Urban Studies and Planning
Courses
Lower-Division
1. History of US Urban Communities (4) This
course charts the development of urban communities across the United
States both temporally and geographically. It examines the patterns
of cleavage, conflict, convergence of interest, and consensus that have
structured urban life. Social, cultural, and economic forces will be
analyzed for the roles they have played in shaping the diverse communities
of Americas cities.
2. Urban World System (4) Examines cities
and the environment in a global context. Emphasizes how the worlds
economy and the earths ecology are increasingly interdependent.
Focuses on biophysical and ethicosocial concerns rooted in the contemporary
division of labor among cities, Third World industrialization, and the
post-industrial transformation of U.S. cities.
3. The City and Social Theory (4) An
introduction to the sociological study of cities, focusing on urban
society in the United States. Students in the course will examine theoretical
approaches to the study of urban life; social stratification in the
city; urban social and cultural systemsethnic communities, suburbia,
family life in the city, religion, art, and leisure.
Upper-Division
101. Introduction to Policy Analysis (4) (Same
as Political Science 160AA.) This course will explore the process by
which the preferences of individuals are converted into public policy.
Also included will be an examination of the complexity of policy problems,
methods for designing better policies, and a review of tools used by
analysts and policy makers. Prerequisite: upper-division standing
or consent of instructor.
102. Urban Economics (4) (Same as Economics
135.) Economic analysis of why and where cities develop, problems they
cause, and public policies to deal with these problems. Determination
of urban land rent/use, reasons for suburbanization. Transportation
and congestion in cities, zoning, poverty and housing, urban local
government. Prerequisites: Economics 1A-B.
103. American Cities in the Twentieth Century (4) (Same
as HIUS 148.)This course surveys changes in U.S. cities since about
1900. Case studies of individual cities illustrate the social, political,
and environmental consequences of rapid urban expansion, as well as
the ways in which urban problems have been understood historically.
Prerequisite: upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
104. Ethnic Diversity and the City (4) (Same
as Ethnic Studies 105.) This course will examine the city as a crucible
of ethnic identity exploring both the racial and ethnic dimensions of
urban life in the U.S. from the Civil War to the present. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
105. Urban Sociology (4) (Same as Sociology
C/153.) Introduces students to the major approaches in the sociological
study of cities and to what a sociological analysis can add to our understanding
of urban processes. Prerequisite: upper-division standing or consent
of instructor.
107. Urban Politics (4) (Same as Political
Science 102E.) This survey course focuses upon the following six topics:
the evolution of urban politics since the mid-nineteenth century; the
urban fiscal crisis; federal/urban relationships; the new
politics; urban power structure and leadership; and selected contemporary
policy issues such as downtown redevelopment, poverty, and race.
109. California Government and Politics (4) (Same
as Political Science 103A.) This survey course explores six topics: 1)
the states political history; 2) campaigning, the mass media, and
elections; 3) actors and institutions in the making of state policy; 4)
local government; 5) contemporary policy issues; e.g., Proposition 13,
school desegration, crime, housing and land use, transportation, water;
6) Californias role in national politics. Prerequisite: upper
division standing
110. Advanced Topics in Urban Politics (4) (Same
as Political Science 102J.) Building upon the introductory urban politics
course, the advanced topics course explores issues such as community
power, minority empowerment, and the politics of growth. A research
paper is required. Students wishing to fulfill the paper requirement
with field research should enroll in the subsequent Political Science
102JJ course offered Summer Session II. Prerequisites: upper division
standing, consent of instructor.
111. Field Research in Urban Politics (4) (Same
as Political Science 102JJ.) To be taken with the approval of the Political
Science 102J instructor, this course allows students to do original
field research on topics in urban politics. This course is offered in
Summer Session II subsequent to a spring 102J course. May not be used
to fulfill any major or minor requirements in politics science or urban
studies and planning. Prerequisites: USP 110/Political Science 102J
and consent of instructor.
112. The Amereican Welfare State (4) (Same
as Political Science 166F.) This course examines the transformation of
the American welfare state in the twentieth century. Topics include Progressivism,
the New Deal and Great Society; Reagan-era retrenchment; race, gender
and social policy, and policy devolution to state and local governments.
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
113. Politics and Policymaking in Los Angeles (4) (Same
as Political Science 103B.) This course examines politics and policymaking
in the five-county Los Angeles region. It explores the historical development
of the city, suburbs, and region; politics, power, and governance; and
major policy challenges facing the city and metropolitan area. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
115. Politics and Policymaking in San Diego (4) (Same
as Political Science 103C.) This course examines how major policy decisions
are made in San Diego. In
analyses the regions power structure (including the roles of
non-governmental organizations and the media), governance systems
and reform efforts,
and the politics of major infrastructure projects. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing or consent of instructor.
124. Land Use Planning (4) Introduction
to land use planning in the United States: zoning and subdivision, regulation,
growth management, farmland preservation, environmental protection,
and comprehensive planning. Prerequisite: upper-division standing
or consent of instructor.
129. Research Methods: Studying Racial and Ethnic Communities (4) (Same
as ETHN 190.) The course offers students the basic research methods
with which to study ethnic and racial communities. The various topics
to be explored include human and physical geography, transportation,
employment, economic structure, cultural values, housing, health, education,
and intergroup relations. Prerequisite: upper-division standing or
consent of instructor.
130. Field Work in Racial and Ethnic Communities (4) (Same
as ETHN 107.) This is a research course examining social, economic,
and political issues in ethnic and racial communities through field
work. Topics are examined through a variety of research methods which
may include interviews and archival, library, and historical research.
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
132. African Americans, Religion, and the City (4) (Same
as Ethnic Studies 188.) This course details the history of African-American
migration to urban areas after World War I and World War II and explore
the role of religion in their lives as well as the impact that their
religious experiences had upon the cities in which they lived. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
133. Social Inequality and Public Policy (4) (Same
as SOC C/152.) Primary focus on understanding and analyzing poverty
and public policy. Analysis of how current debates and public policy
initiatives mesh with alternative social scientific explanations of
poverty. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
135. Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy (4) (Same
as ETHN 129.) This course will explore the social, political, and economic
implications of global economic restructuring, immigration policies,
and welfare reform on Asian and Latina immigrant women in the United
States. We will critically examine these larger social forces from the
perspectives of Latina and Asian immigrant women workers, incorporating
theories of race, class, and gender to provide a careful reading of
the experiences of immigrant women on the global assembly line. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
137. Housing and Community Development Policy and Practice (4) This
course considers the history, theory, and practice of U.S. housing and
community development. It examines how the public, private, and nonprofit
sectors shape and implement planning and policy decisions at the federal,
state, local and neighborhood levels. Prerequisite: upper-division
standing.
139. Race, Gender, and Urban Planning (4) This
course explores the nexus between race, gender, and urban planning.
Lectures address how women and people of color shape the city through
design, policy, and advocacy. The course also considers the impact of
traditional planning on these two groups. Prerequisite: upper-division
standing.
143. The U.S. Health Care System (4) This
course will provide an overview of the organization of health care within
the context of the community with emphasis on the political, social,
and cultural influences. It is concerned with the structure, objectives,
and trends of major health and health-related programs in the United
States to include sponsorship, financing, training and utilization of
health personnel. Prerequisite: upper-division standing or consent
of instructor. (Offered winter quarter.)
144. Environmental and Preventive Health Issues (4) This
course will analyze needs of populations, highlighting current major
public health problems such as chronic and communicable diseases, environmental
hazards of diseases, psychiatric problems and additional diseases, new
social mores affecting health maintenance, consumer health awareness
and health practices, special needs of economically and socially disadvantaged
populations. The focus is on selected areas of public and environmental
health, namely: epidemiology, preventive services in family health,
communicable and chronic disease control, and occupational health. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing or consent of instructor. (Offered fall
quarter.)
145. AgingSocial and Health Policy Issues (4) This
course will provide a brief introduction to the nature and problems
of aging, with emphasis on socioeconomic and health status; determinants
of priorities of social and health policies will be examined through
analysis of the structure and organization of selected programs for
the elderly. Field visits will constitute part of the course. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing. (S)
147. Case Studies in Health Care Programs/Poor and Underserved Population
(4) The purpose of this course is to identify
the special health needs of low income and underserved populations and
to review their status of care, factors influencing the incidence of
disease and health problems, and political and legislative measures
related to access and the provision of care. Selected current programs
and policies that address the health care needs of selected underserved
populations such as working poor, inner city populations, recent immigrants,
and persons with severe disabling mental illnesses will be studied.
Offered in alternate years. Prerequisite: upper-division standing
or consent of instructor. (Not offered 20032004.)
165. History of the American Suburb (4) (Same
as HIUS 147.) This seminar explores the development of suburbs in America,
from the early nineteenth-century to the contemporary era. Topics include
suburban formation, class, ethnic and racial dimensions, government
influences, social life, and cultural responses to suburbia. The class
will explore influences, social life, and cultural responses to suburbia.
The class will explore competing theories of suburbanization as it surveys
the major literature. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
166. History of San Diego (4) A lecture-discussion
course that surveys the social, political, economic, cultural and environmental
history of the San Diego region from pre-colonial times to the present,
with emphasis on the urban development that has occurred since 1900. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
171. Sustainable Development (4) Sustainable
development is a concept invoked by an increasingly wide range of scholars,
activists, and organizations dedicated to promoting environmentally
sound approaches to economic development. This course critically examines
the diverse, often contradictory, interests in sustainability. It provides
a transdisciplinary overview of emergent theories and practices. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
172. Planning/Policy-making: U.S.-Mexican Border Region (4) Course
examines globalization and key regional/urban policy issues facing U.S.-Mexico
border zone, including industrialization, urban sprawl, environmental
management, trade and infrastructure planning, social policy, transportation;
focus on problems in the San Diego-Baja California region. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
173. History of Urban Planning and Design (4) The
analysis of the evolution of city designs over time; study of the forces
that influence the form and content of a city: why cities change; comparison
of urban planning and architecture in Europe and the United States.
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
174. Regional Governance and Planning Reconsidered (4) Regional
planning and local governance in California, focusing upon San Diego.
Current system, the state/local relationship, and the incentives and
disincentives for restructuring regional and local governance and planning. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
179. Urban Design, Theory, and Practice (4) Roles
of the urban designer, preparing schematic proposals and performance
statements, identifying opportunities for and constraints
on designers. Each student will prepare a practical exercise in urban
design using various urban design methods. Prerequisite: upper-division
standing.
180.Transportation Planning (4) Introduction
to the history and current state of urban transportation planning, including
the relationship between transportation and urban form; role of automotive,
mass transit, and alternative modes; methods for transportation systems
analysis; decision-making, regulatory, and financing mechanisms; and public
attitudes. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
186. Urban Field Work Seminar (6) Introduces
students to the theory and practice of social research. Introduces
techniques for logging data, including field notes and filing systems.
During the second half of USP 186, students must complete five weeks
(50 hours) of the ten week (100 hour) internship requirement of the
senior sequence. Prerequisites: USP major and senior status.
187. Urban Studies Internships (6) An
intensive research and internship experience that culminates in an
original senior thesis. Students learn about the theoretical and technical
challenges of scholarly research and publication. Prerequisites: USP
186 and USP major.
190. Senior Honors Seminar (4) Each student
enrolled will be required to write an honors essay, a substantial research
paper on a current urban policy issue, under the supervision of a member
of the faculty. Most often the essay will be based on their previous
fieldwork courses and internship. This essay and other written exercises,
as well as class participation, will be the basis of the final grade
for the course. The seminar will rotate from year to year among the
faculty in urban studies and planning. Prerequisites: USP 186, USP
187, major GPA 3.5, and permission of instructor.
192. GIS for Urban and Community Planning (4) Introduction
to Geographic Information Systems and using GIS to make decisions: acquiring
data and organizing data in useful formats; demographic mapping; geocoding.
Selected exercises examine crime data, political campaigns, banking
and environmental planning, patterns of bank lending and finance. Prerequisite:
upper-division standing.
193. San Diego Community Research (6) Using
the San Diego region as a case study, students will be introduced to
the process of collecting, evaluating, and presenting urban and regional
data using a variety of methods including aggregate data analysis, historical
research, ethnography, and GIS mapping. Prerequisite: consent of
instructor.
194. Research Seminar in Washington, D.C. (4) (Same
as Cognitive Science 194, Communication 194, Earth Science 194, History
193, Political Science 194, Sociology E/194.) Course attached to six-unit
internship taken by students participating in the UCDC program. Involves
weekly seminar meetings with faculty and teaching assistant and a substantial
research paper. Prerequisite: department approval. Participating
in UCDC program.
195. Teaching ApprenticeUndergraduate (2-4) Introduction
to teaching activities associated with course. Responsibilities include
preparing reading materials assigned by the instructor, attending course
lectures, meeting at least one hour per week with the instructor, assisting
instructor in grading, and preparing a summary report to the instructor.
Prerequisites: consent of instructor and an A in the course in which
the student plans to assist.
198. Directed Group Study (2-4) Directed
group study on a topic or in a field not included in the regular departmental
curriculum by special arrangement with a faculty member. Prerequisites:
upper-division standing and consent of instructor.
199. Independent Study (2-4) Reading
and research programs and field-study projects to be arranged between
student and instructor, depending on the students needs and the
instructors advice in terms of these needs. Prerequisites:
upper- division standing and consent of instructor.
Urban Studies and Planning Courses
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