CITIES IN THE
Political Science 390
Professor Beverly Takahashi
Spring, 2004
Office: Emison 101C Hrs. Friday 11-1
Email: btakahashi@depauw.edu
Tel: 658-4909
The structure of this course is twofold:
(1) Lectures: The course examines the issues that confront
American cities within the contexts of theories of urban politics and the
history of urban affairs. Students will consider such topics as the evolution of
cities and suburbs; situating the city in the U.S. federal system; the
political economy of cities, identity politics and the gendered city; the
industrial city and machine politics; urban reform and the Progressive Era; the
politics and policies of urban economic development; American cities and
suburban development; and the politics of urban community
(2) Research Project: Each student will select a city or region in Indiana and one of the broad topics that we will discuss during the semester. Then after an informal discussion with me, students will be required to narrow their focus and submit a proposal for a research paper that includes an explanation of their topic, a description and justification of how the student intends to frame the question and pursue the research, a short bibliography, and a timeline. Students may divide their project into sections and are expected to share their findings with the class -- the class gains information and the presenter feedback. At the end of the semester, students will submit a paper that draws upon their own research as well as the research of other students in the class (more about this later).
Although I am sure there will be a few kinks to work out along the way, I am excited by the prospect of shared learning. I will lecture when new topics are introduced and clarify any questions you might have; however, the course will resemble a seminar. There will be no midterm or final exam. This means that students will carry much of the responsibility for the course. Students must come to class prepared to participate and to raise relevant questions and issues about the readings as well as to discuss events in their selected city. Since I know little about cities in Indiana, I look forward to learning along with the class and hope by the end of the semester, we will all have a deeper understanding of urban politics in Indiana, which, of course, is intended to be central to understanding urban politics nationwide.
Dennis Judd and Paul Kantor, The Politics of Urban America: A Reader (3rd Edition) (New York: Longman, 2002).
Bernard Ross and Myron Levine, Urban Politics: Power in
Metropolitan
Dreir, P., Mollenkopf
& T. Swansrom, Place Matters: Metropolitics
for the Twenty-first Century, (
Newman, H. (2002) Race and the Tourist Bubble in Downtown Atlanta. Urban Affairs Review, 37: pp.301-321.
Takahashi, Beverly, “Living Wage Campaigns and the Building of Social Capital” Community Development Research Center Report for the Ford Foundation (New York, 2002).
Readings will also be drawn from a range of electronic sources: website addresses are noted in the syllabus.
Planned class requirements and grading scheme:
1. Participation (30%)
2. Class presentations (30%)
3. Research Paper (40%)
Speakers: Students may be required to attend the talks of two or three guest speakers (that I am trying to roundup) and presentations by students in my Politics of Labor course who are studying labor issues in Indiana.
Videos: Students will be required to view the movie “Gangs of New York.”
I. Introduction: Conceptualizing the Problems
Ross & Levine, Ch. 1 The L.A. Riots and the Urban Situation
Judd & Kantor: 23. “Report on the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders”
Electronic: Jonathan Kozol, “Life
on the
On Reserve: Dreir, P., Mollenkopf & T. Swansrom, Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-first Century, (Lawrence, KS, 2001) Chapter 1.
Ross & Levine, Ch. 2 “The Evolution of Cities and Suburbs”
Ross & Levine, Ch. 9 “Women and the Gendered City” (optional)
Judd & Kantor:
5. Sam Bass Warner, “The Environment of Private Opportunity”
6. Richard Wade, “The Urban Frontier”
13 Lynn Appleton, “The Gender Regimes of American Cities”
15. Joel Garreau, “Edge City”
III. The Political Economy of Cities: Conceptualizing Power
Ross & Levine, Ch. 3 Who Has Power? Decision Making and Urban Regimes
Judd & Kantor
1.Paul Peterson, “The Interest of the Limited City”
2.Clarence Stone, “Urban Regimes: A Research Perspective”
3. Todd Swanstorm, “Semisovereign Cities”
IV. The Industrial City and Machine Politics
Ross & Levine, Ch. 4 “Formal Structure and Leadership Style” and Ch. 5 “Machine Politics”
Judd & Kantor
7.William Riordon, “To Hold Your District: Study Human Nature and Act Accordin’”
8.Robert Merton, “The Latent Functions of the Machine”
9.Steven Erie, “Big-City Rainbow Politics: Machines Revividus?”
V. Urban Reform and the Progressive Era
Ross & Levine, Ch. 6 “Reform Politics”
Judd & Kantor
10. Andrew White, “City Affairs Are Not Political”
11.Samuel Hayes, “The Politics of Reform in Municipal Government in the Progressive Era”
12. Amy Bridges, “Winning the West to Municipal Reform”
VI. Situating the City in a Federal System
Ross & Levine, Ch. 13 “Intergovernmental Relations” and Ch. 14 “Federal Policy Towards Cities”
Judd & Kantor
27. Paul Peterson, “Who Should do What? Divided Responsibility in the Federal System”
28. Schwartz and Volgy, “A View From City Hall”
VII. The Politics and Policy of Urban Economic Development
Ross & Levine, Ch. 15 “Financing Urban America”
Judd & Kantor
19. Richard Foglesong, “When Disney Comes to Town”
20.Peter Eisinger, “The Politics of Bread and Circuses”
22.Paul Kantor & H. V. Savitch, “Can Politicians Bargain with Business?”
On Reserve: Newman, H., “Race and the Tourist Bubble in Downtown Atlanta” in Urban Affairs Review, 37: pp.301-321.
Electronic: M. Ulterino (Spring 1998), “The Great American Give Away: Are Cities Selling Themselves Short for the Sake of Redevelopment?” in Metropolitics, Vol. 4, No. 4. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sips/CURP/resources/metro/v01n0401.html
VIII. The Politics and Policy of Urban Community Development
Ross & Levine, Ch. 7 “Citizen Participation and Decentralization”
Ch. 8 “Urban Bureaucracy and Service Delivery” (optional)
Judd & Kantor
16. Howard, Lipsky & Marshall, “Citizen Participation in Urban Politics: Rise and Routinization”
21. Nicholas Lehman, “The Myth of Community Development”
26. William Julius Wilson, “Building a Foundation for Multiracial Cooperation”
On Reserve: On Reserve: Takahashi, Beverly, “Living Wage Campaigns and the Building of Social Capital” CDRC Report for the Ford Foundation, (New York, 2002)
Marie Kennedy, “Transformative Community Planning: Empowerment Through Community Development” http://www.plannersnetwork.org/htm/pub/working-papers/combased.htm
IX. Contemporary American City: Suburban Developments
Ross & Levine, Ch. 10 “Suburban Politics and Metropolitan Government”
Ch. 11 “The Politics of Metropolitan Government”
Ch. 12 “Metropolitan Governance: The Politics of Regional Cooperation”
Judd & Kantor
29. William Barnes & Larry Ledebur, “The Regional Economic Commons”
30. Myron Orfield, “Conflict or Consensus? Forty Years of Minnesota Metropolitan Politics
31. Pietro Nivola, “Fat City: Understanding American Urban Form from a Transatlantic Perspective
32. Fred Siegel, “Is Regional Government the Answer?