RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
EDWARD J. BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC POLICY
970:509 Urban Economies and Spatial Patterns Prof. Hooshang Amirahmadi
Fall 2014 Office: CSB 364
Thursday: 1:10-3:50 p.m. Phone: 609-509-2999
Classroom: CSB-112 www.amirahmadi.com
COURSE CONTENTS
This course offers students an opportunity to study urban economics and spatial patterns as well as spacesociety interactions. It also examines the relevance of space for location of economic activities and for the development of urban, regional and local areas. The course covers the following general topics, as well as others, in some detail:
Basic Economics and National Income Accounting
Concepts in Urban Geography and the Significance of Space
Urbanization and Its Global Context
Regional Perspectives and Urban Systems
National Urban Systems and Spatial Patterns
Urban Economy and Social Justice
Politics and Urban Governance
Third World Urbanization and Migration
Third World Urban Economy and Basic Needs
The New Economy of the Inner City
Urban Planning, Urban Policy and the Future City
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This is a graduate seminar and students are expected to take an active role in the class. The course requirements include: active class participation, one student presentation (beginning with the 4th class; a hand out must be distributed to the students before the presentation) and two exams (mid-term in week 8 and final in week 14). Class presentations must be based on chapters in the required text (as indicated on this syllabus). The grade distribution: Class participation: 10 points; class presentations: 20 points; mid-term and final exams: 35 points each. All students must choose topics for their presentations by no later than the third week and the presentations should not last beyond 20 minutes. The use of Power Point is highly recommended.
READING LIST
The required readings for this course are from the required textbook for the course: Michael Pacione, Urban Geography: A Global Perspective (Third Edition, 2009 or higher). London and NY: Rutledge. Students MUST purchase this book. It is available online from a variety of sellers and price widely varies. So go online immediately and shop around for the best price. Required readings from other sources will be made available through Sakai. The first class will be devoted to course overview. No readings will be required for this class. Readings for the second and third classes on basic economics are available on Sakai.
Week 1: Course Overview
No readings required for this class.
Week 2: Basic Economics
Readings for this class are available on Sakai. They include materials on market structure, supply and demand, price theory, and production function.
Samuelson, P and W. Nordhaus: Economics, pages 19-62;
Hunt, E. and H. Sherman, Economics, pages 209-240.
Week 3: National Income Accounting
Readings for this class are available on Sakai. They include basic national income accounting (GNP, etc).
Gordon, R.: Macroeconomics, pages 3-52.
Week 4: Concepts in Urban Geography and the Significance of Space
Pacione: Urban geography: from global to local (Chapter 1, pages 3-17).
Pacione: Concepts and theory in urban geography (Chapter 2, pages 18-34).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Clark. D.: The Field of Urban Geography In Clark, D., Urban Geography); pages 1-16 (available on Sakai).
· Smith, N: The Production of Space, pages 66-96 (available on Sakai).
Week 5: The Origins and Growth of Cities
Pacione: The origin and growth of cities (Chapter 3, pages 37-65).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Gordon, D.: “Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities” (in W. Tabb and L. Sawers, Marxism and the Metropolis), pages 21-21-53 (available on Sakai).
Watkins, A. “Dynamic Models of Urban Growth” (in The Practice of Urban Economics, pages 129-150 (available on Sakai).
Week 6: The Global and Regional Context of Urbanization
Pacione: The Global context of urbanization and urban change (Chapter 4, pages 68-93).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Pacione: Regional perspectives and urban change (Chapter 5: pages 94-120).
Student 1: North America, Europe; Student 2: Latin America, Asia and Africa).
· Pacione: Rural-urban migration in the Third World (Chapter 23, pages 484-498).
Week 7: Third World Urbanization and Urban Problems
Pacione: Third World Urbanization within a global urban system (Chapter 21, pages 449-465).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Pacione: Environmental problems in Third World cities (Chapter 26, pages 544-555).
· Pacione: Traffic and transport in the Third World city (Chapter 28, pages 575-587).
· Pacione: Urban Transportation (Chapter 13, pages 263-280).
Week 8: Mid-term Exam
Week 9: Urban Systems and Spatial Patterns
Pacione: National urban System (Chapter 6, pages 121-134).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Pacione: Land use in the city (Chapter 7, 137-163).
· Pacione: The internal structure of Third World cities (Chapter 22, pages 466-483).
· Pacione: Urban Retailing (Chapter 12, pages 240-262).
Week 10: Urban Economy and Social Justice in the Western city
Pacione: The economy of cities (Chapter 14, pages 283-307).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Pacione: Collective consumption and social justice in the city (chapter 17, pages 352-367).
· Pacione: Poverty and deprivation in the Western city (Chapter 15, pages 308-329).
· Pacione: Residential differentiation and communities in the city (Chapter 18, 368-395).
Week 11: Third World Urban Economy and Social Justice
Pacione: Urban economy and employment in the Third World (Chapter 24, pages 499-514).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Pacione: Housing the Third World urban poor (Chapter 25, pages 515-543).
· Pacione: Health in the Third World city (Chapter 27, pages 559-574).
· Pacione: Residential Mobility and neighborhood change (Chapter 10, pages 202-217).
Week 12: Politics and Urban Governance
Pacione: Power, politics and urban governance (Chapter 20, pages 418-446).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Pacione: Poverty, power and politics in the Third World city (Chapter 29, pages 588-603).
· Pacione: National and local responses to urban economic change (Chapter 16: pages 330-351).
· Pacione: Housing Problems and housing policy (Chapter 11, pages 218-239).
Week 13: The New Economy of the Inner City
Hutton: The New Economy of the inner city: an essay in theoretical synthesis (Chapter 9, pages 271-293).
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
· Hutton: The reassertion of production in the inner city (Chapter 1, pages 1-19).
· Hutton: Process: geographies of production in the central city (Chapter 2, pages 20-39).
· Hutton: Place the revival of inner city industrial districts (Chapter 3, pages 40-68).
Week 14: Final Exam
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Academic Integrity at Rutgers
Principles of academic integrity require that every Rutgers University student:
· properly acknowledge and cite all use of the ideas, results, or words of others
· properly acknowledge all contributors to a given piece of work
· make sure that all work submitted as his or her own in a course or other academic activity is produced without the aid of unsanctioned materials or unsanctioned collaboration
· obtain all data or results by ethical means and report them accurately without suppressing any results inconsistent with his or her interpretation or conclusions
· treat all other students in an ethical manner, respecting their integrity and right to pursue their educational goals without interference. This requires thata student neither facilitate academic dishonesty by others nor obstruct their academic progress
· uphold the canons of the ethical or professional code of the profession for which he or she is preparing.
Adherence to these principles is necessary in order to insure that:
· everyone is given proper credit for his or her ideas, words, results, and other scholarly accomplishments
· all student work is fairly evaluated and no student has an inappropriate advantage over others
· the academic and ethical development of all students is fostered
· the reputation of the University for integrity in its teaching, research, and scholarship is maintained and enhanced.
Failure to uphold these principles of academic integrity threatens both the reputation of the University and the value of the degrees awarded to its students. Every member of the University community therefore bears a responsibility for ensuring that the highest standards of academic integrity are upheld.