RUTGERS UNIVERSITY CAMDEN COLLEGE

  PROGRAM IN URBAN STUDIES AND METROPOLITAN PLANNING

 975:102   APPROACHES TO URBAN STUDIES

Fall 2006                       Prof. Jon Van Til

Tuesday, Thursday 1:30-2:50

 

This is the introductory course in the Urban Studies program, and is intended to give the student an overview of issues regarding urban development and urban social problems.  The focus of the course is on the enhancement of individual perspectives on the city and the development of problem-solving skills.  

 

The course is sometimes (but not this year) cross-listed with Political Science course 790:103,  Basic Urban Issues.  Students who have taken course 790:103 by cross list with 975:102 may not enroll for the present course.

 

THE TEXTS for the course are:

Nancy Kleniewski,   Cities and Society (Blackwell, 2005).  ISBN: 1405102322

Howard Gillette, Camden After the Fall  (Pennsylvania, 2006)

Tom Knoche, Common Sense for Camden (2005)   Available at La Unique Bookstore,    111 N. 6th St, Camden.   Or on line at:  http://www.commonsensecamden.org/pdf/csCamden3_31_05.pdf

“A Path Forward for Camden”.  (Annie Casey Foundation, 2001).  Available on line at:  http://www.aecf.org/publications/data/camdenrpt.pdf    (as of 7/14/06)

Subscription to Camden Matters Newsletter – Email Camdenmatters@aol.com and write “please add me to your mailing list” in the subject box.  In the text of the email, simply write your full name and hit send.  You should receive a confirmation email no later than the next business day.

 

CLASS SESSIONS will cover basic elements of theory in urban studies, and will provide background material for the readings for each week.  Typically, Tuesdays will involve a directed conversation, and Thursdays will involve discussion of course readings. Students are expected to attend all classes, unless excused by the professor.  Absences and/or consistent lateness will detract from the final grade.

 

HERE ARE SOME WAYS IN WHICH STUDENTS MAY LEARN IN THIS COURSE:

 

1)   by READING the assigned texts and other course materials.

 

2)   by INTERACTING with fellow students and the instructor about the meanings of what is being learned.

 

3)   by SHARING concerns and questions with other members of the course 

 

4)   by USING AS  A RESOURCE the background and knowledge of the  instructor

 

5)     by CREATING a series of individual and group products that  enhance understanding of our urban world.

 

GRADING will be based on the following weights:

Short essays  as assigned  20%

Midterm exam 20%

Final exam 25%

Term essay 25%

Class participation 10%

 

TERM ESSAY: A  term essay in the form of a “clip thesis”—see below) of some 3000 words (including notes) will be required. In order to write this paper, the student will choose a topic with permission from the instructor.   

 

MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS

 

A midterm exam will be given on Thursday, October 19; the final exam will be held on Monday December 18, from 2:00 to 4:00.

 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

 

PROF. JON VAN TIL is  Professor of Urban Studies and Public Policy at Rutgers.  Prof. Van Til served for twelve years as Chair of the Department of Urban Studies and is the author of nine books and over thirty articles on aspects of urban social life.  His newest book is GROWING CIVIL SOCIETY (Indiana University Press, 2000).  He served  for twelve years as Editor-in-Chief of the NONPROFIT AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR QUARTERLY, the major international journal in the field of voluntarism, citizen participation, philanthropy, and nonprofit organization.  From 1972 to 1974, he served as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Law and Justice Institute, a unique urban policy association in the greater Philadelphia area.  In 1991 Prof. Van Til was honored as "Creative Teacher of the Year" at Rutgers/Camden.   

 

Prof. Van Til's office is located on the third floor of 321 Cooper Street.    His phone is 6223; his email address is vantil@camden.rutgers.edu; his office hours are posted weekly. 

 

 

PLAN OF SESSIONS

 

I.  URBAN STRUCTURE AND PLACES

 

           Weeks 1 and 2 (September 5, 12).  Urban Places and Urban Theory.  Case studies: Camden, Barcelona, Philadelphia.   

 

II.  URBAN PEOPLE AND CULTURES

 

            Week  3 (Sep 19)  The Rise of the City.  Read:  Kleniewski, Part I.  Gillette, ch. 1

          

            Weeks 4-5 (Sep 26, Oct 3)   Elements of Crisis:  Race, Class, Gender.  Read: 

Kleniewski, Part II; Gillette, ch. 2

 

            Week 6 (Oct 10)    The loss of urban community?  Read:  Kleniewski, chs. 11, 15. 

 

 

            Week 7  (Oct 17): REVIEW AND MIDTERM EXAM

 

 

III.           URBAN POLITICS AND ECONOMIC POWER

 

Weeks 8-9 (Oct 24, 31)    The Camden Case.  Read Kleniewski, chs. 12-14;  Knoche; Gillette, chs. 3-4

                        

IV.  URBAN MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING

 

           Week 10 (Nov 7)     Making the City Work.    

Case study: MOVE.  Read: Gillette, chs. 5-6

 

           Week 11 (Nov 14)  Improving the City.  Read:  “A Path Forward for Camden”; Gillette, ch. 7

 

Week 12 (Nov 21)  READING WEEK AND THANKSGIVING BREAK

 

Week 13 (Nov 28)  Restoring the Old City. Case study:   Edmund Bacon and Robert Moses. Read: Gillette, ch. 8.

 

V.  THE FUTURE OF THE CITY

 

            Weeks 14-15  (Dec 5 and 12)  Read Kleniewski, Part IV.

 

 

THE CLIPPING THESIS

You will be asked to prepare a clipping thesis in this course.  A clipping thesis provides one of the most effective ways to understand contemporary urban affairs.  It allows you to observe critically how events develop over a period of time.  During the course of semester, most major areas of urban policy show significant development.  Analyzing the development of these issues is one of the best ways of learning how to appraise the political, social and economic environment in which we live, as well as to get some personal perspective on one's role as a citizen-participant in the process.

PROCEDURE

A.  Select a problem or area within the course purview, with permission of the instructor.  The problem should be within the field of urban studies, community planning, and public affairs.  Make sure the problem:

     1.  Interests you particularly

     2.  Is one you'd like to know more about

     3.  Seems to be a significant issue.

B.  Collect articles and information about this topic throughout the term using the daily issues of a newspaper, such as the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, or the Courier-Post, as well as scholarly journals, magazines, television programs, etc.  You may use the websites of such media if you wish.  Also, you may personally know public officials or other persons who might be helpful to you in gaining an insight into the problem.

C.  It is probably best to begin following a more general topic, and then to narrow it down after you have seen what aspects of it you want to focus on after observing its development.

D.  At the end of the term you will submit a report which analyzes the data you have collected:

1.  The report will consist of an analysis of the question which utilizes the individual clippings and other sources.  The analysis forms an essay on the questions drawn from current sources and portrays the development of the problem you have chosen over time.  Your essay should not only frame the questions in their general setting but end with an evaluation of events over the period covered. 

2.  Reference your clippings by means of an index you develop as you collect them.  For instance, you might want to start with the date, and then list the source, author and title.  Such a file could be numerically indexed: for instance this item could be 1)  9/06--Van Til, "Clipping Thesis", Rutgers University.  It could be listed like that in your References, and then simply referred to as "1" in your paper.

3.  Keep the following kinds of questions in mind while you develop your clip thesis:

          a.  How did the problem arise?

          b.  What are the issues involved?

          c. How does the problem develop during the period of   the course?

          d.  How is the problem resolved during the period?

           e.  What is the present status of the problem?

           f.  What does the future look like in terms of the problem?

           g.  What are some of the side issues?

           h. What seems to be diverting attention away from the  problem and its resolution?

                      i.  What forces of governmental and non-governmental  origin interact with the problem?

4.  You may work alone or in a group.  If you work in a group, be sure that all members of the group are able to access the clip file.