Class time: Tuesday/ Thursday 9:20 – 11:00 am on Zoom
Class Room: WM 310 B
Office: DM 301 B
Email: rasha.ahmed@trincoll.ed
Office Phone: (860) 297-2446
Office Hours on zoom: For Tuesday 4:15 – 5:30 pm click here, for Thursday 1:00 – 2:15 pm click here, or by appointment
Study Group: 12:00 to 12:40 on zoom
Course Description and objectives
Urban economics is the study of the location choices of firms and consumers and how these choices affect city size, urban growth, poverty, spatial distribution of economic activity and people. We will analyze the inequalities arising from location choices in terms of education, safety and other neighborhood amenities. Throughout the course we will look at:
- Market forces behind the development of cities
- Urban growth and decline
- Land market and the government’s control of land use
- Segregation and the spatial aspects of poverty and crime
- Local public finance: government spending and taxation
This course will be of interest to students of varied backgrounds and interests, including economics, public policy, environmental studies and urban studies. By the end of the course I hope you can apply basic economic principles to understanding different urban phenomenon.
Text
O’Sullivan, Arthur, Urban Economics, 9th edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill.
Grading
The grade for this class will be calculated as follows:
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 35%
Quizzes 15%
Assignments 10%
Class Participation 10%
Class Work
- Book Chapters: You are required to review the chapters that will be covered beforehand. This will help you better understand and follow the material covered in class. The lecture slides for each chapter are posted on my website. You are expected to print the lecture slides and bring them with you to class. Class discussion may not exactly follow the slides.
- Practice Sheets/ End of chapter problems: I will give out a set of practice questions every week and assign problems from the end of each chapter we cover. The practice sheets will not be collected or graded, however I expect you to do them all and bring them to class. The end of chapter problems will be collected and graded.
- Reading articles: There are reading articles assigned with every new topic. You are required to carefully read those articles and relate them to the concepts covered in class. There will be questions on each exam covering the readings.
- Discussion Sheets: Whenever a reading article is assigned I will email the class a list of discussion questions. The questions will highlight the most important parts of the readings and prepare students for class discussions. Discussion sheets will be collected when we finish discussing the article in class.
- Class Discussion: You are required to participate in class discussion. Participation in class discussion by asking or answering questions or commenting on the material will greatly enhance your understanding. To be able to actively participate in class discussion you should come to class prepared. Students who participate in class typically do better.
- Weekly Quizzes: There will be a weekly quiz every Monday morning on the material covered the week before. The quiz will take no longer than 10 minutes and will highly resemble the end of chapter problems and the practice sheets.
Policies
- I expect you to be in class on time and to attend every class.
- No cell phones, laptops or electronic devices can be used in class.
- I expect you to check your email regularly. If you send me an email I may not get back to you immediately but I will do my best to get back to you within 24 hours
- I do not give makeup quizzes, but I allow you to drop the lowest quiz grade.
- If you accumulate more than two unexcused absences, 1% will be deducted from your final grade for every class missed. Excused absences are those absences for which I receive a note from the Dean of Students’ office.
- I do not give makeup exams unless an emergency situation arises and I get notified by the Dean of Students’ office. The format of the make-up exam will be at my discretion.
- Assignments submitted a class after the due date will earn half credit. Assignments submitted after that will not be accepted regardless of the reason.
- It is your responsibility to collect your assignment from the TA.
- There are no “extra credit” assignments.
- Dishonest conduct or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Please refer to the Student Handbook for a review of requirements.
- Students with Academic Accommodations- Trinity College complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you have a documented disability and require academic accommodations, please present your accommodations letter during my office hours within the first week of the semester. If you do not have a letter but have a disability requiring academic accommodations, or if you have questions about applying for academic accommodations, please contact Lori Clapis, Coordinator of Accommodation Resources, at 860-297-4025 or at Lori.Clapis@trincoll.edu.
- I expect you to comply with the COVID guidelines of the college
Finally, students are encouraged to speak with me directly should any concerns or difficulties arise. I am happy to work with students who need extra help. Please feel free to drop by during office hours, send an email or speak with me following class time.
Course Outline
The following is an outline of the chapters that we will cover. Additional readings will be assigned as the semester progresses. The outline and dates are intended as a guide and may be changed during the semester.
Week 1: Sept 8, 10
- Appendix: Tools of Microeconomics
- Chapter 1: Introduction and Axioms of Urban Economics
- America’s Ten Dead Cities: From Detroit to New Orleans. 24/7 Wall Street, August 2010
Week 2: Sept 15, 17
- Chapter 3: Trade and Factory Towns: Why do cities exist?
- Assignment: 1- 8 Due Sept 22
- O’Sullivan, Arthur (2006). “The first Cities,” available in Richard Arnott and Daniel McMillen, A Companion to Urban Economics, Blackwell Publishers Discussion sheet due Sept 29
- See: The Industrial Revolution Overview
Week 3: Sept 22, 24
- Chapter 4: Agglomeration Economies: Why Do Firms Cluster?
- Assignment: 1,4,5,6,7 Due Oct 1
- Glaeser, Edward (1998). “Are Cities Dying?” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(2): 139-160.
Week 4: Sept 29, Oct 1
- Chapter 7: Cities in a Regional Economy
- Assignment: 1-4 will not be collected but please answer for practice.
- Van Kooy, John (2008). ”Lump Together and Like It,” The Economist
- World Bank (2009). Reshaping Economic Geography. Documentary
- Krugman, P. (1991), “Increasing Returns and Economic Geography”, Journal of Political Economy 99, 483-499
- Quigley, John M. (1998). “Urban Diversity and Economic Growth,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12 (2):127-138
Week 5: Oct 6, 8
Midterm Exam Oct 6
- Chapter 8: Urban Labor Market
- Assignment: 1-7 Due Oct
- Glaesar, Edward (2008). “Houston, New York Has a Problem,” The New York Sun.
Week 6: Oct 13, 15
- Chapter 10: Land Rent and Manufacturing Land, Office Space and Tall buildings
- Assignment: 1-6 Due Oct
Week 7: Oct 20, 22
- Chapter 13: Spatial Distribution of Employment and Residence
- See: The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream, documentary
- Assignment: 1-6 Due Oct 26
- Nechyba, Thomas J. and Randall P. Walsh (2004). “Urban Sprawl,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18(4):177-200
- Mieszkowski, Peter and Edwin S. Mills (1993). “The Causes of Metropolitan Suburbanization,“. The Journal of Economic Perspectives 7(3): 135-
Week 8: Oct 27, 29
- Chapter 15: Neighborhoods
- Assignment: 1-5, Due
- Chapter 18: Cars and Roads
- Assignment 1,2,3,5,6,7,8 Due
- Becker, Gary S. (2002). “Want to Cut Gasoline Use? Raise Taxes,” Business Week, May 27.
- Portney, Paul (2002). “Penny-Wise and Pound-Fuelish? New Car Mileage Standards in the United States,” Resources, spring issue 147.
- Litman, Tod (2006). “London Congestion Pricing: Implications for Other Cities,” Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
- Crandall, Robert (1992). “Policy Watch: Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 6(2): 171-180.
- “Trump EPA will revise Obama fuel efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions rules for autos“
Week 9: Nov 3, 5
- Chapter 16: Land Use Policy
- Assignment 1 – 5 Due Nov
- MSNBC News “Homes May be ‘Taken’ for Private Projects,” June 23, 2005
- Fischel, William (2004). “An Economic History of Zoning and a Cure for its Exclusionary Effects,” Urban Studies, 41: 317-340.
- Schadewald, Bill (2006). “The only major U.S. city without zoning,” Houston Business Journal, April 7
Week 10: Nov 10, 12
- Chapter 17: Urban Housing and Public Policy
- Assignment 1, 4, 5, 7 Due Nov
- Rosin, Hana (2008). “American Murder Mystery,” The Atlantic, July/August.
- Tucker William (1997). “How Rent Control Drives Out Affordable Housing,” Cato Policy Analysis No. 274
- See: The Battle over New Orleans public Housing
- Crime in Public Housing Creates Urgency for Relocation
Final Exam*
* If you would like to get back your final exam, you may give me a self-addressed, stamped postcard or envelope and I will mail you the final exam and course grades.