Urban Politics PPT

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URBAN POLITICS

PROJECT AND PRESENTATION

Overview

Urban Politics is one of two required courses in the university’s Urban Studies and Planning minor. Planning is a wonderful skill and essential in all careers. The skills of organized and strategic thinking are needed in all professions. All professionals plan.

Planning is an essential skill in governments, non-profit organizations and private companies. City, urban and regional planning projects are often high profile because they impact a community’s overall quality of life. Each year the American Planning Association (APA) recognizes Great Places in America. The revitalization of these facilities and infrastructure result in stronger and healthier neighborhoods and communities.

Many projects are collaborations between the public and private sectors. Public-private partnerships benefit the community by developing large and/or costly projects that are often beyond the resources of what Paul Peterson calls the “Limited City.” Local governments also collaborate with federal and state governments, particularly in developing and improving roads/rights-of-way, and community development projects.

Instructions

Visit the APA website, planning.org, (Home>InYourCommunity>GreatPlaces) and research the Great Place (project) you have been assigned. Evaluate the Great Place to identify at least three ways in which the project benefits the neighborhood and community, and research the demographics and local politics of the city or town where your Great Place assignment is located.

Your analysis should include:

1. An Overview

a. Population of incorporated area (demographics)

b. Population of town or urban/metro area and the nearest MSA

c. Brief history of urbanization (How did the city/town evolve?)

d. Structure of government

e. Key stakeholders and power-brokers (Mayors, Managers, Council/Commission Members, Community Activists, CEOs…)

f. Major Industries

g. 2018 Operating and Capital Budgets

h. Current political issues

2. Identify what political stakeholder(s) benefits from the project,

3. Identify the project’s benefit to the general public/community,

4. Identify non-governmental entities that benefit from the project,

5. Identify any potential problems with the project, and

6. Share your overall analysis/opinion about the project.

The assignment has two components: a research paper and 10-minute oral presentation. The research paper should contain a minimum of five pages, not including the title and reference pages. This assignment must be submitted to the appropriate folder in the D2L dropbox, in a Microsoft WORD document using the APA citation format.

Due Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:00 p.m.).

The assignments of Great Places are listed on the following page.

STUDENT

GREAT PLACES

Buie, Deasia M.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2017/seward/

Burger, Robert O.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2017/millcreek/

Dilbert, Vernoda T.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2017/congress/

Ferrell, David M.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2017/missoula/

Harris, Karonda C.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2007/canyonroad.htm

Marin, Isabel E.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2017/rosaparks/

McCullough, Cierra

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2017/lincolnavenue/

Pinkney, Oriel E.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2017/countyhome/

Price, Samarea G.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2017/rhine/

Sweet, Tieyra D.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2017/grandboulevard/

Thaxton, Iman E.

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2017/greenwood/

Williams, Nicolas

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2017/marketsquare/

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2017/main/

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2017/pearl/

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/spaces/2017/sanangelo/

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2009/presidentclinton.htm

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2017/parklane/

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2012/wallstreet.htm

Annotated Bilbliography And Source Evaluation

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 Week 5 Assignment: Annotated Bilbliography and Source Evaluation

Submit Assignment

· Due Saturday by 12 pm

 

· Points 50

 

· Submitting a file upload

Required Resources Read/review the following resources for this activity:

· Textbook: Chapter 8, 9

· Lesson

· Link (Word doc): Source Evaluation Worksheet Preview the document

· Minimum of 5 scholarly sources

Instructions Use the Source Evaluation Worksheet to submit an annotated bibliography of 5 sources that you intend to use in your paper. Prepare a citation, annotation, and evaluation for each source.

You may collect the worksheets together as one document or you may submit a separate worksheet for each source.

Click on the following link for an example of an annotation.

Link: Annotation Example

 

Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

· Length: 100-150 words per source (not including title page or references page)

· 1-inch margins

· Double spaced

· 12-point Times New Roman font

· Title page

Grading This activity will be graded using the Annotated Bibliography Grading Rubric.

Course Outcomes (CO): 3, 5

Due Date: By 12 p.m. EST on Saturday

Week 5 Source Evaluation Worksheet

First read the notes that begin on p. 2 of this handout and the table on p. 3. Then, complete the analysis for each of your sources.

 

 

1. Using APA format, identify the source and write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. A sample annotation can be found in the directions for this assignment.

 

 

 

2. Use the following criteria to evaluate each source:

a. How current is this the source you are using? (If not current – explain why information is still applicable)

 

 

 

 

b. How authoritative, credible, reliable? (For example: recognized expert; peer-reviewed journal; trusted site such as .edu, .gov, .mil; experienced and knowledgeable in the field; information consistent across several sources, etc.)

 

 

 

 

c. Briefly state specifically how this source provides evidence that strongly supports your conclusion. For example, “the article discusses significant evidence that this diet provides all essential nutrients and supports my view that the diet is healthy” “this study shows that this diet is deficient in vitamin D and supports my point that this diet is not healthy” “this survey revealed that obesity is on a rapid rise among all demographic groups and supports my view that obesity is epidemic”

 

 

 

 

d. If the information is “popular” or if it is from a blog, from a marketing site, or is persuasive in nature (i.e., an editorial or opinion piece, or a publication of a special interest group such as a trade organization, union, etc.) explain why you are using the source and why you cannot use a more substantive or scholarly source.

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluating Sources – Notes

 

1. Rate your journal and periodical sources (whether you are looking at hard copy or on-line) as scholarly, substantive or popular. The Table “Distinguishing between Scholarly and Non-scholarly Periodicals” will work for evaluating either print or on-line journals, newspapers, and periodicals.

2. Beware of bias in any specific article. Determine if the source is authoritative, credible, reliable, current and unbiased. (If not current, then information can be rated “valid, regardless of age,” — i.e., a 1999 web-based article on the American Civil War is not “current”, but can be “valid regardless of age.”) All sources should be authoritative, credible, reliable, current and unbiased. If bias is found, state if bias may or may not affect the credibility and reliability of the information you will use and how you will compensate for possible bias.

3. For websites, generally speaking, .gov and .mil sites are acceptable sources in academic papers. Most .edu websites will be acceptable, but analyze under the criteria in 2 above.

4. If the website is a .com, .org or .biz website, you must further evaluate for authority, reliability and credibility. Never use a .com, .org or .biz site without evaluating across these criteria. Be especially careful about blogs – generally speaking, don’t use them. Many newspaper and magazines also publish to websites; evaluate those just as you would a journal or periodical.

a. Authoritative

· Who are the author(s)?

· Are they recognized experts in their field? – check the <About> column or google the author’s name?

· What is the level of education of the author? Experience? Knowledge of the subject?

· Is the information at a level appropriate to an upper-level academic paper?

b. Credible

· How does the information compare to other, similar information? Always look for more than one source – verify that all points of view are represented

c. Reliable

· Is it timely?

· Does it come from a trusted source?

 

 

Distinguishing Between Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Publications

 

  SCHOLARLY SUBSTANTIVE POPULAR
Examples American Journal of Nursing

JAMA

New England Journal of Medicine

American Journal of Kidney Diseases

 National Geographic

Psychology Today

NY Times

The Atlantic

 Time

Vanity Fair

Huffington Post

USA Today
Purpose & Use · Knowledge dissemination

· Reports of original research

· in-depth topic analysis

· Statistical information

 · For profit

· Current events and news

· Introduces a subject

· Interviews

· Analysis and opinion

 · For profit

· Current events and news

· Overview of topic

· Entertainment

· Sell products
Audience · Reader knows the field (e.g., specialists) · General audience · General audience
Authors · Researchers

· Academics

· Scholars

 · Journalists

· Freelance writers

· Specialists or scholars

 · Freelance writers

· Staff writers

· Journalists
Content & Language · Description of research methods with conclusions

· Objective

· Assumes knowledge of language and specialist jargon

· Article may have a specific structure

· Usually peer-reviewed

 · Explanation of a subject

· Interpretation of a research article

· May or may not be objective

· Use of non-technical vocabulary

· Shorter articles than in scholarly publications

 · May be biased toward a particular point of view

· Less depth

· Everyday language

· Often written like a story
Publishers · Professional organizations

· University or scholarly presses

· Research institutions

 · Commercial entities

· Trade and professional organizations

 · Commercial entities

· Trade organizations
Sources · Includes bibliography and/or notes

· Includes extensive citation of sources

· Includes author credentials

 · Sometimes includes sources

· May / may not include author credentials

 · Rarely includes citations of sources

· Rarely includes author credentials
Graphics · Includes graphs, charts, and tables

· Advertising is very rare

 · Illustrated, often with photographs

· Advertising is present

 · Heavily illustrated

· Lots of advertising

Reflective Writing

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Copy and paste the link below, to access and stream the movie The Big Buy: How Tom Delay Stole Congress, free online. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6rzv (Links to an external site.)

Choose from one of the prompts below, to respond to

  1. Thinking about federalism and the how power is distributed between multiple levels of government, including the federal and state level, identify current federal and Texas laws that regulate elections, such as those that provide for determining electoral processes, eligibility to participate in an election, selection methods, winning requirements, candidate qualifications, determining when and where election is held. Discuss inconsistencies and provide some possible examples to explain the potential effects these could have on electoral outcomes, of who is deemed winner, and ultimately achieving democratic representation of the appropriate people (constituents) who will be electorally linked and impacted by the winner of a political office.
  2. In your own opinion, is re-redistricting, before the decennial census, a crime, based on statutory and constitutional law? Or, given the nature and number of state level elections, across a wide geography made up of an extremely demographically heterogenous population, make it democratically necessary that re-mapping between census’s be a reserved power of the states, in order to maximize representative democracy. How could the remapping of Texas be applied to example and explain the state’s Don’t Mess With Texas, age old attitude, and individualistic political culture.
  3. How could you defend an argument that re-redistricting was not illegal, and how could you defend the argument that re-redistricting violated the Voting Rights Act. Despite, the Texas remapping controversy, should the federal judicial system be involved, in what Justice Felix Frankfurter called the “political thicket” of partisan redistricting?  Especially, since the power to redistrict is a power reserved to for the state, and its people. If political gerrymandering is a problem, should its resolve be left to the voters, state by state, and jurisdiction by jurisdiction, or to the federal government (i.e. oversight, regulation, intervention, law…what do you think).

Urgent: Cultural Analysis Of Urban Politics Essay

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Cultural Analysis of Urban Politics Paper

 

2,200 words

 

From the Syllabus

All students are required to offer a Cultural Analysis of Urban Politics paper.  The paper must be a minimum of four type-written pages, single-spaced, using Times New Roman font (12 point), on standard 8½ by 11-inch paper, with 1-inch margins on all sides.   Students will submit their essay via Canvas.  The due date for the paper will be determined by the instructor with input from the class.

 

Instructions

1.PICK an urban politics problem from the textbook

2.DISCUSS

oThe cultural politics (or the political or social theory or philosophy) you see being used there (in the textbook) to define the nature of the problem, meaning (a) what the problem is and (b) the cause (or causes) of the problem

3. DISCUSS

oAny (or some) solutions to the problem the textbook offers

4. REDEFINE

oThe nature of the problem from the perspective of the other tradition of cultural politics students learned about in class.

♣Remember there are only two traditions of cultural politics at work in urban politics – at least that is what students learned this semester.  So, whichever tradition the textbook author is using, for this part of the paper, use the other tradition.

5.DISCUSS

(a)What is the problem and (b) what is the cause (or what are the causes) from the point of view of this second tradition?

6. DISCUSS

oSolutions to the problem that you can think of from this second tradition

 

Rubric

Responsiveness – the paper addresses each component of the assignment: @15%

 

Comprehensiveness – for the discussion the paper draws on (or applies) the material presented in class and in the readings: @35%

 

Validity – in the discuss the material presented in class and in the readings are used accurately (as they were presented in class): @35%