Equity & Inclusion: Local Policy-Driven Strategies for Economic Development & the Just City

Assignments

Short Op-Ed Essay (due Thursday of week 3)

Guidelines:

• 500–600 words.
• Lead with your big idea—your opinion and voice are vital.
• Lay the ground, give context to the issue.
• Make one point and make it well.
• Why should readers care? Make this explicit.
• Make specific recommendations.

Possible topics:

1. Proposed MBTA fare hikes (Boston): Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Fare Increase Proposal (PDF)
   • Opinion: “Forget Fare Hikes—Make the T Free!” 
2. Prop C (San Francisco): Legal text of ballot measure (PDF)
   • Opinion: “Vote No on Prop. C — More Spending without a Plan Won’t Address Homelessness” 
   • Opinion: “To Close the Income Gap, Our City Government Must First Lead by Example”
3. Merging St. Louis and St. Louis County: St. Louis City-County Governance Task Force Report to the Community 
   • Opinion: “Time is Right for a New Board of Electors / County Goes Back to the Drawing Board (PDF)”
   • News: “As Better Together Plan Looms, Municipal League Seeks Alternative City-County Merger Plan”

Case Study Analysis and Presentation (due weeks 6–8)

Students will work in small groups (4–6 people) to present a 15–20 minute case study and lead discussion on a current set of urban problematics related to equity and inclusion. A primary goal of the case study is to provide students with a chance to hone their professional research and presentation skills. Groups for the case study presentations should be set by the third week of class, with additional details on the presentation content expectations also provided by the Instructor at that time. Suggested case topics and articles will be added to the syllabus by the teams and distributed to the class in advance of their presentations.

Final Paper (due Tuesday of week 13)

Students may write either a professional memo-style policy brief or a traditional, 12–15 page academic-style paper, depending on their interest. This paper must relate to some aspect of the case study they have presented. Students are encouraged to use the final paper as an opportunity to flesh out their thinking as pertains to other academic interests and deliverables (thesis proposal, past or upcoming research projects, etc.). These are individual papers, not group assignments. Students working on the same group case are expected to write their own paper or brief, focusing on an aspect or theme in the case that is of interest to them.