Fall Semester 2009

The 21st Century City: Challenges and Opportunities

Date Topic September 10 What Makes a City a City?
- Barry Bluestone powerpoint
View the videos The Rise of Urban America 17 Concepts of Urban Growth
- Stevenson and Williams powerpoint
View the videos 24 Urban Transformation from the 17th to 21st Century
- Bluestone and Williams powerpoint 
View the videos October 1 The Meaning of Urban Community

• How does a City foster a Spirit of Community?
• What Stresses undermine Community?
• Neighborhood Cohesion, Segregation, and Integration

James Carroll’s website

Barry Shrage essay:
“The Fingerprints of God: The Community, The Federation, and Networks that Bind Us Together”

View the videos 8 Urban Transportation & Infrastructure

• Urban Transportation
• Public Mega-Projects

“Connecting with Our Economic Future: A Transportation Investment Strategy for the Life Sciences Cluster”
Stephanie Pollack
“On the Right Track: Meeting Greater Boston’s Transit and Land Use Challenges”

Stephanie Pollack
MegaProjects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment
Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff
“Civic Leadership and the Big Dig”
David Luberoff
View the videos 15 Urban Housing Markets, Land Use, and Sustainability

• The Supply and Demand for Housing
• New Housing Policies for Economic Development
• Urban Sprawl vs. Smart Growth

- Heudorfer’s presentation
- Bluestone’s presentation
“Building Our Heritage: A Housing Strategy for Smart Growth and Economic Development”
Barry Bluestone, Ed Carman, and Eleanor White
“Are High Fliers Pricing Themselves Out of the Market?”
Barry Bluestone, Mary Huff Stevenson, and Russell Williams
View the videos 22 Urban Economic Development

• Public Policies to Create Competitive Advantage
• Role of Technology & Entrepreneurship

- Bob Culver powerpoint
- Tim Ferguson powerpoint
“The Truth About Inner City Small Businesses” ,
Tim Ferguson
“Financial Characteristics of Inner City Companies”,
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
View the videos 29 Urban Education

• The Role of the Schools
• Public, Charters, and Pilot Schools

“The Massachusetts Expanding Learning Time to Support Student Success Initiative” ,
Hilary Pennington, Center for American Progress
“How To Put Urban Middle & High School Teachers In A Position To Succeed” ,
Gabrieli’s presentation

View Video about the MATCH Charter School
View the videos November 5 Urban Safety and Neighborhood Security

• The Role of Police in the Community
• Creating Defensible Space

View the videos of the lectures 12 Urban Public Finance

• Financing Local Government
• State Revenue Sharing

- Jay Ash powerpoint
View the videos 19 Working with Public Employee Unions

• The Role of Public Employee Unions
• Negotiating with Public Unions
• A new “Grand Bargain”

Barry Bluestone’s article in the Boston Globe
View the videos 26 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY December 3 The Plight of the Metro Area Newspaper

• The Role of the City Newspaper
• New Media and the City

Results from Survey of Open Classroom participants about newspaper readership, subscription, support.
Professor Dan Kennedy’s Plan for Saving the Boston Globe
A Hybrid Path for Saving Newspapers – Boston Globe 4/20/09

View the videos 10 Urban Leadership and Civic Engagement

• The Role of Public Leaders
• The Role of Business Leaders
• The Role of Anchor Institutions

View the videos