Urban Policy Analysis: Theory, Tools, and Practice

API 505 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

More than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and the policies cities design and implement increasingly matter far beyond their borders. Through lectures, case study discussions, and guest speaker presentations, this course introduces students to policy analysis frameworks, the politics of local policy, and urban policymaking processes in cities around the world. Drawing on both theory and analytical tools, the course moves through the stages of policy analysis, including problem definition, the setting of objectives and evaluation criteria, the identification and assessment of policy alternatives, and policy recommendation. The class explores the choices facing decision-makers in the US and abroad on a wide range of urban issues, such as housing, local economic development, infrastructure, environmental protection, and transportation. 

Over the semester, we will address several questions, including: How does urban policy analysis differ from policy analysis in other domains? How do situations become problems that local governments feel compelled to solve, while others never make it onto the agenda? Why do decision-makers choose certain policies over others that look, on paper, just as sound? How can cost-benefit analysis help us decide among policy alternatives? Critical perspectives on the theory and practice of urban policy analysis are discussed throughout the classes. 

At the end of the course, students will work in teams to apply what they have learned to a real-world urban issue brought by a client from a multilateral organization, culminating in a policy report and a live briefing.

Course Notes

This course is not open to MPP students. Also offered by the Graduate School of Design as SES-5441. Please note, this is a jointly offered course hosted by another Harvard school and, accordingly, students must adhere to the academic and attendance policies of that school.