POL306: URBAN POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN CANADA Department of Political Science, University of Toronto

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1 POL306: URBAN POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN CANADA Department of Political Science, University of Toronto Summer Session, May/June 2014 Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 6-8 pm Location: Bahen Centre 1200 Instructor: Gabriel Eidelman Office hours: By appointment Office room: Sidney Smith 3118 COURSE DESCRIPTION: In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the politics and governance of cities in Canada and around the world. Where once cities were seen as less important than national or international affairs, they are now increasingly understood to be vital engines of economic innovation and consequential sites of political conflict. The goal of this course is to increase your understanding of how Canadian cities are governed, and compare this experience with cities elsewhere. The course is divided in two parts. First, we explore in general terms how cities are governed in Canada how local governments work, how they interact with their federal and provincial counterparts, and how they are involved in public policy and compare this experience with cities in the United States and Western Europe. We then set our sights closer to home, focusing on topics crucial to understanding politics in Toronto and its surrounding region, including amalgamation, suburbanization, and municipal finance. By the end of this course, you will: Understand the dynamics of urban politics and governance in Canada, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area Appreciate the connections between politics and policy at the local, regional, and global scales Recognize potential solutions to some of today s most pressing urban policy challenges [Revised May 7, 2014] POL306 (Summer 2014) 1

2 OUTLINE OF TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS Class 1 May 12 Why should we care about urban politics? Public meeting field assignment introduced Part I: Governing the Canadian City Class 2 May 14 The local state Reading response assignment introduced Policy report assignment introduced *** May 19 - No class (Victoria Day) Class 3 May 21 Municipalities and multi-level governance Finalize groups for policy report assignment Class 4 May 26 The metropolitan dilemma Class 5 May 28 Urban and local public policy *** Week of June Meetings with groups to discuss policy report assignment Class 6 June 2 Mayors, elections, and democratic engagement Class 7 June 4 The Canadian city in comparative context Hand in reading response assignment Part II: Governing Toronto and the GTA Class 8 June and the 905 *** June 9 - Deadline to drop course without penalty Class 9 June 11 Budgets and the fiscal squeeze, Pt. 1 Class 10 June 16 Budgets and the fiscal squeeze, Pt. 2 (in-class simulation) Hand in public meeting field assignment Class 11 June 18 Why urban politics? Redux / Exam review June 20 June Hand in policy report assignment Final exam (exact date to be confirmed) POL306 (Summer 2014) 2

3 COURSE WEBSITE: Readings, assignments, and course grades will be posted on the course website using Blackboard: REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION: Attendance and participation (5%) Reading response (10%) You will write a two-page critical response to the required readings assigned in any two classes starting in Class 2 and ending Class 7. Due June 4. Public meeting field assignment (20%) You will attend and critically evaluate a municipal public meeting, resulting in a 4-5 page reflection piece. Due June 16. Policy report (35%) Working in small groups, you will produce a page report on an important urban policy issue. Due June 20. Final exam (30%) Multiple choice, short answer, and long essay questions. Scheduled for the week of June (exact date to be confirmed). COURSE POLICIES: policy: As a general rule, I only respond to s sent from a University of Toronto account that clearly identify the sender and have POL306 in the subject line. I will do my best to get back to you within 48 hours. Submitting assignments: Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site. Turnitin.com class ID: Enrolment password: pol306 I will NOT accept assignments by . If you object to using Turnitin.com, please contact me directly to discuss alternative arrangements. POL306 (Summer 2014) 3

4 Late assignments: The penalty for late assignments is 5% per day (including weekend days). A grade of 80% therefore becomes 60% in four days. Assignments more than 10 days late will not be accepted. The protocol for submitting late assignments is the same as above. Submit your assignment to Turnitin.com, which will log the appropriate time stamp. Extensions due to illness require a medical certificate. If you foresee problems meeting submission deadlines please contact me as soon as possible; accommodations can always be made with adequate advance notice. This means at least a week before the deadline, not the night before the assignment is due! Academic honesty: It is the responsibility of each student to be able to demonstrate the originality of his or her work. Failure to properly reference figures, concepts, and quotations that are not your own will result in academic penalties, as required by the University of Toronto s policy on plagiarism. At a minimum, for every assignment, the sources of all data and ideas must be properly referenced using a standard academic referencing style such as Chicago, APA, or MLA. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism or how to reference sources, please visit: Accessibility needs: If you require accommodations for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom, or course materials, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible: Help with writing: Learning to express ideas clearly is a central goal of the university experience. If academic writing does not come easily to you, you are strongly encouraged to make use of U of T s Writing Centres: POL306 (Summer 2014) 4

5 READINGS: All required readings will be available via the course website. Class 1 Why should we care about urban politics? John, Peter Why Study Urban Politics? In Theories of Urban Politics, 2 nd ed., eds. Jonathan S. Davies and David L. Imbroscio, pp Los Angeles: Sage. Lorinc, John Introduction. The New City: How the Crisis in Canada s Urban Centres is Reshaping the Nation, pp Toronto: Penguin. Andrew, Caroline The Shame of (Ignoring) the Cities. Journal of Canadian Studies 25(4): Magnusson, Warren The City as the Hope of Democracy, in Urban Affairs: Back on the Policy Agenda, eds. Caroline Andrew, Katherine A. Graham, Susan D. Phillips, pp Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen s. Jacobs, Jane [1961]. The Kind of Problem a City Is, in The Death and Life of Great American Cities, pp New York: Random House. Part I: Governing the Canadian city Class 2 The local state Tindal, C. Richard, and Susan Nobes Tindal Selections from Municipal Governing Structures, in Local Government in Canada, 7th ed., pp , Toronto: Nelson. Siegel, David The ABCs of Canadian Local Government: An Overview, in Agencies, Boards and Commissions in Canadian Local Government, eds. Katherine A. Graham, Dale E. Richmond, and David Siegel, pp Toronto: Institute of Public Administration of Canada. Siegel, David Ontario, in Foundations of Governance: Municipal Government in Canada's Provinces, eds. Andrew Sancton and Robert Young, pp Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Magnusson, Warren Introduction: The Development of Canadian Urban Government, in City Politics in Canada, eds. Warren Magnusson and Andrew Sancton, pp Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Magnusson, Warren The Local State in Canada: Theoretical Perspectives. Canadian Public Administration 28(2): POL306 (Summer 2014) 5

6 Class 3 Municipalities and multi-level governance Sancton, Andrew Central Governments and Local Governments, in Canadian Local Government: An Urban Perspective, pp Toronto: Oxford University Press. Horak, Martin Conclusion: Understanding Multilevel Governance in Canada's Cities, in Sites of Governance: Multilevel Governance and Policy Making in Canada's Big Cities, eds. Martin Horak and Robert Young, pp Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen's University Press. Magnusson, Warren Are Municipalities Creatures of the Provinces? Journal of Canadian Studies 39(2): Leo, Christopher Deep Federalism: Respecting Community Difference in National Policy. Canadian Journal of Political Science 39(3): Stoney, Christopher, and Katherine A. Graham Federal-Municipal Relations in Canada: The Changing Organizational Landscape. Canadian Public Administration 52(3): Class 4 The metropolitan dilemma Sancton, Andrew The Governance of Metropolitan Areas in Canada. Public Administration and Development 25: Sancton, Andrew Focusing on Cities. The Limits of Boundaries: Why City-Regions Cannot Be Self-governing, pp Montreal: McGill-Queen s. Frisken, Frances The Toronto Story: Sober Reflections on Fifty Years of Experiments with Regional Governance. Journal of Urban Affairs 23(5): Sancton, Andrew Two-tier Metropolitan and Regional Governments, in Canadian Local Government: An Urban Perspective, pp Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press. Savitch, Hank, and Ronald K. Vogel Regionalism and Urban Politics, in Theories of Urban Politics, 2nd ed., eds. Jonathan S. Davies and David L. Imbroscio, pp Los Angeles: Sage. Class 5 Urban and local public policy Fowler, Edmund P., and David Siegel Introduction: Urban Public Policy at the Turn of the Century, in Urban Policy Issues: Canadian Perspectives, 2nd ed., eds. Edmund P. Fowler and David Siegel, pp Toronto: Oxford. Young, Robert, and Kelly McCarthy Why Do Municipal Issues Rise on the Federal Policy Agenda in Canada? Canadian Public Administration 52(3): POL306 (Summer 2014) 6

7 Bradford, Neil Selections from Place-based Public Policy: Towards a New Urban and Community Agenda for Canada, pp. 1 14, Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. Stewart, Kennedy, and Patrick J. Smith Immature Policy Analysis: Building Capacity in Eight Major Canadian Cities, in Policy Analysis in Canada: The State of the Art, eds. Laurent Dobuzinskis, Michael Howlett, and David Laycock, pp Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Wolman, Harold, with Robert McManmon What Cities Do: How Much Does Urban Policy Matter? in The Oxford Handbook of Urban Politics, eds. Karen Mossberger, Susan E. Clarke, and Peter John, pp New York: Oxford University Press. Class 6 Mayors, elections, and democratic engagement Meslin, Dave The Fourth Wall: Transforming City Hall. 26 pp. Siemiatycki, Myer Invisible City: Immigrants without Voting Rights in Urban Ontario. Our Diverse Cities 4(Fall): Triadafilopoulos, Phil. nd. Commentary: Non-citizen Voting in Toronto: A Case of Too Little, Too Soon? Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation. 2 pp. Sancton, Andrew Mayors and Local Political Leadership, in Canadian Local Government: An Urban Perspective, pp Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press. Kushner, Joseph, and David Siegel Why Do Municipal Electors Not Vote? Canadian Journal of Urban Research 15(2): McAllister, Mary Louise Avenues of Participation in Local Governance in Governing Ourselves? The Politics of Canadian Communities, pp , Vancouver: UBC Press. Tossell, Ivor The Gift of Ford, in The Gift of Ford: How Toronto s Unlikeliest Man Became Its Most Notorious Mayor [ebook]. 11 pp. Toronto: Random House Canada. Class 7 The Canadian city in comparative context England, Kim and John Mercer Canadian Cities in Continental Context: Global and Continental Perspectives on Canadian Urban Development, in Canadian Cities in Transition: Local through Global Perspectives, 3rd ed., eds. Trudi Bunting and Pierre Filion, pp Toronto: Oxford. POL306 (Summer 2014) 7

8 Sellers, Jeffrey North America (Canada and the United States), in Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World, pp Barcelona: United Cities and Local Governments. Garber, Judith A., and David L. Imbroscio The Myth of the North American City Reconsidered: Local Constitutional Regimes in Canada and the United States. Urban Affairs Review 31(5): John, Peter Local Government Systems in Western Europe. In Local Governance in Western Europe, pp London: Sage. Sugrue, Thomas J Preface to the Princeton Classic Edition of The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit, pp. xv-xxxi. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Part II: Governing Toronto and the GTA Class and the 905 Boudreau, Julie-Anne, Roger Keil, and Douglas Young Making the Megacity, in Changing Toronto: Governing Urban Neoliberalism, pp Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Boudreau, Julie-Anne, Roger Keil, and Douglas Young The In-between City, in Changing Toronto: Governing Urban Neoliberalism, pp Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Sancton, Andrew Toronto s Megacity, in Merger Mania: The Assault on Local Government, pp Montréal: McGill-Queens University Press. Saunders, Doug We're a Nation of Suburban Apartment-dwellers, but Afraid to Admit It. The Globe and Mail, March 30. Taylor, Zack Toronto Election Atlas, Part One: The Geography of the Vote. Unpublished research paper. 26 pp. Class 9 Budgets and the fiscal squeeze, Pt. 1 Sancton, Andrew Budgets, Grants and User Fees and The Property Tax, in Canadian Local Government: An Urban Perspective, pp Toronto: Oxford University Press. Reid, Dylan Property Taxes Are Weird. Spacing Toronto, March pp. POL306 (Summer 2014) 8

9 Block, Sheila Countdown to Zero: Balancing Toronto s Budget. Report prepared for Wellesley Institute and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 7 pp. Hains, David Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Property Taxes. Torontoist.com, January 9. 8 pp. Slack, Enid Fiscal Imbalance: The Case for Cities. Prepared for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. 13 pp. Class 10 Budgets and the fiscal squeeze, Pt. 2 ***In-class simulation - Readings will be provided in separate simulation package. Class 11 Why urban politics? Redux / Exam review Gleeson, Brendan What Role for Social Science in the Urban Age? International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 37(5): POL306 (Summer 2014) 9