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PART ONE
Boise: History, Planning, and Policy
June 21 to 25, 2010
Part Two
Boise: City, Suburb, and Region
July 6-10, 2009
Professor Todd Shallat, tshalla@boisestate.edu
Professor David Eberle, W_Eberle@msn.com
Classes meet 9 AM to 9 PM, Boise Center on Main, 1020
Main Street, Boise, 83702; 208-761-0485.
Imagine the Treasure Valley with two more cities
the size of Boise. Image lethal air and hours of
highway gridlock. Imagine trolleys, bike paths,
corner stores, and a valleywide network of parks.
Boise Part Two images a range of possible
futures with an eye on green innovation and respect for historical trends. Topics include
roads and highways, drought and flooding, foothills conservation, county-city
governmental relations, and smart-growth solutions to sprawl. Bus tours extend the
lesson to Nampa, Caldwell, the Snake River Canyon, and Diversion Dam.
Course requirements. Students are expected to complete every written assignment and attend all five
days of the class. Grading is based on class participation (10 percent), the field book (40 percent), and a
documented research paper (50 percent).
The field book. Comment on the tours, lectures, and readings in the Investigate Boise “Field Book”
(provided on the first day of class). Each field-book entry should be titled and dated. The assignments
are listed in the class schedule below. Your first obligation is to show a close understanding of the
readings. Good entries cites specific information (names, dates, places) and relate the readings to the
ideas presented in class.
The research paper. Using a mix of local sources—interviews, zoning maps, government reports, news
stories, and historical photos—students will write a documented research paper. Follow the rules of
formal writing as described in the syllabus below. The paper is due at 5 PM, Monday, July 19. Email a
Word attachment to tshalla@boisestate.edu. If you do not receive a response within 48 hours, please
call 761-0485. Your paper did not arrive.
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Be prepared for walking, hiking. Wear comfortable shoes and a hat. Bring water. Bring a sack lunch
for long bus rides on Wednesday and Thursday. Bring cameras for Arrowrock and the Snake River
canyon. The classroom has fans but, sadly, no air conditioning. There is no coffee in the classroom but
coffee shops abound.
Required Readings
William Yardley, “Boise Region Grapples With Smog,” New York Times, January 22, 2009.
David Goldberg, “The Smart-Growth of Rural Towns,” On Common Ground (Winter 2005), pp. 4-7.
Jon Van Gleason, “Cherry of a Deal (sustainable farming)” On Common Ground (Winter 2005), pp. 43-47.
Jerry Adler, “Bye, Bye Suburban Dream,” and “15 Ways to Fix the Suburbs,” Newsweek, May 15, 1995.
Andres Duany, et. al., “The Traditional Neighborhood Checklist,” from Suburban Nation (NY: North Point,
2000), pp. 245-255.
Ken Avidor, “Selections from Roadkill Bill,” from Emilly Buchwald, ed. Toward the Livable City (2003), pp.
41-51.
Suggested Readings
Tom Daniels, When City and Country Collide - Managing Growth in the Metropolitan Fringe (1999).
Timothy Beatley, Green Urbanism: Learning From European Cities (1999).
William Dodge, Regional Excellence; Governing Together to Compete Globally and Flourish Locally
(1996).
Stephen Marglin, The Dismal Science How Thinking Like An Economist Undermines Community (2008).
Doug Porter, Making Smart Growth Work (2002)
Gloria Ohland and Shelley Poticha, eds., Street Smart, Streetcars And Cities In The Twenty First Century
(2006).
Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose (1972).
J. Anthony Lukas, Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town (1997).
Heike Meyer and Paul Knox, Small Town Sustainability (2009).
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Daily class schedule
Monday, July 5
9:00
Discussion: pictures from our exhibition
Shallat PPT: Infrastructure
10:30
Eberle: walk to 8th St. and BoDo
1:30
Professor Stephanie Witt, Boise State University
PPT: New Urban West
3:00
Eblerle: cars and gridlock (with traffic map examples).
6:00
Beth Baird, City of Boise
Treasure Valley Air Quality
Field book assignment: Read Yardley “Boise grapples with smog”. What is the connection between
bad air and economic development? How might pollution undermine growth?
Tuesday, July 6
9:30 to 4:30
Shallat bus tour
Nampa, Walters Ferry, Snake River Byway, Caldwell
7:30
Mark Rivers, BoDo developer
Innovations and development as a response to growth
Field book assignment: Read Goldberg’s “The Smart-Growth of Rural Towns” and Gleason’s “Cherry
of a Deal”. How does sprawl hurt rural towns, according to Goldberg? And what is the connection
between preserving open space and sustainable growth?
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Wednesday, July 7
9:00
“Eating Local” breakfast with David Krick of The Red Feather Lounge
Class at 246 N. 8th Street
11:00
Susan Mason, Boise State University
Growth issues in the Treasure Valley
2:00
Deana Smith of Idaho Smart Growth
Working lands and sustainable agriculture
6:00
Cake-cutting for Boise’s Birthday and open house at the Center on Main
Public tour of 100 year-old buildings: Owyhee, Idaho, Pioneer Tent, and Statesman.
Field book assignment: Read Adler’s essay on the American suburban dream. What went wrong,
according to Adler? How might the suburbs really be fixed?
Thursday, July 8
10:00
Jonathan Oppenheimer, Idaho Conservation League
Cities, wildlife, and public lands
2:00:
Eberle: recession
4:00 CeCe Gasner, City of Boise
Jobs, economic development, and the Boise Valley
7:30
Jeff Fereday, Givens Pursley
The politics of water in the Treasure Valley
Field book assignment: How “traditional” is your neighborhood or subdivision? How livable? How
sustainable in a nation wanting to break its dependence on oil? Use “The Traditional Neighborhood
Checklist” to score your neighborhood. Determine the geographical boundaries. Does your neighbood
have a name? An identity? Out of 87 points possible, what is its score?
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Friday, July 9
10:00
Liisa Itkonen, Compass
Mass transit and the Treasure Valley
1:00
Eberle bus tour to Avimor, Hidden Springs
6:00
Research roundtable
Final clips
Field book assignment. What is the cartoonist Ken “Roadkill Bill” Avidor telling us about the future of
the automobile. Do you accept his argument? Explain.
The Research Assignments
Each class (Boise parts one and two) requires a 3,000 words paper. Students in each class will write
about 12 double-spaced pages their choice of the research topics below. Papers for Boise Part I are due
on Monday, July 5. Papers for Boise Part II are due on Monday, July 19.
Email a word attachment to Professor Shallat at tshalla@boisestate.edu. If you do not hear back in 48
hours, your paper did not arrive. Call Todd for any reason at 761-0485. Students in Boise Part II must
finish the research paper before the first day of the second class.
Research Topics
1. Stack Rock and the Boise Foothill Levy. In 2009 an anonymous gift allowed the City of Boise to purchase
Stack Rock in the Boise Foothills. Tell the story of the Stack Rock purchase as a window to the larger history of the
foothills tax levy. When, why, and how did the city enact the levy? How does the preservation of Stack Rock—and
preservation of the foothills, generally—related to issues of sustainable development and metropolitan growth?
Research the paper in periodicals such as High Country News and the Idaho Statesman (online). Annual reports
from the foothills committees are posted on the City of Boise website at
www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Parks/Foothills/Conservation. Also you might consult Ada County’s Open Space
Task Force at www.lttv.org. The public library on Capitol Boulevard has clipping files and reports. Consult a
reference librarian.
2. Crescent Rim and the South Depot Bench. In 2005 a proposed 98-unit Crescent Rim condo development
sparked loud opposition from neighbors on the South Depot Bench. Tell the story of the Crescent Rim project as a
hook into the larger issue of infill, density, and the smart growth principles of the New Urbanism. Who supported the
project? Who opposed it? What was the nature of the debate in Boise City Council? What does the project say
about the future of smart-growth attempts to promote transit friendly high density housing? Research the story in
periodicals such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Business Review. Planning documents are online on the City of
Boise’s website. For an overview , contact professor Chris Blanchard at cblanch@boisestate.edu.
3. Bown Crossing and the New Urbanism. Bown Crossing in southeast Boise has been called a model of the New
Urbanism. When, why, and how did the development begin? What role did the City of Boise play in promoting the
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project? How well does the development fit the New Urbanists smart-growth criteria for transit-friendly mixed-use
neighborhoods? How does the development differ from other neighborhood centers? Is the architecture
appropriate? What role does the branch library play? Research the story in the Idaho Statesman and city planning
documents. Feel free to talk to merchants, shoppers, and real estate agents. For background, consult the web
pages for the Congress on the New Urbanism.
4. Hidden Springs and High-Density Planned Communities. Hidden Springs in the Boise Foothills has been
marketed as a peaceful neo-traditional smart-growth alternative to sprawling suburbanization. When, why, and how
did the community develop? Does Hidden Springs live up to its hype? Should the smart-growth advocates be
promoting developments like Hidden Springs? Begin with the promotional material on the communities web site.
Check out the “No Work Here” essay in the Boise Weekly at www.boiseweekly.com/boise/no-workhere/Content?oid=1013745 The larger issue is the future of planned communities in the Ada County. Research the
story in the Idaho Statesman and Compass documents posted online. See, for example, “Boise Takes Ada County to
Court over Planned Community” at http://www.compassidaho.org/documents/articles/boisecourt.pdf How does
Hidden Springs compare to planned communities such as Avimor? Consider the public cost of schooling and fire
protection. Do communities such as Hidden Springs pay their fare share of the freight?
5. Kuna, growth, and sprawl. From 1990 to 2003, the population of Kuna more than quadrupled in size. More
than 23,000 people are expected to live in Kuna by the year 2020. Tell the story of Kuna’s growth. How has growth
effected housing patterns? What are the benefits and cost of growth? Should the city control its growth? How?
Begin with “Looking to Future, Kuna Seeks Quality Designs and Infrastructure Improvements” at
www.smartgrowth.org/news/bystate.asp?state=ID&res=1024 The Study Circles Resource Center has posted a report on
Kuna’s growth called “What Democracy Looks Like”. Search the Ada County Planning and Development Services
(Adaweb.net) for public documents about Kuna’s expanding area of impact. Search the Idaho Statesman for articles
about Kuna’s population boom.
6. Multimodal Center and downtown mobility. The City of Boise is on the verge of constructing a multimodal
transit center downtown. When, how, and why did the city finance this proposal? Tell the story of the multimodal
center as a way of understanding the larger question of transportation and mobility through Boise’s downtown core.
One controversial aspect of the multimodal center is the proposed Boise streetcar. Research the multimodal story
online through the Idaho Statesman. Compass and Boise City Planning and Development have posted staff reports
and the key public documents. For background, consult the city’s “Downtown Boise Mobility Study” (2003). Valley
Regional Transit has posted a fact sheet.
Format of the Research Paper
The paper should begin with a title on a title page (include your class number: Hist 397, Pol 497, etc.).
The introduction should get to the point immediately. It should advance a thesis—an argument, a main
idea—that answers the question directly. It should define the problem. It should not wander or go back
in time or comment on the human condition. The body of the paper should present hard and convincing
evidence. Credit your sources with reference notes or parenthetical “works cited” documentation. You
are welcome to place the problem in historical context but try not to wander. Keep focused on the main
idea. The conclusion should restate the main idea—the thesis—and summarize your key points.
Quoting. Do not quote massive amounts of material—no block quotation, and no more than three lines of
quoted material per paragraph. It is better to paraphrase in your own words and credit the source.
Quote to illustration, not to explain.
Documentation. Students are free to use any standard form of documentation. Historians use the
University of Chicago “Turabian” style of numbered reference notes. Social scientists mostly prefer the
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APA style of parenthetical notes (Smith, p. 12) and an alphabetical works cited page. Consistency is
important. All quotations need to be documented, and all sources of research need to be credited.
Writing tips. In formal writing, avoid “I” and “we.” Avoid contraction’s (don’t, can’t). Avoid technical
language and jargon and long convoluted sentence construction. Write simply. Write concisely.
Revise.
A note about interviewing. Please do not contact public officials before doing considerable research.
Rely on librarians rather than agency staff. Do not contact agency heads. Ask professors and guest
presenters for possible student-friendly contacts. Our liaison in the city’s planning department is
Kathleen Lacey at KLacey@cityofboise.org
Research Paper Evaluation Criteria
Thesis statement. Paper gets to the point quickly and forcefully. Thesis is clearly stated and well
focused. A strong conclusion restates the main idea.
Quality of the Research. Paper makes good use of the assigned reading, including the books and the
primary documents. Paper prefers specifics to generalities. It relies on concrete dates, names, and
events.
Quality of writing. Clear sentences rely on active verbs. No jargon or pompous constructions. Paper is
easy to read.
Quotations. Paper uses quotations sparingly and then only to compliment the student's own words.
Quotes are smoothly introduced with the right punctuation. Date, author, and context of the quotation are
obvious in the text. No massive block quotations.
Documentation. Paper uses a consistent style of documentation, either MLA or APA or University of
Chicago (Turabian) style. Quotations are documented. A bibliography or “works cited” page provides an
alphabetical list of the most important sources.
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