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SYLLABUSEC 471 Urban Economics Spring 2008 |
Location: Merrill 208
Instructor: Chris Westley
Office: Merrill 112A
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday,
E-mail: cwestley@jsu.edu
I encourage students to use e-mail to contact me.
Internet: http://www.jsu.edu/depart/ccba/cwestley
Prerequisites: EC221, EC222. An ability to use simple graphs and a thorough knowledge of supply and demand diagrams will be assumed.
Course Description and Objectives:
Urban Economics utilizes economic theory to examine the major contemporary issues confronting urban areas, exploring possible economic solutions to the problems of housing, transportation, education, employment, poverty, and crime. Also considered will be theories of why cities exist, city location, city size, the causes of growth and decline, and the spatial distribution of alternative activities within cities. The class follows a seminar format, which involves a mixture of formal lectures, student presentations, and class discussion.
Textbook: A copy of O’Sullivan, Urban
Economics 5th Ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2003) (ISBN:
0072487844) will be placed on reserve in my office, pending class
enrollment.
Other readings: Supplemental readings will be made available in class. It is expected that one-half of each class
will be devoted to lecture (based on the textbook), and one half of each class
will be devoted to supplemental readings.
Grading: Option 1: There will be one
midterm exam worth 100 points, one presentation grade worth 100 points, a final
exam worth 100 points, and a participation grade worth 20 points. Articles and other supplemental readings
that will be the basis for class discussion will be handed out in class. Each student will be expected to lead a class
discussion on a minimum of three articles, which will be the basis for his or
her presentation grade. Students are
required to read all the articles and be prepared to discuss them on their
assigned day, whether or not they are assigned to present them. The midterm and the final exam will cover
material from both the lecture and the assigned articles. The final grade for students choosing this
option is based on a total of 320 points.
Option 2: Same as above, with the addition of a term paper worth 50
points. The final grade for students
choosing this option is based on a total of 370 points.
Students earning 90 – 100 percent will earn an A, 80 – 89 percent a B, 70-79 percent a C, 60-69 percent a D, and 0-59 percent an F.
Grade Appeals: I handle grade appeals in only one fashion. Should you be dissatisfied with your grade on any work, do the following:
1. Write a short description of why you believe you should have received a higher grade. Simply asking for more points (e.g., “I need a C so my GPA doesn’t drop”) is insufficient. If your statement concerns the fairness of the grade, then you must convince me that you were treated unfairly.
2. Hand in the test or assignment in question along with your written statement no later than the next class period after it was returned to you.
You should not infer that following this process will guarantee a higher grade.
Attendance: Attendance
is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged, as the material is cumulative in
nature. Missing a class is especially harmful to your grade when the class
meets twice a week. Other required
readings will be posted to the web site and will be announced in class. Test questions will be drawn from class notes
and readings, so no one should rely entirely upon a single source. If you miss
class, it is your responsibility to get the notes from another student; I do
not give out my notes.
Honesty
Policy: Academic
dishonesty in all forms will be dealt with swiftly and severely. That includes
all forms of cheating, plagiarism, and collaboration. If I believe an exam or test has been
compromised, I reserve the right to retest the whole class or any individual in
the class. (See the JSU Academic Honor Policy online at
http://www.jsu.edu/depart/handbook/page17.html#honesty).Violations of the
University’s academic code include, but are not limited to: possession of, or
use of unauthorized materials during exams; providing information to another
student. Violation of this Code may
result in academic penalties, including receiving an “F” in this course. Assignments, projects, or any other work to
be completed outside of class are to be done only by the individual student and
not on a group or shared basis.
Each student agrees to the following statements of student behavior:1. I agree that I, and only I, will be the one completing and submitting class materials (homework, exercises, exams, written projects, etc.) in my name.2. I agree that I will not directly copy or plagiarize material from articles, books, publications, the Internet, other students’ work, or any other source. I am familiar with, and I agree not to violate, copyright laws. If small amounts of material from other sources are used as part of any class assignment, I agree to clearly indicate such and properly cite the source.3. I agree that I will not share answers to homework assignments, quizzes, exams, or any other course material with fellow classmates.4. I acknowledge that failure to comply with any of the above statements may result in failure of an assignment, removal from the course, failure in the course, and discipline action deemed appropriate by the instructor in his sole discretion and/or policies and procedures set forth by the JSU’s Academic Honor Policy found in the Student Handbook under the University Policies link: http://www.jsu.edu/depart/handbook/page17.html#honesty.
The academic misconduct policy of the university will be followed in this
course.
Miscellaneous: Disability Accommodations Statement: Any individual who qualifies for reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 should contact the instructor immediately.
Any student who
receives failing grades during this course is urged to discuss this with the
professor.
Tests and calculators: Sharing calculators is strictly forbidden during tests because answers can be passed too easily.
Calendar: January 10 First day for this class
January 16 Last day for adding and dropping courses; last day for registering
February 26 Midterm Exam
March 17-21 Spring Break
April 3 Papers Due
April 17 Last day for this class
April 24 Final exam, 1:00 – 3:00
Lectures:
(Chapter numbers are approximate because
they are based on the 4th edition.)
I. Introduction and review of microeconomics
Appendix, pp. 699-722 (or use any other micro
textbook).
II. Why do cities develop?
Chapters 1-3.
III. Where do cities develop and firms
locate?
Chapters 4-5
IV. Urban land use
Chapters 7-8
V. Suburbanization and Commuting
Chapters 10
VI. Urban Transportation
Chapters 19-20
VII. Zoning
Chapter 11
VIII. Housing, Segregation, Crime, and
Poverty
Chapters 12-15 and 22
IX. Local Government
Chapters 16-18
Note:
Other readings will be distributed in class.
All changes to this syllabus will be at the discretion of the instructor.