Public Policy and Urban Affairs (PPUA)

PPUA 4701. Food Systems Sustainability, Health, and Equity Practicum. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to work in teams under faculty guidance on applied projects in food systems sustainability, health, and equity. Course readings focus on the design of applied analysis and on information needed to assess a given problem and provide solutions. Open to students who have completed at least two courses that satisfy the minor in food systems sustainability, health, and equity or who have permission of the instructor.

PPUA 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 5100. Climate and Development. (4 Hours)

Serves as an introduction to climate change and development processes in developing countries. Exposes students to key debates in the fields of climate change and international development. Offers students an opportunity to learn about the approaches to climate adaptation, the relationship between adaptation and development, and concepts of resilience and transformation. Using a comparative case study approach, explores the importance of the local context; the intersections of politics, economics, and culture; ecology and human-environment relationships; and the role (and challenges) of finance and development assistance. Climate impacts threaten to reverse many of the development gains of the last century, and the most vulnerable are likely to be the most impacted by climate change. At the same time, opportunities exist to ensure climate-compatible development pathways. Cross-listed with INTL 5100.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

PPUA 5201. Urban Planning and the Law. (2 Hours)

Addresses the role of law in defining the powers of planning and the legal questions surrounding key urban planning debates. Studies specifically the powers that city governments have to adopt to implement policies; debates about whether such powers should be expanded or restricted; the legal basis of government’s ability to intervene in housing, real estate development, land use and acquisition, and other planning issues, as well as debates about such powers; and the roles of federal and state governments in determining what cities can do. Examines these issues by analyzing legal structures, court decisions, and social research.

PPUA 5225. The Open Classroom: Public Debates on Public Policy. (4 Hours)

Offers special topics built around a series of public debates on selected issues of public policy. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 5226. Open Classroom Recitation. (0 Hours)

Accompanies PPUA 5225. Provides a small-group discussion format. May be repeated without limit.

Corequisite(s): PPUA 5225

PPUA 5230. Housing Policy. (4 Hours)

Examines the economic, social, and legal underpinnings of housing policy in the United States across a variety of topics, including housing finance and production, public and affordable housing, home ownership, and fair housing. Housing is both an essential human need and a critical sector of the U.S. economy. Presents the complicated and evolving roles of all of those involved in housing policy, including federal, state, and local government, and the private and profit sectors. Guest speakers provide real-world insights into current housing policy challenges.

PPUA 5231. Transportation Policy. (4 Hours)

Examines the physical, technological, economic, social, cultural, and political underpinnings of transportation policy in the United States. Topics include intra- and interstate transportation, the comparative economics of different modes of transportation, the impacts of federal and state policies on transportation options, and the long-term effects of those choices on metropolitan development, housing, land use, energy, and the environment. Also involves comparisons with transportation systems in other countries.

PPUA 5232. Immigration and Urban America. (4 Hours)

Examines the policy impacts of legal and illegal immigration in the United States, emphasizing the ways immigration shapes urban America. Discusses trends in immigration; elements of U.S. immigration policy; impacts of immigration on labor markets, economic development, housing, education, healthcare, criminal justice, race relations, and social policy (e.g., welfare); and effects on broader mass culture. Also considers the range of policy tools available in addressing these impacts.

PPUA 5233. Contemporary Community Development. (4 Hours)

Explores the political and social dynamics of community development in urban America, with particular focus on the local politics of housing, economic development, jobs, healthcare, access to services, and community safety. Uses Boston and its region as a laboratory to examine the role of grassroots community groups in shaping their neighborhoods, set within the broader institutional contexts that affect their representation and impacts.

PPUA 5234. Land Use and Urban Growth Policy. (4 Hours)

Explores the evolution of land use and urban form in the United States and surveys different types of land-use and urban-growth management tools used by local, regional, and state governments. Examines the environmental, economic, spatial, and social impacts of different patterns of urban growth, including “sprawl” and “smart growth,” and the different philosophies and legal and policy approaches employed to manage those impacts. Also explores how land-use and urban-growth policy interacts with related priorities, including housing, infrastructure, and fiscal policy. Focuses on current and emerging issues and debates in land-use and urban-growth management, such as New Urbanism, livable communities, and transit-oriented development.

PPUA 5235. Participatory Community Planning Methods. (4 Hours)

Examines the role of the participant as a fundamental aspect of most urban planning processes. Studies the range of strategies that contemporary urban planners employ to ensure buy-in from a project’s stakeholders. Utilizes historical precedents to locate gaps between the “plan then present” model used in many planning processes and "co-design" processes that seek to redefine the role of the “technical expert.” Offers students an opportunity to develop a toolkit of engagement methods from varied models of participatory planning processes. Engages in project-based work that enlists these methods. Assesses the efficacy of these methods when identifying the right stakeholders and when determining when/how to bring stakeholder participation into a planning process.

PPUA 5236. Introduction to Real Estate Development for Urban Policy Makers. (4 Hours)

Introduces the basic skills and knowledge of real estate development used within public-private partnerships to address policy and planning issues. Through a series of problem sets, offers students an opportunity to learn basic real estate finance and computation, including the fundamentals of pro forma modeling. Covers the entire real estate development process, from preliminary market and financial analysis through to construction management and property management using case studies and guest lecturers. Explores how public-private partnerships shape the outcomes of urban redevelopment within specific topics that may include affordable housing provision, brownfield redevelopment, transit-oriented development, sustainable urban development, and others.

PPUA 5238. Climate Change and Global Urbanization. (4 Hours)

Focuses on the climate-change-related challenges that confront rapidly urbanizing countries, particularly the low- and middle-income countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Many of the largest and most rapidly growing cities in these regions are in low-lying coastal cities in river deltas and, consequently, face significant dangers of flooding and eventual inundation. Climate change also has implications for access to freshwater and for the incidence of heat waves. The impacts of climate-change-related hazards tend to fall most heavily on the poorest, raising new issues of social inequality. This course examines concepts of urban vulnerability and resilience and climate change adaptation, as well as case studies of policy approaches for addressing the impacts of climate change on cities.

PPUA 5239. Problems in Metropolitan Policymaking. (4 Hours)

Examines the broad challenges that confront metropolitan areas-defined as including the center city, its immediate suburbs, and the broader periphery-including economic development, land use, transportation, housing, and the provision of basic services. Considers the array of tools available to policymakers, including planning, tax policy, pooling of services, and zoning.

PPUA 5240. Health Policy and Politics. (4 Hours)

Examines contemporary healthcare policies, programs, and politics. Discusses the structure of the healthcare system and its costs, efforts to develop universal health coverage, the spread of managed care, and related topics.

PPUA 5244. Comparative Public Policy and Administration. (4 Hours)

Examines public policy and administration across nations through the lens of politics, policy, and bureaucracy, and with respect to the role of government in society. Focuses on global perspectives of governance, government, and state making. Examines specific countries and policies to point out structural and operational similarities and differences. Emphasizes the implementation of public management reform in various countries, the use and application of the comparative method, factors that determine global policy outcomes, and the bureaucratic organization of the world and its role in organizing the state.

PPUA 5245. Education Policy in the United States. (4 Hours)

Examines the major policies and political dynamics that shape the delivery of educational services in the United States. Reviews the historical role of public education in American society and examines the legal context and intergovernmental relationships that provide the political framework for public education. Explores school finance, accountability and assessment strategies, issues of race and poverty, as well as major reform initiatives. Focuses on elementary and secondary education.

PPUA 5246. Participatory Modeling for Collaborative Decision Making. (4 Hours)

Studies participatory modeling, a knowledge coproduction and collaborative approach to decision making. The collaborative approach strengthens relationship building, empathy, trust, systems thinking, and collective agency for decision making. Participatory modeling allows researchers and decision makers to coproduce knowledge and shared representations of a complex problem and design and test solutions to address it. Using various modeling techniques (e.g., spatial analysis, causal loop diagraming, fuzzy cognitive mapping), participatory modeling helps elicit diverse stakeholder knowledge and harnesses this diversity to move from conflict to solutions.

PPUA 5249. Sustainable Urban Coastal Policy. (4 Hours)

Focuses on the challenges facing coastal cities and the ecosystems on which they depend by exploring both threats such as climate change as well as adaptation measures that promote resilience. Aimed at students interested in the interface of science and public policy and those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of how coupled human-natural ecosystems operate.

PPUA 5260. Ecological Economics. (4 Hours)

Introduces methods and tools of ecological economics, an interdisciplinary field that draws on theories, concepts, and tools from the physical, life, and social sciences; unites the relevant aspects of different disciplines; and generates new knowledge that can serve as a basis for investment and policymaking that is responsive to biophysical constraints on economic processes. Illustrates the use of ecological economics with empirical applications. Offers students an opportunity to apply ecological economics to a variety of environmental issues.

PPUA 5261. Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Decision Making. (4 Hours)

Introduces the theory, methods, and tools of dynamic modeling for policy and investment decision making, with special focus on environmental issues. Makes use of state-of-the-art computing methods to translate theory and concepts into executable models and provides extensive hands-on modeling experience. Topics include discounting, intertemporal optimization, dynamic games, and treatment of uncertainty.

PPUA 5262. Big Data for Cities. (4 Hours)

Investigates the city and its spatial, social, and economic dynamics through the lens of data and visual analytics. Utilizes large public datasets to develop knowledge about visual methods for analyzing data and communicating results. Offers students an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of data structures, collection methodologies, and their inherent biases.

PPUA 5263. Geographic Information Systems for Urban and Regional Policy. (4 Hours)

Studies basic skills in spatial analytic methods. Introduces students to some of the urban social scientific and policy questions that have been answered with these methods. Covers introductory concepts and tools in geographic information systems (GIS). Offers students an opportunity to obtain the skills to develop and write an original policy-oriented spatial research project with an urban social science focus.

PPUA 5264. Energy Democracy and Climate Resilience: Technology, Policy, and Social Change. (4 Hours)

Explores energy democracy, a growing social movement that promotes social changes that are possible as society transforms to a renewable-based society. Explores tensions associated with systemic vs. incremental change, centralized vs. decentralized systems, and infrastructural lock-in vs. flexibility. As the climate crisis becomes more disruptive, strengthening community resilience is essential to reduce human suffering. The transition away from fossil fuels toward more efficient, distributed renewable-based energy systems is an essential part of climate resilience. Analyzes social structures and policy processes that reinforce and perpetuate fossil fuel reliance, as well as processes for change in energy and climate systems. Semester-long team projects offer students an opportunity to collaborate with organizations advancing energy democracy and climate resilience.

Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience

PPUA 5265. Global Urbanization and Planning. (4 Hours)

Explores the issues facing rapidly growing cities in the developing world. By 2040, more than half of the world’s population will live in cities. Analyzes the forces driving a country’s economic development and social change. Focuses on urbanization in poorer countries by examining what causes rapid urbanization; why informal economies are so pervasive and how governments approach this issue; the implications increasing popular demands for involvement in decisions have for urban planning and policy; and how governments respond to globalization and with what distributional impacts. Addresses specific sectoral issues and approaches to urban planning and policy in such areas as housing, climate change and hazard preparedness, economic development, transportation, and urban design and public space.

PPUA 5266. Urban Theory and Science. (4 Hours)

Studies the evolution of urban science, looking at some seminal theories that seeded the field and the subsequent work they inspired, including the methodologies developed to examine them. For over a century, social scientists and policymakers have sought to better understand cities, asking important theoretical questions, such as: What is a neighborhood? How does a city grow? What is a city in the first place? Culminates in an examination of urban science in the digital age, exploring how modern technological trends, including “big data,” are posing new questions and offering new ways to answer them.

PPUA 5267. Climate Policy and Justice. (4 Hours)

Discusses key climate policy approaches, including market-based and regulatory approaches, as well as intersectional approaches that address underlying drivers of climate change.Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing society and requires policy responses across scales: locally, nationally, and globally. Introduces frameworks and tools for climate policy design, implementation, and evaluation, with an emphasis on considering how policies can promote justice. Case studies from US and international contexts will be used throughout the semester to explore policy design and implementation in practice. In addition to considering national and sub-national climate policy, covers legal, political, and economic issues in the international negotiations and addresses the history and current issues in international climate diplomacy.

PPUA 5268. International Environmental Policy. (4 Hours)

Explores key environmental challenges and policy solutions from an international perspective. Emphasizes the complexity of human-natural systems for policy design, provides a history of international environmental politics, and discusses contemporary policy issues. Presents key paradigms for understanding environmental challenges and the analytical tools to look critically at important debates, understand the role of different actors, identify equity and justice considerations, and assess policy options from multiple perspectives. Focuses on global environmental governance and sustainable development diplomacy, natural resource management, and climate change policy. Addresses the role of science in policymaking, tensions between environment and development, the scale and complexity of international environmental governance, and equity and justice.

PPUA 5269. Social Policy: Design, Implementation, and Critique. (4 Hours)

Offers a deep dive into some of the content and much of the history, mechanics, and implementation of various types of social policy. Students prioritize a single social policy area, which they examine in greater depth over the course of the semester, in addition to the broad breadth of social policies presented as part of the course. Uses course readings, fieldwork, networking, and tandem teaching to offer insight into what social policy actually is, the mechanics of how social policy is accomplished, key skills needed to execute both design and implementation of social policy, and methods of critique regarding the implementation of social policy.

PPUA 5270. Food Systems and Public Policy. (4 Hours)

Explores the public policy dimensions of the contemporary food system. Utilizes scholarly readings and case studies to assess the role of governing institutions and political actors in shaping the food supply; the effects of energy, transportation, and urban policies on food access; the ecological dimensions of food production; impacts of international trade regimes on global food trade; and the potential impacts of climate change on food security. Compares the United States and other nations and explores alternatives to the dominant food system. Seeks to engage students in applied policy analysis of specific food system issues.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions, NUpath Writing Intensive

PPUA 5390. Special Topics in Public Policy and Urban Affairs. (4 Hours)

Covers special topics in public policy and urban affairs. Topics are selected by the instructor and vary from semester to semester. May be repeated up to three times for up to 12 total credits.

PPUA 5544. Seminar in Black Leadership. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to conduct in-depth studies of significant black leaders—male and female—in a wide range of fields. Focuses on black leadership in the political arena as elected officials; leaders of pressure groups; leaders of protest organizations, black nationalist organizations, and feminist/womanist groups; and as advisers to political parties and presidential administrations.

PPUA 5976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 5984. Research. (1-4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 6101. Environmental Science and Policy Seminar 1. (4 Hours)

Offers an integrated introduction to the intersection between environmental science and policy. Organized around the two central themes of sustainability transitions and climate resilience. Connects theoretical frameworks, including sociotechnical systems and coupled socioecological systems, to key science-policy issues related to transitioning to a more sustainable future and responding to a changing climate.

PPUA 6201. The 21st-Century City: Urban Opportunities and Challenges in a Global Context. (4 Hours)

Offers a multidisciplinary examination of the complexities of cities and urbanism in the 21st century. Focuses on U.S. cities, but in an international context. Considers forces that shaped the evolution of cities and metropolitan regions and global forces that are currently transforming cities and regions throughout the world. Explores key questions of urban well-being, rising racial and ethnic inequality, civic engagement, and sustainability. Focuses on the role of urban planning in creating conditions of racial segregation and environmental injustice in cities and its potential role in the current period in undoing this damage.

PPUA 6202. Research Toolkit for Python for Policy. (2 Hours)

Examines use of the Python programming language in public and nonprofit sector settings. Offers students an opportunity to write small programs and accomplish professional goals. Intended for graduate students in public policy and public administration who have little or no programming experience.

PPUA 6203. Research Toolkit for Effective Communications for Policy Impact. (2 Hours)

Explores communication strategies and marketing methods of successful public policy implementations in government and nonprofit settings. Utilizes a multidisciplinary approach with content from the fields of public policy and administration, storytelling, cognitive psychology, data visualization, and behavioral economics. Reinforces content through academic research, applied case studies, and replicable tools for effective public policy communication.

PPUA 6212. Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Project Management. (2 Hours)

Introduces students to concepts of and tools used in project management as applied to urban and regional policy issues.

PPUA 6216. Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Grant Writing. (2 Hours)

Seeks to prepare students to pursue grant-based funding from a variety of funding agencies and foundations. Offers students an opportunity to develop practical skills in proposal writing and budget development. Examines all aspects of the proposal-writing process, from identifying high-potential funding opportunities to writing and submitting proposals. Assignments offer students an opportunity to apply their learning to real-world interests.

PPUA 6219. Race, Justice, and Belonging in Planning Practice. (2 Hours)

Addresses issues of inclusion, citizenship, and social justice in urban planning, and explores issues of race, gender, and other forms of discrimination in planning practice. Examines how planners have interacted with historically marginalized communities in the United States and other contexts and the ways that these experiences have shaped community perspectives on the planning profession. Offers students an opportunity to analyze best practices in methods to engage communities in more just and equitable planning processes, explore experiences of race and other forms of difference within the planning profession, and examine practices for building and leading diverse and inclusive planning organizations.

PPUA 6220. How Healthcare Works: Business and Policy Innovations. (4 Hours)

Offers a high-level introduction to the past, current, and future states of the U.S. healthcare system, including key business and policy innovations introduced over time to improve access, quality, and affordability. Emphasizes learning about how the business and policy of healthcare works in the United States, with comparisons drawn to other countries’ healthcare systems. Analyzes the potential contributions to health system improvement made by healthcare reform, technologies such as artificial intelligence, and other disruptive innovations. Designed for graduate students interested in learning more about healthcare industry operations and the business and policy innovations that drive performance improvements in this sector.

PPUA 6230. Political Ecology of Global Capitalism. (4 Hours)

Analyzes in both empirical and theoretical terms the current state of the global environment and ecological politics. Topical areas of theoretical focus include analyses of history and nature; the logic of economic growth, capitalist accumulation, and ecological degradation; the status of environmental justice issues; the human/environmental impacts of technology; globalization and the export of environmental hazard; imperialism and the ecological destruction of the global South, with a particular emphasis on Central America; the role of ecological problems in the current economic and social crisis of the United States (and other countries); social and ecological injustice; the crisis of the labor and ecology movements; and the future of environmental politics.

PPUA 6410. Urban Informatics Portfolio. (1 Hour)

Guides urban informatics students through the process of developing a portfolio of professional-quality work. Requires students to submit a three-project portfolio developed from projects completed within courses taken as part of fulfilling the degree requirements. The projects must be presented in high-quality and concise visualizations and text.

PPUA 6500. Principles of Public Administration. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to concepts and approaches to analyzing significant factors and relationships in government agencies and public-oriented nongovernmental organizations as they function in their environments. Examines the legal and constitutional foundations of public administration, bureaucratic structure and administrative power, managerial accountability and ethics, human resource management, economics of organization, decision making, budgeting, implementation and “street-level” bureaucrats, and more recent developments in public administration such as performance management and public management networks.

PPUA 6502. Economic Analysis for Policy and Planning. (4 Hours)

Introduces the fundamentals of macroeconomics and microeconomics as well as the role of key economic institutions, such as the Federal Reserve. Includes analysis of government’s role in a market economy and introduces methods of economic analysis.

PPUA 6503. Managing People in Public and Nonprofit Sectors. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to the human resources function from an individual and managerial standpoint. Studies various human resource management (HRM) activities, such as recruitment, selection, performance management, training and development, labor relations, and compensation. Applies the lens of strategic human resources management to foster a competent, motivated, and representative workforce.

PPUA 6505. Public Budgeting and Financial Management. (4 Hours)

Surveys governmental budgeting at the federal, state, and local levels. Surveys major revenue sources and expenditure responsibilities. Discusses budgetary processes and politics, as well as resulting policies. Considers both proposed and implemented reforms. Also introduces financial management practices including cash management, fund accounting, debt financing, endowment spending and control, cost allocation procedures, and tax expenditures.

PPUA 6506. Techniques of Policy Analysis. (4 Hours)

Provides a systematic approach to understanding the origins, formulation, implementation, and impact of government outputs. Reviews key analytical concepts and competing theoretical perspectives. Considers both the political dimensions of public policymaking and the technical aspects of program design within the natural history of the policymaking process. Draws on case materials from a spectrum of policy areas.

PPUA 6507. Institutional Leadership and the Public Manager. (4 Hours)

Examines the problems and techniques relevant to effective management of a public agency in a complicated and often turbulent political environment. Topics include legislative relations, media relations, role of the courts, unions and advocacy groups, policy implementation and evaluation, and setting and working with high standards of integrity.

PPUA 6509. Techniques of Program Evaluation. (4 Hours)

Reviews methodologies for assessing the impact of public policy. Includes experimental and quasi-experimental research design, the value and limits of case studies, political and organizational barriers to evaluation research, report writing, and procedures for instituting change.

PPUA 6522. Administrative Ethics and Public Management. (4 Hours)

Analyzes ethical problems in American public administration including discussion of ethical dilemmas frequently faced by public managers.

PPUA 6525. Institutions and Public Policy. (4 Hours)

Blends theoretical literature and case studies to examine problems of policymaking and governance in contemporary political systems, emphasizing the policy impacts of political institutions. Studies systematic variations across types of political institutions and regimes in developed and developing nations and extends beyond the nation-state to address policy dynamics (e.g., harmonization, multilevel governance) in supranational and international systems. Establishes the broader political system contexts within which policy formation and implementation reside. Offers students an opportunity to learn to analyze, synthesize, and apply a range of theoretical literatures relevant to policy design and impact.

PPUA 6530. State and Local Public Finance. (4 Hours)

Analyzes the fiscal dimensions of state and local governments in the United States. Examines the types and ranges of tax and nontax revenues available to local and state governments and factors shaping the types of revenue sources utilized. Also assesses local and state government spending trends, use of public funds for economic development and other goals, impacts of federal mandates on local and state budgets, distinctions between operating and capital budgets, and the overall legal and political factors shaping public finance.

PPUA 6532. Building Resilience into Local Government. (4 Hours)

Focuses on often-overlooked management challenges facing local governments: preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters, whether natural or human-caused. While disaster planning typically focuses on first responders in fire and police departments, or on federal government agencies like FEMA, much less attention is paid to those local government leaders, from town managers to elected mayors and councilors, who are responsible for how their municipalities handle disaster. Considers what public leaders need to know about building their own capabilities and draws on cases and lessons from local government to build resilience into local communities.

PPUA 6551. Nonprofit Organizations and Social Change. (4 Hours)

Offers an overview of fundamental principles and practice in the nonprofit sector as they relate to social change. Topics include systems change and stakeholder identification, design thinking and human-centered design, theory of change and logic models, program design and evaluation, strategic and business planning, organizational structure and capacity building, governance, and communications and social media.

PPUA 6552. The Nonprofit Sector in Civil Society and Public Affairs. (4 Hours)

Examines the challenges facing the nonprofit sector, particularly as it relates to civil society and public policy concerns. Emphasizes current controversies in which the nonprofit sector is involved, such as the impact of changes in government spending and tax policy, the nature and legitimacy of nonprofit advocacy, the role of faith-based organizations in providing public services, accountability and oversight of nonprofit organizations, the growth of social entrepreneurship, and the work of nonprofits in fostering social capital and supporting civic engagement.

PPUA 6861. Internship. (0 Hours)

Offers students an approved public- or nonprofit-sector internship that fulfills academic degree requirements. Students must complete minimum internship work hours as defined by academic program. Supervising faculty assign a final integrative or reflective project. May be repeated up to two times.

PPUA 6862. Internship with Research. (4 Hours)

Offers students who wish to pursue additional directed reading and independent research related to the internship placement an approved public- or nonprofit-sector internship. Students must complete minimum internship work hours as defined by academic program. Research project is determined in consultation with faculty. Supervising faculty assign a final integrative or reflective project. May be repeated once for up to 6 total credits.

PPUA 6954. Co-op Work Experience - Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with the opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 6955. Co-op Work Experience Abroad - Half-Time. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience abroad. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 6964. Co-op Work Experience. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

Corequisite(s): INSH 6864

PPUA 6965. Co-op Work Experience Abroad. (0 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for work experience. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 6966. Practicum. (1-4 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for practical experience. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 6983. Topics. (4 Hours)

Covers special topics in public policy and urban affairs. Topics are selected by the instructor and vary from semester to semester. May be repeated up to three times for up to 12 total credits.

PPUA 7237. Advanced Spatial Analysis of Urban Systems. (4 Hours)

Builds on skills covered in PPUA 5263. Offers students an opportunity to obtain greater depth in the analysis of urban spatial data focused on several urban systems (including social, built, and natural systems). Focuses on understanding the spatial relationships between various new and large urban datasets relevant to current policy challenges within cities. This is a project-based class.

Prerequisite(s): PPUA 5263 with a minimum grade of C- or PPUA 5263 with a minimum grade of D-

PPUA 7346. Resilient Cities. (4 Hours)

Examines the characteristics of resilient cities, especially those located in coastal regions. Investigates the capacity of cities to respond to major disruptions to their social and ecological systems. Includes extensive use of case studies, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as readings on cities and social systems. Offers students an opportunity to analyze an urban area and provide recommendations for improving its resilience. POLS 7346 and PPUA 7346 are cross-listed.

PPUA 7521. Seminar in Urban Theory. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to foundational debates in the study of cities, urbanization, and urban planning and policy. Presents a broad interdisciplinary understanding of cities and urbanization, addressing questions related to the spatial development of cities and regions, governance and politics, economics, and social change. Offers students an opportunity to understand the connections between urban policy research and social theory, including concepts from human geography, sociology, urban planning, economics, and political science. Students read and discuss seminal texts, including classical concepts in social theory and contemporary debates on topics such as globalization, segregation, gentrification, sustainability, inequality, and questions of race and gender in urban policy.

PPUA 7673. Capstone in Public Policy and Urban Affairs. (4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity for student teams, in partnership with a local, state, or federal agency or nonprofit institution, to assess an urban or regional problem, produce a thorough policy analysis, and present it and recommended solutions to the agency or institution. Course readings focus on materials needed to assess the problem and provide solutions. This is a faculty-guided team project for students completing course work in urban and regional policy studies. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 7962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 7976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 7990. Thesis. (1-6 Hours)

Offers thesis supervision by members of the department. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 8960. Exam Preparation—Doctoral. (0 Hours)

Offers the student the opportunity to prepare for the PhD qualifying exam under faculty supervision.

PPUA 8966. Practicum. (1-4 Hours)

Provides eligible students with an opportunity for practical experience. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 8986. Research. (0 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct full-time research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 9000. PhD Candidacy Achieved. (0 Hours)

Indicates successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive exam.

PPUA 9980. Experiential PhD Research Residency. (0 Hours)

Comprises a research residency experience in an organization whose mission and activities are aligned within the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. The research residency is designed to help develop dissertation ideas or research papers or to obtain access to resources helpful to dissertation development or research. A faculty member serves as an advisor for the residency experience, but individuals within the organization in which the student is working are asked to serve as formal mentors for the student residency experience.

PPUA 9984. Research. (1-4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct research under faculty supervision. May be repeated without limit.

PPUA 9990. Dissertation Term 1. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by individual members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): PPUA 9000 with a minimum grade of S

PPUA 9991. Dissertation Term 2. (0 Hours)

Offers dissertation supervision by members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): PPUA 9990 with a minimum grade of S

PPUA 9996. Dissertation Continuation. (0 Hours)

Offers continued dissertation supervision by individual members of the department.

Prerequisite(s): PPUA 9991 with a minimum grade of S or Dissertation Check with a score of REQ