Urban Public Policy
Public Policy 891
Michigan State University
Fall 2010
Tuesday, 6:00 to 8:50 pm
314 Ernst Bessey Hall
Sarah Reckhow, Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science, Michigan State University
Office: 328 South Kedzie; Phone: 517-432-0028; Email: reckhow@msu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 4 to 6 pm, or by appointment
Overview: This course is a weekly seminar to introduce you to the politics and processes
that shape urban public policy. The perspective of this course is overtly political,
highlighting who is involved and influential in urban policy and how institutions affect
policy-making and implementation. We will cover several major policy areas within the
urban and metropolitan context, including: housing, social services, economic
development, public safety, and education. Although we will discuss distinctive aspects
of each of these policy areas, we will also consider how particular policy problems and
solutions overlap in the local context. Within these policy areas, we will also focus on the
growing role of non-governmental organizations as well as the consequences of recent
policy reforms.
Course Requirements:
Reading: Every student must come prepared to discuss all of the required readings in
class.
Participation: This is a seminar course, so there will be no formal lectures. Each student
is expected to participate in class discussions, offering questions and reactions to the
weekly readings.
Discussion Questions/Comments: Every week, each student will prepare two questions or
short comments intended to provoke discussion based on the week’s readings. You must
email your questions/comments to me by Tuesday at noon.
Assignments: Urban Policy Problems Project— You will select and research a major
urban policy problem in a city of your choosing with four separate assignments during
the course of the semester. I will provide recommended policy problems for you to
choose from. If you would like to focus on a different problem, you are welcome to
propose the idea to me. Each assignment must be emailed to me by noon on the date
below, and every student should be prepared to discuss their findings in class. After the
assignments are submitted, I will select 1 or 2 students to briefly present their work in
class. You will make a final presentation to the class based on your last assignment.
1
Assignment 1: Define the scope and depth of the problem with data.
Due September 20, noon
Assignment 2: Written transcript of interviews with experts on the problem.
Due October 25, noon
Assignment 3: Policy Solution Analysis
Due November 22, noon
Assignment 4: Policy recommendation memo based on: analysis of problems with
current policy; discussion of at least two alternatives tried elsewhere; costs and benefits
of adopting your preferred alternative.
Due December 7, noon
Grading: Your grade will be based on the following:
Class participation, preparation, discussion questions/comments: 20%
Assignment 1: 10%
Assignment 2: 15%
Assignment 3: 15%
Assignment 4: 25%
Final Presentation: 15%
Late assignments--10% off grade for each day after due date
Course Texts: The readings include journal articles, books, and newspaper and
magazine articles. I will provide links to the journal articles on the course website for you
to print at home. You can also come by my office to copy the articles.
There are two required books for the course:

Paul Tough. 2008. Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change
Harlem and America.

Richard Florida. 2003. The Rise of the Creative Class and How It’s Transforming
Work, Leisure, Community, and Everyday Life.
Just for fun (not required):

Rent and watch the HBO series, The Wire. In particular, Seasons 3 and 4 overlap
with topics we will discuss in class.

Follow the Urbanophile blog: http://www.urbanophile.com/
2
Required Readings Schedule:
Week 1—September 7
Introduction and Course Overview
Week 2—September 14
Are there distinct urban issues? Is urban policy-making different?
“The State of Metropolitan America.” Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. 2010.
Read these sections: “Overview”; “Population and Migration”; “Race and Ethnicity”;
“Work”; “Policy Implications”
“Are Cities Dying?” Edward Glaeser. Journal of Economic Perspectives. (12)2. 1998.
Week 3—September 21
Who’s involved in urban politics and policy?
“Power and Interest Groups in City Politics.” Berry, J. M., K. E. Portney, R. Liss, J.
Simoncelli, and L. Berger. 2006. Report for the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston,
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
“Privatizing the Welfare State: Nonprofit Community-based Organizations as Political
Actors.” Nicole B. Marwell. American Sociological Review. 69(2). 2004.
“Accountable Autonomy: Toward Empowered Deliberation in Chicago Schools and
Policing.” Archon Fung. Politics and Society. 29(1). 2001.
Week 4—September 28
Poverty and Social Services
Guest Speaker: Jessica Yorko, Lansing City Council Member
“The State of Metropolitan America.” Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. 2010.
Read: “Income and Poverty” Section
Scott Allard. “Access to Social Services: The Changing Urban Geography of Poverty and
Service Provision.” Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. August 2004.
William Julius Wilson. 1997. “When Work Disappears.” Political Science Quarterly.
Schneider, Anne, and Helen Ingram. 1993. Social Construction of Target Populations:
Implications for Politics and Policy. American Political Science Review 87: 334–47.
3
Week 5—October 5
Urban education—The Achievement Gap and Civic Capacity
“The State of Metropolitan America.” Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. 2010.
Read: “Educational Attainment” section
“The Black-White Achievement Gap: When Progress Stopped.” ETS: Policy Information
Report. 2010.
“Civic Capacity and Urban Education.” Clarence Stone. 2001. Urban Affairs Review.
“Why Urban School Reform Doesn’t Deliver.” Frederick M. Hess. 2000.
Week 6—October 12
Urban education—Case Study: Harlem Children’s Zone
Paul Tough. 2008. Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and
America.
“The Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods, and the Broader, Bolder
Approach to Education.” 2010. Grover Whitehurst and Michelle Croft. Brookings
Institution.
Geoffrey Canada’s Response.
Week 7—October 19
Housing—foreclosures and abandonment
Guest Speaker: Christina Kelly, Executive Vice President, Genesee Institute
“Regional Resilience in the Face of Foreclosures: Evidence from Six Metropolitan
Areas.” Todd Swanstrom, Karen Chapple, and Dan Immergluck. 2009. MacArthur
Foundation Research Network on Building Resilient Regions, Working Paper.
“Selling Tax Reverted Land: Lessons from Cleveland and Detroit.” Margaret Dewar.
Journal of the American Planning Association. 72(2). 2006.
Week 8—October 26
Land Use and Transportation
“The State of Metropolitan America.” Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. 2010.
Read: “Commuting.”
4
“An Inherent Bias? Geographic and Racial Ethnic Patterns of Metropolitan Planning
Organization Boards.” Thomas Sanchez. The Brookings Institution Series on
Transportation Reform. January 2006.
Hopkins, Daniel, 2004, “Discounting Politics: The Impact of Large Retailers on
American Communities.”
Joel Kotkin. 2005. “The New Suburbanism: A Realist’s Guide to the American Future.”
Week 9—November 2
Crime and Public Safety
James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, “Broken Windows,” The Atlantic, March 1982.
D.W. Miller, “Poking Holes in the Theory of Broken Windows” Chronicle of Higher
Education, Feb. 9, 2001. http://chronicle.com/free/v47/i22/22a01401.htm
Hope Corman and Naci Mocan. 2005. “Carrots, Sticks, and Broken Windows.” Journal
of Law and Economics.
Susan Sadd and Randolph Grinc. 1996. “Implementation Challenges in Community
Policing.” National Institute of Justice Research in Brief.
Week 10—November 9
Economic Development: The Creative Class
Richard Florida. 2003. The Rise of the Creative Class and How It’s Transforming Work,
Leisure, Community, and Everyday Life.
Week 11—November 16
Economic Development: Critiques
Guest Speaker: Bob Trezise, President and CEO of the Lansing Economic Development
Corporation
Laura Reese, Jessica Faist, and Gary Sands. 2010. “Measuring the Creative Class: Do We
Know It When We See It?” Journal of Urban Affairs.
“Michigan’s Industrial Tax Abatements: Pyrrhic Victories?” Gary Sands and Laura
Reese. Sustaining Michigan: Metropolitan Policies and Strategies. p. 45-62.
Peter Eisinger. “The Politics of Bread and Circuses: Building the City for the Visitor
Class.” Urban Affairs Review. 35(3). 2000.
5
Week 12—November 23
Immigration
“The State of Metropolitan America.” Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. 2010.
Read: “Immigration
“Global Detroit.” Report. New Economy Initiative. 2010.
Daniel Hopkins. “Politicized Places: Explaining Where and When Immigrants Provoke
Local Opposition.” American Political Science Review. 2010.
Week 13—November 30
Individual meetings to prepare final paper and presentations
Week 14—December 7
Student Presentations
6
Urban Policy Problems Project
By our second class, September 14, you will choose one of the following urban policy
problems in a specific city to study this semester. If you would like to propose a problem
that is not on this list, you should talk to me about your idea. You will complete four
separate assignments about your selected policy problem. You will present to the class on
at least one of your assignments, and you will prepare a formal presentation based on
your final assignment for our last class. Also, with your permission, some assignments
may be posted for public viewing on the Michigan Policy Network website.
Detroit Public Schools—Improving Student Achievement
By many measures, Detroit appears to have the lowest levels of student achievement of
any school district nationally. Detroit’s students have posted the lowest scores ever
recorded on the National Assessment of Educational Progress math test. The four year
high school graduation rate is about 30 percent. The state has taken financial control of
the district.
Foreclosures—Aiding Households and Improving Abandoned Properties; Detroit,
Flint, Atlanta, Chicago
Michigan’s rate of foreclosures is among the highest in the nation, and the highest rates
of foreclosures in the state are in Michigan’s cities. The resulting property abandonment
and neighborhood decline produces a serious problem for cities, not to mention the grave
difficulties for households that face foreclosures. Each of these cities is developing
responses to the crisis, with some assistance from the federal and state governments.
Unemployment—Economic Development = Jobs, Jobs, Jobs; Detroit, Flint,
Saginaw, Pontiac
The July 2009 unemployment rate in both Detroit and Flint was 28.9 percent. Pontiac’s
unemployment hit 35.1 and Saginaw reached 23.6. There are many reasons to expect that
unemployment will continue to rise in these cities as the auto industry undergoes painful
restructuring. Each of these cities is trying to promote new economic development
strategies to create jobs.
Propose your own problem
Set up a meeting with me.
7
Details on the assignments
Assignment 1: Define the scope and depth of the problem with data.
Questions to answer:
How many (or what percent of) individuals or households are currently affected?
How much has the problem increased in the last 5 years, 10 years? (track the rate of
change for the smallest increment available, i.e. monthly, annually, etc.)
Is the entire city affected, or is the problem more intense in certain areas or among certain
groups?
What are the costs of the problem for the city?
How does the severity of the problem in this city compare to at least 2 other cities?
You will write a ~3 page memo (double-spaced, 12 pt. font) answering at least 4 of the
questions listed above. You should provide relevant graphs or data tables to report your
findings in your memo. Please report the source of the data underneath the table or graph.
You may also use secondary sources (i.e. policy briefs, newspapers or magazine articles).
Please provide a list of references at the end of your brief.
Assignment 2: Written transcript of at least 2 interviews with experts on the problem. In
addition to the transcript, provide a one paragraph summary at the beginning to introduce
each expert and summarize the content of the interviews.
The interviews can take place either in person or on the phone. The interviewees could be
a local elected official, local government administrator, nonprofit leader, or advocacy
organization leader. I urge you to begin finding potential interviewees and contacting
them as soon as you have selected your policy problem (you may need to contact 5 or 6
people). This will give you ample time to schedule the interview before this assignment is
due. Try to schedule an interview for about 45 minutes to an hour. Also, remember to ask
your interviewees for permission to post their comments on the Michigan Policy Network
website if you would like your transcript considered for inclusion.
You should prepare questions to ask each interviewee in advance. Your questions should
address:
- The expert’s opinion about the scope and seriousness of the problem.
- Examples of ways that the expert or others have responded to the problem.
- Information about future plans to address the problem.
- Examples of political or economic challenges to addressing the problem.
8
Assignment 3: Policy Solutions Analysis
Questions to answer:
Describe two examples of policy solutions to your problem. Where have they been tried?
Has either one proven to be successful?
Briefly assess whether either proposal could be applied in your city.
You will write a 3-4 page memo (double-spaced, 12 pt. font)
Assignment 4: Policy recommendation memo based on: analysis of problems with
current policy; costs and benefits of adopting your preferred alternative; explanation of
whether your solution will address additional problems.
**This memo will draw on material from your previous three assignments.
Questions to answer:
How serious is the problem? Is it related to other major problems in the city?
Why do current policies fail to adequately address the problem? (Is there any policy
designed to directly address the problem? Is it a failure of implementation? Is the
problem growing too fast for actors to respond?)
What policy would you recommend to address the problem? What are the costs (Who
would pay? Are there groups or interests that would have to give something up or change
their behavior?) What are the benefits? (Who are the intended beneficiaries? How would
they benefit?)
Will your proposed solution help the city address related problems? How?
Your policy recommendation memo should be 6-8 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt. font).
The content of your memo can include information gathered for your previous three
memos and relevant course readings.
Class Presentation
On the last day of class, every student will present their policy problem and
recommendation to the class. You may prepare a PowerPoint for your presentation. Your
classmates will play the role of city council members who will question you and discuss
the merits of your recommendation.
9