UEP 288: Reflections on Public Policy Practice (MPP I)

Transcription

1 Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning UEP 288: Reflections on Public Policy Practice (MPP I) Fall 2013 Wednesdays 4:30-5:45 97 Talbot Ave UEP classroom Penn Loh , Office hours: Wednesdays 2:30-4 and by appointment Overview This course is a graduate seminar (half- credit) for students enrolled in the MPP program. The major goal of this seminar is to introduce students to key ideas and debates that help explain the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of public policy. This course (MPP I) provides a foundation for students to explore specific public policies related to their own professional experiences and interests in MPP II. Further, it is a foundation for students to integrate their learning and policy interests in MPP II. MPP I readings are utilized to provide an understanding of the historical, institutional, and political context of public policy. This part of the year- long seminar focuses on broad and systemic factors that mold public policies in the United States. Students are introduced to various sources of data and to scholarly work that transforms data into research findings about a range of public policies. Objectives This course supports students to achieve a number UEP competencies, including: history, theory and processes of policymaking and planning policy implementation role(s) of government and governance administrative, legal, and political aspects of policy relationship between the market and polis areas of specific policy or planning content- based knowledge related to professional interests Requirements Completion of all readings and participation in class discussions. 2 Journal postings (1 page each) Due Tues night before classes 2-5 Each student will be assigned to post two short journals to the course Trunk site reflecting on the themes from the readings. Guiding questions will be provided each week. Policy Research Proposal (2-3 pages) Due October 16 The proposal will frame research questions related to a policy area of student s choice and identify relevant literature and data sets. This proposal will set up the Policy Analysis Memo. Policy Analysis Memo (6-8 pages) Due December 4 This memo will provide analysis and recommendations on a policy issue. It should reference literature from the scholarly and professional fields and relevant data sets. Final Presentation on Policy Analysis Memo December 4 Note that you are encouraged to attend the weekly UEP Colloquium (Wednesdays 12-1:15pm), as it is a good opportunity to meet other students and faculty and be exposed to the wide range of interests at UEP. 1

2 Session 1 (9/4): Introduction Overview of seminar objectives and topics. What is public policy? Discussion of student policy experiences and interests. Readings: UEP Core Values at Welcome to UEP: Message from Chair (1 pg) Center for Social Inclusion: What is Structural Racism? (1 pg) us/what- is- structural- racism/ Part One: Public Policy and the Big Picture (s) Session 2 (9/11) Public Policy: Identifying Issues and Problems Why public policy? How are problems identified for public policy? How is public policy framed? Readings (60 pgs) Mills, C. W The Promise, The Sociological Imagination. Oxford University Press Schattschneider, E. E The Displacement of Conflict, The Semi- Sovereign People, The Semi- Sovereign People: A Realist s View of Democracy in America , Stone, Deborah The Market and the Polis, Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making. WW Norton Session 3 (9/18): Models of Public Policy- making What are the stages of public policy- making? How are policy agendas set? What are different models for understanding the public policy process? Readings (58 pgs) Kingdon, John W Agenda Setting. In Stella Z. Theodoulou and Matthew A. Cahn (eds.), Public Policy: The Essential Readings. Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall Innes, Judith E. and David E. Booher Planning with Complexity: An Introduction to Collaborative Rationality for Public Policy. London: Routledge. Chpt. 2: How Can Theory Improve Practice? (15-40). Dye, Thomas R Understanding Public Policy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Chpt. 2: Models of Politics: Some Help in Thinking About Public Policy (13-38). 2

3 Session 4 (9/25): The Changing Roles of Government How has the role of government evolved in the last century? How do federal government and the global economy affect local government? Readings (66 pgs) Horowitz, Irving Louis From the New Deal to the New Federalism: 1932 to American Journal of Economics and Sociology 42(2): Donahue, John D The Devolution Revolution. Hazardous Crosscurrents: Confronting Inequality in an Era of Devolution. New York, NY: Century Foundation Press. Chpts. 3-6: (23-47) Holland, Dorothy, Donald M. Nonini, Catherine Lutz, Lesley Bartlett, Marla Frederick- McGlathery, Thaddeus C. Guldbrandsen and Enrique G. Murillo, Jr Local Democracy Under Siege: Activism, Public Interests, and Private Politics. New York: New York University Press. Chpt. 6: Local Politics and the Contemporary American Scene ( ). Session 5 (10/2): People and Power in the Policy Process How are people involved and how do they participate in policy decisions? What is the role of community organizing and the nonprofit sector? How is power exercised by stakeholders? Readings (61 pgs) Arnstein, Sherry R A Ladder of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners 35 (4): Fisher, Robert and Eric Shragge Contextualizing Community Organizing. In Transforming the City, edited by Marion Orr. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, Gronberg & Salamon Devolution, Marketization, and the Changing Shape of Government- Nonprofit Relations. In The State of Nonprofit America edited by Lester M. Salamon. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press Healey, Richard, and Sandra Hinson. Power and Social Change, Grassroots Policy Project. 5 pp. Available at: [optional] Domhoff, G. William. April The Class- Domination Theory of Power. 3

4 Part Two: Critical Inquiry and Research for Policy Session 6 (10/9): Resources for Research Library session with Regina Raboin on how to conduct literature searches and use citation tools. Please note that we ll meet in the Tisch Library MARK Lab. Prior to the class, please use the self- study module in the folder for the session that explores the relationship between science and Policy (it s a powerpoint). Also please take the plagiarism test developed by Carmen Lowe at the Academic Resources Center. and read the handbook on academic integrity: Session 7 (10/16): Use (and Misuse) of Research and Knowledge in Policy How can research be biased? What are limitations to objectivity? How are data and knowledge used and useful in the policy process? Policy Research Proposal Due Readings (48 pgs) Hawkesworth, M. E Science, Scientism, and Democracy Theoretical Issues in Policy Analysis. SUNY Jennings, James Missing Links in the Study of Puerto Rican Poverty. In A New Introduction to Poverty: The Role of Race, Power, and Politics, edited by L. Kushnick and J. Jennings. New York University Press Innes, Judith E. and David E. Booher Planning with Complexity: An Introduction to Collaborative Rationality for Public Policy. London: Routledge. Chpt. 6: Knowledge into action: the role of dialogue ( ) Session 8 (10/23): Using Maps and GIS for Policy How can maps and geographical information systems be used for decision making and policy development? Guest: James Jennings. Readings (33 pgs) Jennings, James Measuring neighborhood distress: a tool for place- based urban revitalization strategies. Community Development 43(4): Powell, john a., Jason Reece, Christy Rogers, and Samir Gambhir. January Communities of Opportunity: A Framework for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future for All. Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Ohio State University Florida, Richard. March 26, Class- Divided Cities: Boston Edition. The Atlantic Cities. divided- cities- boston- edition/5017/ 4

5 Part Three: Select Policy topics Session 9 (10/30): Influence of Community Activism on Policy and Planning How does community activism affect public policy and planning? What can we learn from efforts in Boston around schooling and community development? Note that this class will be a joint session with UEP 252: Cities in Space, Place, and Time. Readings (21 pgs) Jeanne F. Theoharis We Saved the City: Black struggles for educational equality in Boston, Radical History Review 81:61-93 Film: Gaining Ground: Building Community on Dudley Street. By Mark Lipman and Leah Mahan. Holding Ground Productions hour. Session 10 (11/6): Ideology in Policy: Free Market vs. Government What role does ideology play in policy? Is the free market more efficient or effective than government and state bureaucracy? Readings (57 pgs) Friedman, Milton The Relationship Between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom, The Role of Government in a Free Society, Capitalism and Freedom. The University of Chicago Press Edwards, Lee. The End of Conservatism? Heritage Lectures, No. 1120, delivered April 1, pp. Available at: end- of- conservatism Sarah Treuhaft, Angela Glover Blackwell, and Manuel Pastor America s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model. Summary. PolicyLink. 4 pp. bb43-406d- a6d5- eca3bbf35af0%7d/summit_framing_summary_web.pdf Perera, Gihan and the Urban Strategies Group. Winning the Right to the City in a Neo- Liberal World, pp. Available at: Michael Lewis and Dan Swinney Social Economy & Solidarity Economy: Transformative Concepts for Unprecedented Times? in Allard, Jenna, Carl Davidson, and Julie Matthaei editors. Solidarity Economy: Building Alternatives for People and Planet. Chicago: ChangeMaker Publications. pp

6 Session 11 (11/13): Policy Formation and Implementation: Case of Transportation How are policies formed and implemented over time? Transportation examples: Washington Street Replacement, Green Line Extension, and Fairmount Indigo Line. Readings (~20 pgs) Blumenberg, Evelyn. Sumer En- gendering Effective Planning: Spatial Mismatch, Low- Income Women and Transportation Policy. Journal of the American Planning Association. 70(3): Fairmount Corridor Collaborative website. Home page and About Us/History. Helen Ragovin. January Getting Around Gets Easier, Planning Magazine, pp Green Line Extension Timeline, Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership. Equal or Better: The Story of the Silver Line, a film by Kris Carter, min. Session 12 (11/20): Evaluating Policy Fran Jacobs Readings to be assigned NO CLASS 11/27 Thanksgiving Holiday Session 13 (12/4): Student Presentations Policy Analysis Memo Due 6