Urban Policy And Administration
(Public Administration Department -
PAD 7550: Urban Policy And Administration)

Göktug Morçöl
gmorcol@kennesaw.edu
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
Fall 1999


SYLLABUS

PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION OF COURSE

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts in local government and urban/metropolitan issues. The history of the city and county administration in the U.S., power relations in urban areas, and the legal/structural bases of urban administration and policy will be discussed. The specific emphasis will be on the social and historical context of the Atlanta metropolitan area.


TEXTBOOKS AND READING MATERIALS

Ross, B. H., & Levine, M. A. (1996).
Urban Politics: Power In Metropolitan America (5th ed.).
Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers.
Rutheiser, Charles (1996).
Imagineering Atlanta: The Politics Of Place In The City Of Dreams.
New York: Verso.

[Editor's Note: See also the following reviews for this publication: ----- H-Urban Editor]
Orfield, Myron (1997).
Metropolitics: A Regional Agenda For Community And Stability.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

[Editor's Note: See also the following review and publisher's information: --- H-Urban Editor]
Fleischmann, A., & Pierannunzi, C. (1997).
"Local government and politics." In A. Fleischmann, & C. Pierannunzi, Politics in Georgia.
Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. [book packet available at KSU bookstore]
The Constitution of the State of Georgia.
Available at http://www.sos.state.ga.us

The weekly "Horizon" supplements of The Atlanta Journal and Constitution.

Supplementary reading materials will be provided by the instructor during the semester.

ASSIGNMENTS, EVALUATION, AND GRADES

Students will be assigned chapters of the Ross and Levine book to make presentations in the class. They will also write reviews of their assigned chapters. The second and third assignments will be writing essays on the Rutheiser and Orfield books. In all three assignments, specific references to the Fleischmann and Pierannunzi chapter , the Georgia State Constitution, the "Horizon" supplements, and other reading materials will be evaluated positively by the instructor.

Students should follow the Turabian style guidelines (Turabian, K. L. (1996). A Manual For Writers Of Term Papers, Theses, And Dissertations (6th ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press) in the review paper and essays.

Chapter Review (Ross & Levine)
In their chapter reviews, students should summarize the knowledge content of the chapters they have presented in the class and discuss the implications of the chapter content for the Atlanta metropolitan area. The instructor's evaluations of the papers will be based mainly on the accuracy of the knowledge content and coherence of presentation. The length of the review paper should not exceed 5 pages (double-spaced).

Essay on the Rutheiser Book
Students should select one or more issues that Rutheiser discusses in his book (e.g., race relations, the power of the business class, the "imagineering" tradition, city boosterism, the Olympic Games of 1996, Atlanta as a "world-class city," and suburbanization) and write an essay discussing the relevancy and implications of those issues for today's and /or tomorrow's Atlanta. The length of the essay should not exceed 5 pages (double-spaced).

Essay on the Orfield Book
In their essays on the Orfield book, students should discuss the applicability and/or relevancy of one or more of the issues raised by the author (e.g., concentration of poverty, urban polarization, urban sprawl, and middle-class flight), his proposed policy vehicle (political coalition building), and/or his policy solutions (fair housing practices, property tax-base sharing, reinvesting in schools, land-use planning, transportation planning, welfare reform, and elected metropolitan government) to the Atlanta metropolitan area. The length of the essay should not exceed 5 pages (double-spaced).


Grade Distribution
30% Book Chapter Review (Ross & Levine)
30% Essay on the Rutheiser Book
30% Essay on the Orfield Book
10% Instructor's Evaluation of Class Participation

Academic Integrity
The following was approved by the Kennesaw State University Senate on 3/15/99 and is effective as of Summer, 1999:
To promote academic integrity among Kennesaw State University students and ensure that students understand the expectations of their professors, all faculty members shall integrate the following statement, under the heading "Academic Integrity," into their class syllabus:

"Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement."


SCHEDULE, TOPICS, AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

Introduction
August 25

Ross & Levine, chapters 1 & 2
September 1

Ross & Levine, chapters 3 & 4;
Fleischmann & Pierannunzi
September 8

Ross & Levine, chapters 5 & 6;
Fleischmann & Pierannunzi
September 15

Ross & Levine, chapters 7 & 8;
Fleischmann & Pierannunzi
September 22

Ross & Levine, chapters 9 & 10;
Fleischmann & Pierannunzi
September 29

Ross & Levine, chapters 11 & 12;
Fleischmann & Pierannunzi
October 6

Ross & Levine, chapters 13, 14, & 15;
Fleischmann & Pierannunzi
October 13

Rutheiser, ch. 1
ROSS & LEVINE CHAPTER REVIEW IS DUE.
October 20

Rutheiser, chs. 2 & 3
October 27

Rutheiser, chs. 4 & 5
November 3

Orfield, chs. 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5
RUTHEISER ESSAY IS DUE.
November 10

Orfield, chs. 6, 7, 8, & 9
November 17

THANKSGIVING BREAK. NO CLASS
November 24

Local urban issues (sprawl, transportation, new urbanism, & GRTA)
December 1

Local urban issues (sprawl, transportation, new urbanism, & GRTA)
December 8

ORFIELD ESSAY IS DUE.
December 15


Syllabus prepared for archive 28 Aug 2001.