Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Approaches to Regional Economies in the Midwest
For many decades, the failure of the Midwest to rise to new economic challenges has earned it the name, Rustbelt, a term that applies equally to rural and urban locations. But has this description been used too generally? After all, the Midwest, when placed under further scrutiny, presents wildly variable examples of success, and some of the strongest survivors are metropolitan areas that implemented a form of regional cooperation - the Twin Cities serving as a prime case study. This in turn raises the question as to how to define regionalism within the Midwest. What is a region? A city, its suburbs, multiple counties, an area as big as a state, or a partnership between states? How has regional economic policy varied within the Midwest? Can the Midwest itself be considered a region? Although a stated goal of regionalism is cooperation, does not this approach further competition between regions, in some ways undermining the idea of working together? And what happens when regionalism implies a loss of local control? This course will attempt to answer these questions through a comparative study of policy-making, focusing on Midwestern case studies that extend from a total lack of regionalism (Detroit), to an overt effort at it (Twin Cities), as well as examples from the middle of the range where regionalism occurred in an ad hoc method (Chicago). Along the way, the course will identify policy issues that tend to be regional in character, such as transportation, higher education, job creation, business development, and the environment. Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
Fall 2009
LP
Th
7:00 - 9:30 PM
Sec. 50
210 South Clark St. 16th Floor 9
9/24/09 - 12/3/09
Instructor:
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Capital Budgeting and Finance
This class will explore the strategies that governments employ to promote economic development and finance major capital improvements. The course will also look at the current trend in state and local government towards privatization strategies that target the sale and/or lease of major revenue generating assets to raise revenue. The course will be divided into three sections.The development section of the course will focus on the use of Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIF) to promote economic development. The capital budgeting section of the course will focus on how governments plan, finance, and execute major capital improvements. The asset privatization section will provide an overview of the issues and implications of privatizing government assets to raise revenue or improve performance. Counts toward the Public Policy and Urban Policy specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Citizen Participation in the Policy Making Process
In a democratic society at all levels of government, citizens are by right empowered to deliberate issues that affect them and influence decision-making. This course will explore mechanisms that can generate effective and broad-based public participation. It will also analyze the barriers to participation, including structural barriers set by government entities themselves. What factors influence citizens to voice their opinions in the first place? What strategies can governments use to foster greater citizen engagement? The course will also delve into the issues municipalities and other governmental units face when trying to enact programs that benefit the disadvantaged (e.g., low- and moderate-income people, children, trees, animals) but require initially unpopular tax increases or regulations. The course will assist individuals who seek to become "public servants" by suggesting ways to stimulate public involvement and consensus building on controversial issues.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Decisions in Public Policy
Public policy is about choices and actions that take place in an extremely dynamic environment. The public policy process represents a cacophony of activities, actions, and choices that reflect the priorities and values of those who shape, adopt and implement policy. The purpose of this course, then, is to explore the application of policy theory and concepts to visible, reviewable, and intriguing policy cases. This course provides an opportunity for students to explore, categorize, and dissect the processes that drive policy-making and policy decision, through a mixture of lecture and case-study explorations, and the applications of conceptual models and techniques from major theorists. Current issues and cases drawn from federal, state, and local examples will provide the vehicle to examine and apply the concepts, ideas and analytic tools that students will be called on to use in their professional roles. Students should have a basic knowledge of, or foundation in, the theories, concepts, and analytical tools used in the field of public policy, as represented in MPPA 407 or MPPA 406. Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
Summer 2010
CH
W
7:00 - 9:30 PM
Sec. 50
6/23/10 - 8/18/10
Instructor:
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Environmental Policy and Planning Issues
The majority of the world's population now lives in urban areas. This trend towards urbanization is projected to continue in the coming years concentrating more and more people in mega cities, many of which are located in developing countries. Continued urbanization raises significant environmental issues, as centralization of population poses both obstacles and opportunities for environmental improvement. For example, urban development can lead to concentration of pollution from sources such as transportation and energy generation, result in the inequitable distribution of pollution control facilities and place pressure on both critical environmental infrastructure and resources. At the same time, denser urban areas can increase the cost effectiveness of transportation alternatives, more efficiently use infrastructure and land resources and reduce energy consumption. Addressing urban environmental issues is complicated by factors such as the fragmentation of government decision-making and regulations and the fact that the impacts of many environmental problems extend well beyond local government boundaries.
This course will outline major environmental issues impacting urban areas, provide an overview of regulations and policies governing past responses to those issues and discuss emerging trends such as sustainable development and climate action planning that cities are using to proactively address environmental impacts. The purpose is to understand the complexities of environmental issues facing urban areas and both the historical and emerging approaches to addressing those issues. The class will examine both environmental planning theories and the practical application of those theories by public policy professionals. Part of the MPPA Urban Policy, Public Policy, and Health Policy specializations.
Spring 2010
CH
W
7:00 - 9:30 PM
Sec. 50
3/31/10 - 6/2/10
Instructor:
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Federal Policymaking
Otto von Bismarck said that "laws are like sausage. It is better not to see them being made." This class takes the opposite view. Understanding how our national policies are made helps us to understand both the complexity of the policies and the various institutions that impact them. This class will use a mix of lectures, case studies, and guest speakers to analyze the policymakers: the Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, lobbyists, the press-and even voters--to see how they impact national policies. While this class will look at a number of key issues facing the country, the goal of the class is not to take sides on any policy. The goal is to give you a better understanding of how these policies become reality. Students will also have the opportunity to go deep on a policy of their choice and investigate the relevant policymakers. Counts toward all specializations.
Winter 2010
EV
W
7:00 - 9:30 PM
Sec. 51
1/6/10 - 3/10/10
Instructor:
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Historical Perspectives on Policy Issues
This course is designed to give students in policy and administration the tools they need to develop an historical perspective on issues of domestic policy. The course will explore two specific topics that are related to important contemporary policy debates. Focused attention will be paid to how public policies have changed over time, and how those changes relate to historical changes in underlying key aspects of American society. The first topic is the history of the American family, with special emphasis on the history of efforts to alleviate poverty. The second topic is the history of hospitals, with special emphasis on the history of health care finance. Counts toward the health policy, public policy and urban policy specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Housing and Housing Policy
This course covers the fundamentals of housing policy in the United States, including the underlying cultural values supporting homeownership; the use of land-use planning and zoning on the local level; federal housing policy; and new approaches to housing and land use. The course would use housing patterns in the Chicago metropolitan region from 1880 to the present to illustrate the core constructs. Part of the MPPA Urban Policy and Public Policy specializations.
Winter 2010
CH
Th
7:00 - 9:30 PM
Sec. 50
1/7/10 - 3/11/10
Instructors:
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Innovations in Human Service Management
This course examines the recent wave of innovative efforts on the part of communities, cities, regions, and states in the U.S. to build collaborations in the delivery of human services. These innovative attempts come from a growing interest among state and local leaders to use human service delivery strategies to build communities, to alleviate key local and regional social problems, to enhance regional economic competitiveness, to reduce the overall need for human services, and to increase the cost-effectiveness of life-cycle support to those in need. Students analyze the evolution of prevailing theories about human service delivery, and how local and regional delivery systems have responded to those changes over time, as well as examine key principles driving innovations, including: continuum of care approaches, community-based delivery models, and collaborative multi-organizational pilot projects. The course also addresses pragmatic management issues that arise as different approaches are tried, such as leadership in collaborative networks, cross-organizational information technology systems, case management and client confidentiality in a networked environment, budgeting challenges, and performance measurement. Classes mix discussion of readings with guest speakers who are engaged in innovative projects within the region. Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Intermediate Statistical Analysis
This course focuses on relational data analysis, especially regression analysis. The course will begin with a brief review of introductory statistics, including hypothesis testing and correlational analysis. It will then cover analysis of variance and single and multiple variable regression analysis, as well as another possible topic. Students will learn the theory behind these analyses, though the primary focus will be on the practical application of these analyses to real data. Class sessions will include both lecture as well as time for students to engage in analysis of existing data sets. Prerequisite: Introductory Statistics (must include hypothesis testing). Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Land Use Policies and Urban Planning
This course examines the historical, legal, political, and administrative attributes of urban planning, land use, and the evolution of the built environment in the United States. The course explores land use regulations, planning concepts, the legal foundations of zoning, development control, bureaucracy, and politics. It also examines the impact of the demands for municipal services that make urban living possible and the laws that empower local governments to constrain land use by property owners for the betterment of society as a whole. Counts toward the MPPA Urban Policy and Public Policy specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Law and Policy Processes
This course explores how the American legal system affects public officials as they deal with the problems and needs of modern society. The American legal system consists of the Constitution, the laws enacted by Congress, state constitutions, laws enacted by state legislatures, decisions of federal and state courts, and regulations and decisions of agencies created to deal with specialized subject matters. Emerging from these sources is a web of public policy and supporting legal controls that decision-makers must consider in molding their approaches to problem-solving. Referring to these source materials, students will see how public officials' freedom to act is both guided and limited by the legal system. Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Law Enforcement Intelligence and Homeland Security
Extended description to come. This elective will discuss the role of intelligence support to homeland security and defense. Part of the MPPA Public Safety and Security specialization.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Management and Local Governance
This course will examine the structure of local government in the U.S. and the fundamental roles local government plays in both democracy and essential services for society. The course will examine the historical evolution of local democratic structures, the powers of local government, and the management environment administrators work in. The unique legal stature of local governments as well as the unique nature and demands of administration at the local level will be examined. Counts toward all specialization tracks.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: New Patterns in U.S. Metropolitan Policy
This course will examine the emergence of "economic and political regions" in the U.S. as important actors in the dynamic environment of global social and economic changes. The course will explore and introduce students to policy adaptations and innovations taking place in our federal, state, regional, and local governments in response to these changes. The emergence of a new "urbanism" or "metropolitanism" is placing pressure on our existing understanding of present-day governmental structures and policy frameworks. The question to be examined is this: how can governments adapt and cope with the realities of changing demographics, globalization, the rebirth of cities and the interconnectedness of all civic institutions that define the major regions of the U.S. Part of the MPPA Urban Policy and Public Policy specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Policy Implementation Failures -- Katrina and 9/11
This topics course will explore the oft-overlooked but critical element of policy implementation. Good intentions, paper plans, bureaucratic arrangements, and conflicting legislation work to constrain effective policy implementation. Policies only exist in the mind of legislative bodies or on paper and are meaningless and ineffectual without proper funding, a coherent implementation infrastructure, and a well-orchestrated strategy that is responsive to intergovernmental environments. The course will focus on the official reports of the 911 and Katrina Commissions with applicable theoretical readings from the implementation literature. Significant participation, presentation, and analysis on the part of students is required. Guest speakers and potential off-site tours may also be part of the class experience. Counts toward all specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Political Theory and Public Policy
Much public policy literature focuses on measuring the successes and failures of specific policies to live up to their stated purposes. This course will turn the debate on its head, as it were, and examine a broad range of originary purposes behind government policies. Through a sustained reading of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, we will examine the normative bases of government policy. Issues to be discussed include distributive justice, property rights, equality, incentive, and tolerance. We will also consider the ideal conditions under which one can legitimately design policy without the problem of conflict of interest. With a firm grasp on normative theory, we will turn to some specific works in a particular policy area to see how underlying theoretical assumptions shape policy preferences and outcomes. As a concrete example, we might look at income tax policy or social security reforms and try to tease out the underlying assumptions about the legitimacy of redistribution. Our reading of Rawls will give us a theoretical framework for explaining why such policies are enacted and what notion of justice they illustrate. Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
Spring 2010
CH
M
7:00 - 9:30 PM
Sec. 50
3/29/10 - 6/7/10
Instructor:
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Reinventing Government
This course introduces students to the contemporary reform movement in public management that is often labeled "reinventing government." A key theme in this reform movement is the migration of managerial approaches developed in private corporations to the arena of public administration. In order to develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of this reform movement, the course begins with a quick review of fundamental issues in public administration. This is accomplished by reviewing a handful of classic readings in the field. After that, the course reviews the principals that underlie contemporary practices in the field of private management and how those principles are being adapted by public (and non-profit) managers. The last section of the course reviews several approaches that seek to blend private and public management principles in order to find new ways of creating public value through reinventing how government provides core services. Readings in the course blend theoretical material with practical case studies of managerial situations. Students will be expected to develop a research paper that connects the course material to their own professional experiences. Counts toward all specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Sustainability in Urban Economies
Economic growth is usually defined as rising standards of living for the majority of people: "A rising tide lifts all boats." With growth comes broader opportunities, better health, better education, and better jobs. While we have gotten used to the notion that in the long run, the economy grows-albeit with bumps in the road-economists are beginning to consider another long-run model, that of sustainability or "steady state" economics. Robert Solow, the 1987 Nobel Prize winner in economics, said recently, "the U.S. and Europe may find that, as the decades go by, either continued growth will be too destructive to the environment and they are too dependent on scarce natural resources, or that they would rather use increasing productivity in the form of leisure...There is nothing intrinsic in the system that says it cannot exist happily in a stationary state." This course will contrast 20th century models of economic growth with the emerging literature on sustainability, with a special focus on urban economies. We will review the history of theories of limits to growth, from Thomas Malthus in the 19th century to the Club of Rome in the 1970s. The theory of "sustainable development," first presented by the U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, will be analyzed with regard to rural and urban economies. Readings and discussions will include such economic concepts as stages to growth, scarcity, productivity, production intensity, input substitution, positive and negative externalities, consumption vs. investment, and zero-growth. In addition, we will evaluate international GDP growth rates for the past century, comparing periods of growth and periods of stagnation-and analyzing contrarian theories of economic change-to assist in understanding where the U.S. and world economies might be headed in the 21st century. Counts toward all MPPA specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Urban and Regional Economic Development Policy
This course examines historical (all mid-to-late 20th century) and recent policies to encourage urban and regional economic development,including those at the Federal, state, and local levels. Government-led programs as well as public-private partnership initiatives will be covered. The course reviews these policies against a backdrop of major theories about how urban and regional economic growth occurs so that students can engage in a critical review of past and present programs. Methods for evaluating economic development programs will also be covered. The course uses class discussions of readings along with case studies. The principal focus is on the U.S. but students will be introduced to some comparative literature as time permits. Part of the MPPA Urban Policy and Public Policy specializations.
No Sections
MPPA 490-0
( Elective ) Special Topics: Urban Planning Practice -- Developing a Neighborhood Plan
This course provides students the opportunity to apply planning theory at the neighborhood level. After two weeks of introductory materials on the fundamentals of urban planning, the remainder of the course will be devoted to applying learned techniques at the neighborhood level: each week, the course will present a basic technique in planning along with an assignment to apply the technique while working on a neighborhood project. Students will focus on a neighborhood that is undertaking redevelopment strategies in Chicago or a close-in suburb. Techniques will include an asset mapping exercise, a land use survey, quantitative analysis of census and other demographic sources, neighborhood interviews, and mapping skills. Once students understand the issues in the neighborhood, they will identify strategies and prepare a final project and presentation covering topics such as housing reinvestment, economic development, open space and parks, and beautification strategies. The course is designed for students interested in land use, housing, transportation, water, or public health policies, as well as those interested in urban/suburban development, who want to apply these ideas in the context of a neighborhood case study. Attendance at one site visit is required: a Saturday excursion on July 11, 9 a.m.-noon. Part of the Urban Policy and Public Policy specializations.
