Course Description

Analysis of major economic problems of metropolitan areas: taxation, financing of urban services, transportation, residential and industrial development, local growth controls, zoning and housing.

Course Format

Online. Requires use of University-provided remote desktop software. Extra credit involves use of Esri- provided software.

Canvas Messaging

Course materials such as syllabus, handouts, notes, assignment instructions, etc. can be found on Canvas          Learning Management System course login website. You are responsible for regularly checking with the          messaging system through MySJSU on Spartan App Portal (or other communication system as indicated by the instructor) to learn of any updates.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)

PLO 4: Apply the concepts microeconomic analysis and international economic theory to urban problems and to a variety of public policy issues that arise in an urban context. This course relates most closely to PLO4:    Specialist Area – Public Policy

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

CLO1:  Correctly apply location theory to households and firms;

CLO2: Explain the structure of urban areas, urban form, and how prices of land and housing are determined in an urban area;

CLO3: Analyze the role of scale economies in urban analysis;

CLO4: Analyze the role of externalities in urban analysis;

CLO5: Evaluate the spatial aspects of competition

CLO6: Discuss fiscal issues related to cities.

Required Texts/Readings

Textbooks (available in many formats)

Jan K. Brueckner, Lectures on Urban Economics, The MIT Press (September 9, 2011) ISBN- 13: 978- 0262016360

Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko, Rethinking Federal Housing Policy: How to Make Housing Plentiful and Affordable, AEI Press (December 16, 2008) ISBN- 13: 978-0844742731 (PDF:http://www.aei.org/wp-             content/uploads/2014/03/-rethinking-federal-housing-policy_ 101542221914.pdf)

Alain Bertaud, Order without Design, MIT Press (2018) ISBN- 13:  978-0262038768

Other Readings

Occasional readings posted on Canvas.

Course Requirements and Assignments

“Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of 45 hours over the length of the course (normally three hours per unit per week) for instruction,                    preparation/studying, or course related activities, including but not limited to internships, labs, and clinical     practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.”

Final Examination or Evaluation

“Faculty members are required to have a culminating activity for their courses, which can include a final           examination, a final research paper or project, a final creative work or performance, a final portfolio of work, or other appropriate assignment.”

Grading Information

Grades will be determined by the following scheme:

•    Mid-Term Exam 1 – 25%

•    Final Exam – 25%

•    PackBack Assignments (Variable Weight - Total) – 25%

•    Lab Assignments (Variable Weight - Total) – 25%

•    Extra Credit: completion certificate from Esri MOOC Spatial Data Science: The New Frontier in Analytics OCT 5 - NOV 16, 2022

Determination of Grade

A+

A

A-

B+

B

B-

C+

C

C-

D+

D

D-

F

100-975

96-93%

92-90%

89-87%

86-83%

82-80%

79-77%

76-73%

72-70%

69-67%

66-63%

62-60%

59-0%