COURSE OVERVIEW
Description
This course is an introduction to urban and regional economic development and
planning. The course has two main goals: understanding the dynamics
of urban growth and decline, and examining planning interventions. The
larger context of the course is the contemporary restructuring of local and
regional economies in the face of accelerated technological change, growing
economic internationalization, the decline of manufacturing employment, the
blurring of public and private planning, the inverted city-suburb-edge city
relationships, and the conflicts between economic, social and ecological
interests. We will use case studies to contrast past and future models
of local economic growth, such as high-tech innovation in Silicon Valley
and Route 128 and the decline of resource-dependent communities. Students will learn from a variety of sources: theories, histories, case studies, policy evaluations.
We welcome students from other disciplines. In past years, students from Public Policy, SNRE, Social Work,Public Health, Architecture, Business and Civil Engineering have taken the course. Advanced undergraduates are also welcome.
Prerequisites
Graduate standing or permission of instructor. As an introductory course, the emphasis is on major themes, political debates, urban economic history, and the dynamics of local economies. Though a basic course in micro-economics (such as URP509) is recommended
as background, this course does not focus on quantitative economic methods.
The Urban Planning Program also has a second economic development course on the books, focusing on quantitative methods: URP585 (Methods of Economic Development Planning).That said, we have not offered URP585 in several years, so URP584 is the program's only course explicitly focusing on local economic development. We do offer courses in related areas such as community development, microeconomics, fiscal analysis and real estate.
Readings:
Readings are in multiple formats:
1. Most articles and book chapters posted on Canvas
2. one recommended text (not available online):
- Blakely, Edward James, and Nancey Green Leigh. Planning local economic development: theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage. [ideally either the 4th, 5th or 6th edition] Do note possible changes in chapter numbering between editions.
3. Selections from books available online available online through the UM Library "EBooks". (see selected list of titles below). Set up a free account. I have created a (virtual) bookshelf with readings for the class. This bookshelf also has many other books of related interest that you might browse.
4. Readings available directly on the web (links provided on the syllabus)
Assignments
Students
are expected to complete all the required readings before the scheduled
class time, actively participate in class discussions and presentations,
and prepare several written assignments over the semester. Evaluation of your work will
be based on substantive content, analytical rigor, and writing quality. BeLate assignments will result in point reductions.
IMPORTANT: All students are expected to engage in ethical scholarly practices and avoid any plagiarism (intentional or otherwise). This includes:
- Follow appropriate citation
guidelines in all your work.
Be sure to carefully review these guidelines for all your academic work (both written and in presentation). Don't hesitate to ask me if you have questions.
- Explicitly acknowledge any use of AI (e.g., ChatGPT) in any of your work, noting all use of data, text and ideas included in your work. Any direct quotes from such AI generators MUST be explicitly put in quotes and fully cited.
Case Studies of Local Economies used in the Course:
Silicon Valley as a model of regional economic development
ball parks, Olympic Games, world's fairs and casinos as catalysts for development
regional economic development agencies (TVA, ARC)
significant subsidies used to attract foreign investment (e.g., BMW in South
Carolina)
the crisis of resource extraction economics in western US communities
universities as economic growth machines
adaptive reuse and the restructuring/rebranding of older industrial cities
Amazon HQ2: their 2017-18 search for additional headquarters location(s)
Wal-Mart: good and/or bad for local economies and communities?
Broader Themes of the Course:
the causes of growth and decline in cities and regions
Comparing strategies for promoting economic development (tax subsidies, job
training, infrastructure development, marketing, etc.). What tools are
effective in attracting and retaining businesses?
the limits of planning intervention in a mixed capitalist setting
competing strategies to alleviate poverty in older industrial cities
How can one balance the interests of economic growth, environmental protection
and social justice?
deindustrialization, restructuring, and advanced services
Can manufacturing still be a viable economic base?
the rise of high-tech and the information city
Is bio-tech the latest wave of technology driven industrial growth, and should
communities aggressively pursue it?
the globalization of production, trade and financial markets (and the resulting
constraints on local economic control)
Should localities encourage/require firms to use locally responsible/loyal
practices?
local vs. state vs. national development strategies
public-private partnerships
the varied economic foundations of cities (government cities, industrial cities,
trade cities, global cities, military cities)
the role of military spending and other national policies in local and regional
economic development
top-down vs. bottom-up strategies to economic development (e.g., neighborhood
vs. downtown).
tourism as economic development
economic demography and labor migration (e.g., do jobs follow people or vice
versa?)
the product and profit cycles of technological change
How are the boundaries between the public and private sectors being blurred
by public-private partnerships, public authorities, non-profits, etc.?
How does economic development complicate a simple vision of city planners working
in the public interest?
Economic developers: intermediaries, advocates, entrepreneurs, planners
or barkers?
Books available on EBooks (authentication required -- and you need to set up a password the first time):
Knowledge, Space, Economy. 2000. Florence, KY, USA: Routledge.
Livable Cities? : Urban Struggles for Livelihood and Sustainability. 2002. Ewing, NJ, USA: University of California Press.
Community Participation in China : Issues and Processes for Capacity Building. 2004. London, , GBR: Earthscan.
Workforce Development Politics : Civic Capacity and Performance. 2004. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press.
Partnerships for Smart Growth. 2005. Armonk, NY, USA: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
University As Urban Developer : Case Studies and Analysis. 2006. Armonk, NY, USA: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Clusters, Networks, and Innovation. 2006. Oxford, , GBR: Oxford University Press.
Jobs and Economic Development in Minority Communities. 2006. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press.
Cities Farming for the Future : Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities. 2006. Ottawa, ON, CAN: IDRC Books.
Amenity Migrants : Seeking and Sustaining Mountains and Their Cultures. 2006. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, GBR: CABI Publishing.
China Urbanizes : Consequences, Strategies, and Policies. 2008. Herndon, VA, USA: World Bank Publications.
Urban and Regional Policy and Its Effects, Volume 1. 2008. Washington, DC, USA: Brookings Institution Press.
Retooling for Growth : Building a 21st Century Economy in America's Older Industrial Areas. 2008. Washington, DC, USA: Brookings Institution Press.
Making Ecopreneurs : Developing Sustainable Entrepreneurship (2nd Edition). 2010. Farnham, Surrey, GBR: Ashgate Publishing Group.
Accordino, John J. 2000. Captives of the Cold War Economy : The Struggle for Defense Conversion in American Communities. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Press.
Altshuler, Alan A., and David E. Luberoff. 2003. Mega-Projects : The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment. Washington, DC, USA: Brookings Institution Press.
Anderson, John E., and Robert W. Wassmer. 2000. Bidding for Business : The Efficacy of Local Economic Development Incentives in a Metropolitan Area. Kalamazoo, MI, USA: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Banister, David, and Joseph Berechman. 1999. Transport Investment and Economic Development. London, GBR: Routledge.
Bigio, Anthony G., and Bharat Dahiya. 2004. Urban Environment and Infrastructure : Toward Livable Cities. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank Publications.
Blore, Ian, Nick Devas, and R. P. Slater. 2004. Municipalities and Finance : A Sourcebook for Capacity Building. Toronto, ON, CAN: Earthscan Canada.
Bonne, Alfred. 1998. Studies in Economic Development With Special Reference to Conditions in the Underdeveloped Areas of Western Asia and India. Florence, KY: Routledge.
Brown, Clair, and Greg Linden. 2009. Chips and Change : How Crisis Reshapes the Semiconductor Industry. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Burchell, Robert, Anthony Downs, and Sahan Mukherji. 2005. Sprawl Costs : Economic Impacts of Unchecked Development. Covelo, CA, USA: Island Press.
Campanella, Thomas J. 2008. Concrete Dragon : China's Urban Revolution and What it Means for the World. New York, NY, USA: Princeton Architectural Press.
DiGaetano, Alan, and John S. Klemanski. 1999. Power and City Governance : Comparative Perspectives on Urban Development. Minneapolis, MN, USA: University of Minnesota Press.
Drennan, Matthew P. 2002. Information Economy and American Cities. Baltimore, MD, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Fields, Gary S. 2001. Distribution & Development: A New Look at the Developing World. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Florida, Richard. 2008. Who's Your City? : How the Creative Economy Is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. New York, NY, USA: Basic Books.
Freeman, Lance. 2006. There Goes the 'Hood : Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press.
Freire, Mila, and Mario PolËse. 2003. Connecting Cities with Macro-economic Concerns : The Missing Link. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank Publications.
Friedmann, John. 2005. China's Urban Transition. Minneapolis, MN, USA: University of Minnesota Press.
Frug, Gerald E., and David J. Barron. 2008. City Bound : How States Stifle Urban Innovation. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell University Press.
Fujita, Masahisa, Paul Krugman, and Anthony J. Venables. 1999. Spatial Economy : Cities, Regions and International Trade. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Gertler, Meric S., and Trevor J. Barnes. 1999. New Industrial Geography : Regions, Regulations and Institutions. Florence, KY, USA: Routledge.
Goldsmith, William, and Edward Blakely. 2010. Separate Societies : Poverty and Inequality in U.S. Cities (2nd Edition). Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press.
Hackler, Darrene L. 2006. Cities in the Technology Economy. Armonk, NY, USA: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Hamel, Pierre, Henri Lustiger-Thaler, and Margit Mayer. 2000. Urban Movements in a Globalising World. Florence, KY, USA: Routledge.
Hollander, Justin B., Niall Kirkwood, and Julia L. Gold. 2010. Principles of Brownfield Regeneration : Cleanup, Design, and Reuse of Derelict Land (2nd Edition). Covelo, CA, USA: Island Press.
Kahn, Matthew E. 2006. Green Cities : Urban Growth and the Environment. Washington, DC, USA: Brookings Institution Press.
Kriken, John, Phil Enquist, and Richard Rapaport. 2010. City Building : Skidmore, Owings and Merrill's Critical Planning Principles for the Twenty-First Century. New York, NY, USA: Princeton Architectural Press.
Landry, Charles. 2008. Creative City : A Toolkit for Urban Innovators (2nd Edition). London, , GBR: Earthscan.
Light, Jennifer S. 2003. From Warfare to Welfare : Defense Intellectuals and Urban Problems in Cold War America. Baltimore, MD, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lyons, Thomas S., and Roger E. Hamlin. 1996. Economy Without Walls : Managing Local Development in a Restructuring World. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Press.
Repeated Author. 2001. Creating an Economic Development Action Plan : A Guide for Development Professionals Revised & Updated Edition. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Press.
Markey, Sean. 2004. Second Growth: Community Economic Development in Rural British Columbia. Vancouver, BC, CAN: UBC Press.
Markusen, Ann R. 2007. Reining in the Competition for Capital. Kalamazoo, MI, USA: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Maynard, Micheline. 2004. End of Detroit : How the Big Three Lost Their Grip on the American Car Market. Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.
Meiklejohn, Susan Turner. 2000. Wages, Race, Skills and Space : Lessons from Employers in Detroit's Auto Industry. New York, NY, USA: Garland Publishing, Incorporated.
MelÈndez, Edwin. 2004. Communities and Workforce Development. Kalamazoo, MI, USA: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Michael, Graham, and Woo Jean. 2009. Fuelling Economic Growth : The Role of Public-Private Sector Research in Development. Ottawa, ON, CAN: Practical Action Publishing.
Ozawa, Connie P. 2004. Portland Edge : Challenges in Growing Communities. Covelo, CA, USA: Island Press.
Pellow, David N., and Lisa Sun-Hee Parks. 2002. Silicon Valley of Dreams : Environmental Injustice, Immigrant Workers, and the High-Tech Global Economy. New York, NY, USA: NYU Press.
Persky, Joseph, Daniel Felsenstein, and Virginia Carlson. 2004. Does "Trickle Down" Work? : Economic Development Strategies and Job Chains in Local Labor Markets. Kalamazoo, MI, USA: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Peterson, George E. 2008. Unlocking Land Values for Urban Infrastructure Finance. Herndon, VA, USA: World Bank Publications.
Rae, Douglas W. 2003. City : Urbanism and Its End. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press.
Roseland, Mark. 2005. Toward Sustainable Communities : Resources for Citizens and Their Governments. Gabriola Island, BC, CAN: New Society Publishers.
Shuman, Michael H. 2007. Small-Mart Revolution : How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (2nd Edition). San Francisco, CA, USA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Soja, Edward W. 2010. Seeking Spatial Justice. Minneapolis, MN, USA: University of Minnesota Press.
Stobart, Jon. 2004. The First Industrial Region : North-west England, c.1700-60. Manchester, , GBR: Manchester University Press.
Tinker, Irene. 1997. Street Foods : Urban Food and Employment in Developing Countries. Cary, NC, USA: Oxford University Press.
Vale, Lawrence J., and Thomas J. Campanella. 2005. Resilient City : How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster. Cary, NC, USA: Oxford University Press.
Van Kooten, G. Cornelis. 1993. Land Resource Economics and Sustainable Development : Economic Policies and the Common Good. Vancouver, BC, CAN: UBC Press.
Yu, Tony F. 1997. Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Hong Kong. London, GBR: Routledge.
General Information for all Urban and Regional Planning Courses (required syllabus information):
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy
The Rackham Graduate School policy states: “Integrity in research and scholarship is a fundamental value of the University of Michigan. It is the responsibility of all students to conduct research and scholarly activities in an ethical manner at all times.” This requires that you are honest in all your course work.
Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words, ideas, or work as one’s own in writing or presentations, and failing to give full and proper credit to the original source. It is failing to properly acknowledge and cite language from another source, including paraphrased text. Plagiarism is a serious offense that will lead to grade penalties and a record filed with Taubman College. It may lead to failing a course or expulsion from the university.
Taubman College Academic and Professional Student Conduct Policies
These policies apply to all Taubman College students as well as non-Taubman College students who take courses within the college.
Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Taubman College affirms the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion as we organize resources and priorities that align with our values. We seek to have a diverse group of persons at all levels of the college - students, faculty, staff and administrators - including persons of different race and ethnicity, national origin, gender and gender expression, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religious commitment, age, and disability status. We strive to create a community of mutual respect and trust, a community in which all members and their respective backgrounds, identities, and views are represented without any threat of bias, harassment, intimidation, or discrimination.
Statement on Student Mental Health and Wellbeing
Taubman College is committed to advancing the mental health and wellbeing of its students. Studies and surveys indicate clearly that a variety of issues, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, and depression, directly impact student academic performance. If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and/or in need of support, please reach out to any of the following for assistance:
Karen Henry is a counseling psychologist and therapist with services for the college. She is affiliated with CAPS but works exclusively with art, design, urban planning, and architecture students. Her office is located in the Art and Architecture Building and she can be reached by email for an appointment (karhenry@umich.edu).
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is dedicated to serving students. You can find their contact information and hours at the link to their website.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please inform the instructor. Some aspects of this course – including assignments, and in-class activities – may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress. We will work with Services for Students with Disabilities to determine appropriate academic accommodations. We will treat any information you provide as private and confidential.
