Urban Affairs

• MET UA 619: Urban Transportation Policy and Planning
  This course will provide students with a broad introduction to important concepts and policy issues in transportation, principally at an urban and metropolitan level. In addition, the course will explore methods planning practitioners can use to analyze transportation problems and propose solutions. The course will use specific examples of planning initiatives (both operations and capital) from transportation agencies within the Boston Metropolitan region. Guest speakers from local, regional, and state transportation agencies within the Greater Boston Metropolitan area will supplement the instructor's lectures and assigned readings.
• MET UA 620: Urban and Regional Land Use Policy and Planning
  Techniques of land use planning, including socioeconomic studies, market analysis and needs forecasting, mapping, environment and service impacts, and transportation/land use coordination. Policies for achieving land use objectives: planned unit development, zoning, development corporations, new towns, and land preservation.
• MET UA 623: Regional and Metropolitan Development Planning
  Analysis of regional planning as applied to land use, economic development, infrastructure systems, and other topics. Cases and class projects selected from metropolitan and substate regions, including regional approaches and organizations, economic base, comparative advantage, and growth centers.
• MET UA 629: Urbanization and the Environment
  Interrelationships between physical environment and processes of urbanization. Case studies develop historical perspective on social, economic, and physical aspects of the quality of urban life. Special attention to the preparation of environmental impact statements and assessment of urban environmental quality.
• MET UA 654: Geographic Information Systems for Planners
  Geographic Information Systems for Planners provides an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specifically with a focus on applications in urban planning. The role of spatial analysis in local, state and regional planning has steadily increased over the last decade with the infusion of windows-based GIS software such as ESRI ArcGIS. The class focus is to prepare students to feel comfortable communicating with other GIS users, research spatial data, and produce high quality digital maps in an applied learning environment.
• MET UA 655: Connected City
  -
• MET UA 657: Housing from an International Perspective
  -
• MET UA 662: Non-Profits and Land Use Development
  -
• MET UA 664: Planning and the Development Process
  This course specifically explores the area where the private and public sectors meet so that the student can develop an awareness of the complexity of dealing with these often competing interests. The objective of the course is to give the student an understanding of the motivations of the private sector in the way they go about creating their products and projects and to leave the student with the tools and knowledge to successfully negotiate the Public Interest with the Private Needs.
• MET UA 668: Post Disaster Planning
  -
• MET UA 672: Regionalism
  -
• MET UA 675: Urban Sustainability
  -
• MET UA 701: Urban Problems and Policy Responses
  Major problems confronting urban areas and the process of policy formulation and implementation. Emphasis on problem interdependence and systems characteristics. Analysis of problem definitions (housing, crime, poverty, etc.), goals, public/private responsibilities, existing programs, and policy options. Analysis of selected, comparative international experience.
• MET UA 702: Urban Analytical Methods
  Use and analysis of quantitative data in public policy development and planning. Basic skills of organization and presentation of numerical information. Introduction to descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression; computer use. Math review.
• MET UA 703: Urban Research Methods
  Examines research techniques useful for urban policy research. Emphasis on survey research techniques, including sampling, survey organization, questionnaire development, and interviewing. Participant observation techniques. Field data collection and analysis.
• MET UA 704: Urban Economic Issues and Analysis
  Basic economic concepts and techniques of analysis necessary for urban public policy development. Analysis of the economic bases of selected current urban problems and evaluation of several policy solutions to common urban problems.
• MET UA 715: Planning Law
  -
• MET UA 747: Building Conservation
  Theory and practicalities involved in conservation of historic buildings. This course will cover the history and theory of building conservation architectural investigations of building, including documentary, constructional, and finish materials to materials for conservation.
• MET UA 751: Urban Planning and Decision Theory
  The role and process of planning in terms of theory and historical development. Tradition of rational/comprehensive and incremental decision theory: roles and functions, organization, participation, political relationships, and time and information use. Relationships between planning, ideology, ethics, social change, and implementation.
• MET UA 755: Colloquium in Preservation Planning
  A comprehensive preservation planning and advocacy course in which students in the Preservation Studies Program prepare a planning document under contract with a community.