sprawl and transportation policy, part I
Readings:
1. Place Matters, pages 1-39, 59-76, and 98-102
Week 8 (March 10th and 12th):
Urban sprawl and transportation policy, part II
Readings:
1. Place Matters, pages 103-132 and 150-151
2. Small, Kenneth A. “Urban Transportation Policy.” In Robert P. Inman, ed. Making Cities
Work. Princeton University Press (2010), pages 63-93
3. Altshuler, Alan. “Equity, Pricing and Surface Transportation Politics.” Urban Affairs
Review 46, 2 (2010): 155-179
Week 9 (March 17th and 19th): Housing
Readings:
1. Ellen, Ingrid Gould and Brendan O’Flaherty. “How New York and Los Angeles Housing
Policies are Different—and Maybe Why.” In David Halle and Andrew A. Beveridge (eds.).
New York and Los Angeles: The Uncertain Future. Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. 286309
2. Beveridge, Andrew A. et al. “Residential Diversity and Division: Separation and
Segregation Among Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Affluent, and Poor.” In David Halle
and Andrew A. Beveridge (eds.). New York and Los Angeles: The Uncertain Future. Oxford
University Press, 2013. Pp. 310-339.
Second essay due March 20th (submit to Turnitin anytime)
Week 10 (March 24th and 26th): Cities in a federal system
Readings:
1. Frug, Gerald. City Making: Building Community Without Building Walls. Princeton Univ.
Press, 1999: chapter 1.
2. Ross, Bernard H. and Myron A. Levine. Urban Politics: Power in Metropolitan America
(7th edition). Thomson Wadsworth (2006): 441-466.
Week 11 (April 7th and 9th): The urban power debate
Readings:
1. Gaventa, John. Power and Powerlessness. Illinois Univ. Press, 1980: chapter 1.
2. Mossberger, Karen. “Urban Regime Analysis.” In Jonathan S. Davies and David L.
Imbroscio, eds. Theories of Urban Politics (2nd edition). Sage (2009). Pages 40-54.
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Week 12 (April 14th and 16th): Local elections
Readings:
1. Trounstine, Jessica. "Representation and Accountability in Cities." Annual Review of
Political Science 13 (2010): 407-423.
Week 13 (April 21st and 23rd): Citizen participation in local politics
Readings:
1. Berry, Jeffrey M. “Urban Interests Groups.” In L. Sandy Maisel and Jeffrey M. Berry, eds.
American Political Parties and Interest Groups. Oxford University Press (2010). Pages 502515.
2. Scally, Corianne Payton. “The Nuances of NIMBY: Context and Perceptions of
Affordable Rental Housing Development.” Urban Affairs Review 49, 5 (2012): 718-747.
Research Paper or National City Project due April 24th (submit to Turnitin anytime)
Week 14 (April 28th and 30th): Urban crime and policing
Readings:
1. Wilson, James Q. and George L. Kelling. “Making Neighborhoods Safe.” The Atlantic
Monthly 263, 2 (1989), pp. 46-53.
2. Skogan, Wesley G. “The Promise of Community Policing.” In David Weisbund and
Anthony A. Braga (eds.). Police Innovation: Contrasting Perspectives. Cambridge
University Press, 2006: pp. 27-41.
3. Fagan, Jeffrey and John MacDonald. “Policing, Crime, and Legitimacy in New York and
Los Angeles.” In David Halle and Andrew A. Beveridge (eds.). New York and Los Angeles:
The Uncertain Future. Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. 219-248.
Week 15 (May 5th and May 7th): Urban poverty
Readings:
1. Place Matters, pages 152-169
2. Sidney, Mara S. “Poverty, Inequality, and Social Inclusion.” In Jonathan S. Davies and
David L. Imbroscio, eds. Theories of Urban Politics (2nd edition). Sage (2009). Pages 171187.
Final Exam: Monday, May 12th, 1-3 pm
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