Introduction:

The metropolitan areas of the U.S., composed of what we now call the inner and outer cities, are the focus of many of the problems and prospects of the larger society. The purpose of this course is to provide Heinz school students with perspectives on the origins and the development of American cities and on certain major "problems" that appear to be specifically "urban". The course will focus on three major themes: the evolution of urban and suburban areas from an economic, demographic and spatial perspective; the interaction of factors of ethnicity, race, and class in cities; and, power, politics, and policy. The readings are diverse and are intended to provoke questions about values, process, conflict and policy. The semester will begin with a bus tour of the city.

Method of Instruction:

The class will be conducted on a lecture/discussion basis. Each student is expected to complete the reading by the assigned date. Participation in class discussion is expected and the instructor will assign grades based upon the quality of participation and knowledge of the reading. In addition, there will be several class visitors.

Required Texts:

Eric H. Monkkonen, America Becomes Urban: The Development of U.S. Cities & Towns 1780-1980 (University of California Press, 1988).

Kenneth T. Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the U.S. (Oxford University Press, 1985).

John Bodnar, Roger Simon & Michael P. Weber, Lives of Their Own: Blacks, Italians, and Poles in Pittsburgh, 1900-1960 (University of Illinois Press, 1982).

Ronald P. Formisano, Boston Against Busing: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s (University of North Carolina Press, 1991).

Nicholas Lemann, The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America (Knopf, 1991).

John K. Mollenkopf, The Contested City (Princeton University Press, 1983).

In addition to the texts, articles will occasionally be distributed in class for specific assignments.

Text Reports:

Each student will be asked to prepare a two page summary and critique of each book used as a text. The due date for these reports will be provided on a separate sheet.

Papers:

Class members will have the option of choosing between two types of papers --

1. Three short papers dealing with a contemporary urban problem Each paper should address different aspects of the problem or deal with separate problems. They should develop the historical background of the problem and show how an understanding of the history can aid in developing a course of action or policy. Specific policy recommendations based on the history must be made. Each paper should deal with an aspect of one of the major themes discussed during the semester- city building and services; urbanization and counter-urbanization; ethnicity, race and class; and, politics and policy. Papers should be approximately 5-6 pages in length and must reach a minimum threshold of writing clarity and organization before they will be accepted for grading.

2. A research paper based on original sources that deals with a specific urban question. This option should be chosen only by students who already have experience in writing short papers. The research paper should be approximately 20/25 pages long and should include full reference notes and bibliography. All topics must be approved by the instructor and a research outline submitted by Oct. 1. Completed papers are due on Dec. 3.

Class Schedule and Reading Assignments:

Aug. 27: Class Introduction

Sept. 1: Bus tour of Pittsburgh

Sept. 3: Urban Images and Realities
Discussion of observations made on the tour.
Read:
S.B. Warner, Jr.,"The Management of Multiple Urban Images," and
Joel A. Tarr, "Infrastructure and City Building in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries," both distributed.

Sept. 8: Why History?
Read:
Stearns and Tarr, "Applied History,"
Stearns, "History and Policy," and,
Neustadt and May, Thinking in Time, pp.232-270, all to be distributed in class; and, Monkkonen, America Becomes Urban, pp. 238-244.

I. Urbanization and Suburbanization

Sept. 10: City Origins and Growth -
Read:
Monkkonen, America Becomes Urban, pp. 1-88; and
Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, pp. 1-19.

Sept. 15: City Building and City Services
Read:
Monkkonen, pp. 89-157

Review:
Tarr.

Sept. 17: Urban Spatial Change
Read:
Monkkonen, pp. 158-181; and
Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, pp. 20-44.

Sept. 22: City Residence: Homeownership, Rental, and Migration
Read:
Monkkonen, pp. 182-205; and
Jackson, pp. 45-137.

Sept. 24: Suburbanization - Pre-World War II
Read:
Jackson, pp. 138-218.

Sept. 29: Suburbanization - Post-World War II
Read:
Jackson, pp. 231-271.

Oct. 1: The Development of the Outer City
Read:
Robert Fishman, "The Post-War American Suburb: A New Form, A New City" and
Peter O. Muller, "The Transformation of Bedroom Suburbia into the Outer City: An Overview of Metropolitan Structural Change Since 1947," to be distributed.

Oct. 6: Minorities in Suburbs
Read:
J. R. Logan and M. Schneider, "Racial Segregation and Racial Change in American Suburbs, 1970-1980,"
D.S. Massey and N.A. Denton, "Trends in the Residential Segregation of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians: 1970-1980," all to be distributed.

Oct. 8: Human Behavior in City and Suburb
Read:
Jackson, 272-305;
Herbert Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life,"
Claude S. Fischer, "The Public and Private Worlds of City Life," and
Elijh Anderson, "Race and Neighborhood Transition," all to be distributed.

Oct. 13: Class Visitor

II. Urban Encounters - Ethnicity, Race and Class

Oct. 15: Immigrants, Migrants and the City - I
Read:
Bodnar, Simon and Weber, Lives of Their Own, pp. 1-112.

Oct. 20: Immigrants, Migrants and the City, II
Read:
Bodnar, Simon and Weber, Lives of Their Own, pp. 113-206.

Oct. 22: African-American Migration, the Black Urban Experience and the Development of the Ghetto
Read:
Bodnar, Simon and Weber, Lives of Their Own, pp. 207-266; and
Lemann, The Promised Land, pp. 1-107.

Oct. 27: Federal Perspectives
Read:
Lemann, The Promised Land, pp. 111-221.

Oct. 29: Confrontation over Busing
Read:
Formisano, Boston Against Busing, pp. ix-87.

Nov. 3: Roots of the Opposition - Race and Class
Read:
Formisano, Boston Against Busing, pp. 88-239.

Nov. 5: Racial/Class Conflict Since 1972
Read:
Lemann, The Promised Land, pp. 223-353; and
Formisano, Boston Against Busing, pp. 222-239.

Nov. 10: The New Immigrants and the New Urban Mosaic
Readings to be assigned.

Nov. 12: Class Visitor

III. Politics, Power, and Policy

Nov. 17: The Development of Urban Politics
Read:
Monkkonen, pp. 111-157, 206-222.

Nov. 19: The New Deal and Shifting Intergovernmental Relations
Read:
Monkkonen, pp. 222-237; and
J.K. Mollenkopf, The Contested City, pp. 3-97.

Nov. 24: Urban Renewal , Redevelopment, and Rebellion
Read:
Mollenkopf, pp. 97-179.

Dec. 1: The Politics of Community Development
Read:
Mollenkopf, 180-212;
another reading will be assigned.

Dec. 3: Class Visitor - Future of the City?