URBAN POLICY
Overview
The Urban Policy concentration can be completed with courses from various departments within Johns Hopkins. Descriptions of all available options can be located on the websites of relevant schools and departments. Some of the descriptions below include links to relevant pages with the course descriptions.
Also, it should be noted that the list below is only a sampling—not all classes listed are offered every year, and other courses may become available at different times. Students interested in Urban Policy should contact Dr. Sandra J. Newman's staff.
Suggested Classes
195.477 Introduction to Urban Policy
This seminar surveys key urban policy challenges and opportunities faced by U.S. cities. Course topics include a critical analysis of the continuing viability of cities in the context of current economic and demographic dynamics, fiscal stress, governance, economic development, poverty and race, drugs, homelessness, federal
urban policy, and survival strategies for declining cities.
195.640 Policy Implementation
There is an “art” to leading and a “science” to managing, and a successful leader combines both sets of skills. Through readings, case studies, field investigations and interchanges with experienced and successful managers, students will be exposed to both the art and science of policy planning and implementation. They
will learn the tools and techniques of program planning and implementation including: techniques for crafting and sustaining partnerships, articulating goals and objectives, selecting strategies, weighing alternatives, and planning for ontingencies, preparing budgets and developing schedules that ensure plans are realized.
195.685 Adolescents, Crime and Justice
Should adolescents who “break the law” be punished and held accountable or be provided services and treatment; is it possible to pursue all these objectives; how should adolescent drug use be handled; does the age of an offender matter in terms of how the police, prosecution, judiciary, and corrections respond; what justifies the detention or incarceration of adolescents; what should be the purpose of "confinement” and how should “reentry” figure in; should adolescents who commit particular crimes be subject to capital punishment; and what should be done about adolescents who have gang involvement? These are some of the public policy questions that will be examined and debated.
190.383 Urban Society and Politics
An analysis of the social bases of urban politics, concentrating on the concept of community, the urban social class hierarchy, the role of ethnic groups in city politics, and the impact of the urban economy on the urban political system.
190.385 Urban Politics and Policy
An analysis of public policy and policy-making for American Cities. Special attention is given to the subjects of urban crime and law enforcement, poverty and welfare and intergovernmental relations.
230.657 Race, Segregation, Social Inequality
Residential segregation is a persistent feature of U.S. urban landscapes. It is an index of social position; one with serious consequences for minority populations. We will approach the broad study of residential segregation as a form of racial and ethnic inequality. Students will explore the history of residential segregation in the U.S., its patterns and causes, as well as its social, economic, and demographic
consequences.
230.313 Space, Place, Poverty and Race
An examination of various sociological perspectives on urban neighborhoods, including an analysis of the role of public housing.
767.760 Urban Land Economics
A framework for real estate analysis, including economic and other factors affecting trends in urban structure and land use, is discussed. Appropriate data sources and data analysis techniques are introduced. Major urban development issues, decentralization, population and labor force composition, industrial location, urban and regional growth, land use, and rent relationship issues are also analyzed.
767.695 Urban Redevelopment
This course provides an overview and assessment of the theory and practice of urban redevelopment, including a discussion of the nature and role of urban redevelopment in the management of urban change in metropolitan America, a review of the core elements of large-scale urban redevelopment, and an examination of urban redevelopment as a set of niche real estate products. It examines the context, rationale, and principles of urban redevelopment as a multifaceted process that is simultaneously comprehensive, multidisciplinary, long-term, and integrated. The course uses presentations from industry leaders and executives and group projects to help students gain insight into the business of urban redevelopment.
420.644 Sustainable Cities
This course examines urbanization and its impacts on the environment. The goal of the course is to better understand how urbanization contributes to ecological damage as well as how cities can be constructed in ecologically healthy ways. Topics include land use planning transportation, waste, management, water quality, open space/greening, green building technology, urban design, and urban ecology. The course takes an international perspective by using case studies of cities in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
420.646 Transportation Policy and Smart Growth
This course examines how transportation policy and decisions can alleviate or prevent problems resulting from urban sprawl. Students discuss how different environmental media—land, water, and air—are affected by our transportation systems and resulting development patterns, and how the design of transportation
systems—the highways, roads, transit systems, and bike and walk paths—can more closely harmonize with nature and provide communities with a better quality of life. A wide range of policy options is examined, from altering the structure of road pricing to redesigning neighborhoods and altering urban form. A number of case studies are examined to illuminate the issues and principles raised in the course.
410.611 Health, Poverty and Public Policy in the US
Explores the relationship between health, poverty, and public policy in the U.S. and assesses past and future strategies to remedy inequities in health and health care. Addresses theories of social stratification in the U.S.; distribution of poverty across gender, age, and ethnic/racial groups; antipoverty programs and their effects;
effects of changes in health care organization on the poor; and possible modifications to provide greater equity. Guest lecturers include physicians and public administrators working in programs designed to meet the needs of poor communities.
380.756 Poverty, Economic Develompent and Health
Introduces students to leading theories in economic development and in the macroeconomic determinants of the health of populations, communities, and individuals. Reviews both historical and current cases to answer the following questions: What is economic development? How does economic development occur? Which aspects of development improve and which aspects are detrimental to human health? Can policymakers plot more “hygienic” plans for economic development? Do investments in health and family planning cause
economies to prosper?
140.662 Spatial Analysis and GIS I and II
Examines the use of Arc View Geographic Information System (GIS) software as a tool for integrating, manipulating, and displaying public health-related spatial data. Topics covered include mapping, geocoding, and manipulations related to data structures and topology. Selected case studies are used to demonstrate concepts. Focuses on using GIS to generate and refine hypotheses about public health-related spatial data in reparation for a formal statistical analysis.