Introduction to Planning Policy and Health – 832:101:03 – Fall 2011
Instructor: Andrew Zitcer | andrew.zitcer@rutgers.edu | 215-821-7279
Class: Monday and Thursday 11:30 am - 12:50 pm | Office Hours: Thursday 1-3 pm | Murray Hall 111
Objectives: This course is designed to expose you to the core issues in planning, policy and health, and
what a career in them might mean for you. Even if you do not go on to work in these fields, you will have
a deeper sense of the core challenges.
Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please
use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and
reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to me. Students can take 1 unexcused absence;
after this, your grade will be lowered.
Please note: Participation is an extremely important part of your grade. Failure to attend class will
necessarily result in less participation and a lower participation grade. Please let me know in advance if
you have a planned absence and use the absence reporting website for every absence, planned or
unplanned.
Grading: In-class participation (30%); Assignments (30%); Midterm (20%); Final (20%)
Academic Integrity: Students are expected to be familiar with and uphold the Rutgers Academic
Integrity Policy. It can be found at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
Accommodations: I am committed to supporting students’ different needs and learning styles. Students
should speak with me after class or at office hours about any necessary academic accommodations in
the first week of the semester.
Readings: With the exception of the following books, all of the readings will be available on Sakai. The
Rutgers Bookstores has copies of all of the following:

Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974.

Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic-- and How It
Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007.

Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Penguin Books, 2006.
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OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE – SEPTEMBER 1
In the first class we will go over the expectations for the course, the themes we will be covering and
other administrative tasks. We will get to know one another through a short discussion.
Assignment #1 (due by Friday September 2 at 5 pm):

Complete City Mad Libs on the Sakai site (available through the left navigation pane).
LABOR DAY: NO CLASS – SEPTEMBER 5
EXAMINING THE ROOTS OF PLANNING, POLICY AND HEALTH – SEPTEMBER 8
Readings:


Sandel, Michael J. Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux,
2009. Read Chapter 1, “Doing the Right Thing.”
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. Read chapters 2, 6, 9, 21.
INFRASTRUCTURE, SANITATION AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH – SEPTEMBER 12 AND
15
Readings:



Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic-- and How It
Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007. Read
Chapter 1 (pp. 1-22), Chapter 5 (pp.111-136), and Chapter 7 (pp. 159-188).
Melosi, Martin V. The Sanitary City: Environmental Services in Urban America from Colonial
Times to the Present. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008. Read Chapter 18.
This American Life. “Garbage.” October 31, 2003. Public Radio International
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/249/garbage
In-class Debate: Use the readings to prepare for an in-class debate on September 15.
WHAT IS THE CENSUS AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN? – SEPTEMBER 19 AND 22
Readings:

Anderson, Margo J. The American Census: A Social History. New Haven and London: Yale
University Press, 1988. Read the introduction and the first chapter, “The Census and the New
Nation: Apportionment, Congress, and the Progress of the United States.”
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
Backstory Radio. Beyond Numbers: A History of the U.S. Census. Virginia Foundation for the
Humanities. December 22, 2010. http://backstoryradio.org/the-meaning-of-numbers-a-historyof-the-u-s-census/
Assignment #2 (due September 22 at the beginning of class):

Look up the town you grew up in on the website of the United States Census. Find population,
housing and economic statistics from two different census years and compare them. Write
about five things that you learned about your town that surprised you. We will discuss these in
class on September 22.
THE GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN PLANNING, POLICY AND HEALTH – SEPTEMBER 26
AND 29
Readings:




American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Recovery.gov – projects by location
http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/Pages/RecipientReportedData
Map.aspx and projects by category
http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/fundingoverview/Pages/fundingbreakdown.aspx
Affordable Care Act, whitehouse.gov – explaining the law
http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview#healthcare-menu
Ponnuru, Ramesh. “The Fatal Flaw of Obamacare.” Time. August 17, 2009.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914973,00.html
Cohen, Jon and Dan Balz. “Washington Post poll finds split on health-care law remains deep.”
Washington Post. March 28, 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032804094.html
In-class Debate: Use the readings to prepare for an in-class debate on September 29.
EXPLORING THE FEDERAL BUDGET AND ITS PRIORITIES – OCTOBER 3 AND 6
Readings:


“Explore the 2012 Budget.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget
“Federal Budget 2012: Agency Analysis.” Washington Post. February 14, 2011.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federaleye/2011/02/federal_budget_2012_agency_ana_1.html
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

Samuelson, Robert J. “10 Ways to Fix the Budget.” Washington Post. August 14, 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/10-ways-to-fix-thebudget/2011/08/14/gIQA5xriFJ_story.html
“The Truth About Taxes.” New York Times. August 6, 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/opinion/sunday/the-truth-about-taxes.html
Assignment #3 (due October 6 at the beginning of class):
Complete the budget priorities worksheet and prepare to defend your choice of fund allocation during
an in-class discussion.
EDUCATION REFORM IN NEW JERSEY AND THE UNITED STATES – PART I
OCTOBER 10
Readings:




Ravitch, Diane. “The Myth of Charter Schools.” New York Review of Books. November 10, 2010.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/nov/11/myth-charter-schools/
Klein, Joel. “The Failure of American Schools.” The Atlantic. June 2011.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1969/12/the-failure-of-american-schools/8497/
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools “Why Charter Schools?”
http://www.publiccharters.org/About-Charter-Schools/Why-Charter-Schools003F.aspx
Save our Schools NJ. http://saveourschoolsnj.org/
THINKING ABOUT YOUR MAJOR AND CAREER – OCTOBER 13
We will have an in-class presentation on the Undergraduate Programs in Planning, Public Policy and
Public Health by Christina Miller, Coordinator for Undergraduate Student Services at the Bloustein
School of Planning and Public Policy. For more information after class or to make an appointment,
Christina can be reached at: millercl@rutgers.edu and 732-932-5475x683.
EDUCATION REFORM IN NEW JERSEY AND THE UNITED STATES – PART II
OCTOBER 17
In-class Debate: Use the readings to prepare for an in-class debate on October 17.
MIDTERM EXAM – OCTOBER 20
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We will have an in-class midterm on October 20. Please report to class at the scheduled time prepared
to write an essay exam covering material from the first half of the course. You will have the entire class
period to complete the exam.
NUTRITION, OBESITY AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH – OCTOBER 24 AND 27
Readings:


Gottlieb, Robert and Anupama Joshi. Food Justice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. Read
Chapter 1 “Growing and Producing Food” and Chapter 4 “Food Politics.”
Parker, John. “The 9 Billion-People Question.” The Economist. February 24, 2011.
http://www.economist.com/node/18200618
In-class Debate: Use the readings to prepare for an in-class debate on October 27.
THE MEDIA’S ROLE IN PLANNING, POLICY AND HEALTH – OCTOBER 31 AND
NOVEMBER 3
Readings:





Bahrampour, Tara. “Chairs disappear and rumors fly at Va. Starbucks that is immigrant enclave.”
Washington Post. July, 8, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/chairs-disappear-andrumors-fly-at-va-starbucks-that-is-immigrant-enclave/2011/07/07/gIQAbM853H_story.html
Rosin, Hanna. “American Murder Mystery.” The Atlantic. July/August 2008.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/american-murder-mystery/6872/
Briggs, Xavier de Souza and Peter Dreier. “Memphis Murder Mystery? No, Just Mistaken
Identity.” Shelterforce. July 28, 2008. http://www.shelterforce.org/article/print/1043/
Dilanian, Ken and John Sullivan. “Child Welfare in Philadelphia. Inquirer Investigation: Bury Your
Mistakes.” Philadelphia Inquirer. October 15, 2006.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/child_welfare/Inquirer_Investiga
tion___Bury_Your_Mistakes_.html?c=r
Taussig, Doron. “The Deluge: Pounded by Waves of Negative Ink, DHS Struggles to Do Its Job.”
Philadelphia Citypaper. January 10, 2007.
http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2007/01/11/the-deluge
Assignment #4 (talking points due at end of class on November 3):
Compile a list of talking points on a key planning, policy or health issue and prepare for a mock interview
that will be held in class on November 3.
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EXTREME URBAN FORM: MEGACITIES AND SLUMS – NOVEMBER 7 AND 10
Readings:


Davis, Mike. “Planet of Slums.” New Left Review. March-April 2004, 5-34.
Packer, George. “The Megacity: Decoding the Chaos of Lagos.” New Yorker. November 13, 2006.
62-75.
In-class Debate: Use the readings to prepare for an in-class debate on November 10.
SITE PLANNING AND THE SPATIAL LENS – NOVEMBER 14 AND 17
Readings:


Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1960. Read Chapter 3 “The City
Image and its Elements.” 46-90.
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961. Read
pages 50-54.
In-class exercise:
We will explore a section of Rutgers campus, analyzing the way people use the space. We will draw what
we find. Be prepared with pencils and large (11” x 17”) paper. After we complete our drawings of the
existing space, you will redesign the space using the principles from Kevin Lynch.
Assignment #5 (due by Monday November 21 at the start of class):
You will turn in your redesigned space and the original drawings with a one page explanation of how you
tried to improve the space.
FILM: THE SOCIAL LIFE OF SMALL URBAN PLACES – NOVEMBER 21
THANKSGIVING: NO CLASS – NOVEMBER 24
HOUSING AND THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS – NOVEMBER 28 AND DECEMBER 1
Readings:

This American Life/NPR Planet Money. The Giant Pool of Money. Public Radio International. May
9, 2008. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/355/the-giant-pool-of-money
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
Immergluck, Dan. 2009. Chapter 5. “The Economic and Social Costs of High-Risk Mortgage
Lending.” Foreclosed! Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
In-class Debate: Use the readings to prepare for an in-class debate on October 27.
INVISIBLE CITIES AND LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE – DECEMBER 5 AND 8
Readings:

Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974. Read any two
chapters, totaling 50 pages.
In-class exercise:
Be prepared to share your favorite of all of the invisible cities in Calvino’s book. Why did you choose this
one? What spoke to you about it? How does it compare to real cities that you have experienced?
REVIEW FOR FINAL/WRAPUP – DECEMBER 12
FINAL EXAM – BASED ON UNIVERSITY FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
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