Courses
Urban Affairs
Check back on December 15th for Summer 2010 courses.
Metropolitan College
Introduction to Urban Affairs
MET UA 301
An interdisciplinary approach to urban affairs and urban problems, including an overview of prominent theories about the nature and causes of urban problems. Examines the metropolitan area as a complex system with interdependent institutions and problems and considers present as well as future urban policy options in areas such as housing, transportation, crime, education, environment, and economic development. 4 cr.
Special Topics: Non-Profits and Land Use Development
MET UA 510
Explores the unique land use and economic development issues linked to non-profit institutions such as hospitals, universities, public agencies/authorities, as well as cultural and religious institutions. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the tax status and land use patterns of non-profits and their broader impact on social equity, labor markets, and community relations. 4 cr.
Special Topics: Between Past and Present: A Social History of Boston's North End
MET UA 510
A socio-cultural history of Boston's North End that examines the dynamics of cultural persistence and change from the colonial period to the present. Topics include the witch hysteria of Salem as viewed from Cotton Mather's North End, the American Revolution and Paul Revere, the Boston Brahmans, and the Irish and Jewish immigrants. Central attention is given to Italian immigration and the formation of the North End as a "Little Italy" and events such as the Ponzi scandal, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti and the Great Molasses Flood, the drug violence of the 1970s, tourism, and gentrification. We utilize historical documents, sociological analysis of religious beliefs, immigration and urban communities, organized crime, current research on gentrification, urban development, and tourism. 4 cr.
History and Theory of Urban Planning
MET UA 515
History, concepts, and methods of contemporary urban and regional planning practice. Governmental, nonprofit, and private settings of professional planning; plans, research, and policy development; uses and implementation of planning. Political analysis of planning issues, such as comprehensiveness, public interest, advocacy, negotiation, and future orientation. Case materials drawn from redevelopment, growth management, land use conflicts, and service delivery. 4 cr.
Boston Experience: The Role of Architecture in Creating a Sense of Place
MET UA 580
An introduction to the formal study of architecture. Introduces the concept that the role of architecture is to develop and maintain a sense of place. Establishes why and how a "sense of place" is important to humans for social and psychological reasons and is also important to societies for economic, political, and health and recreational reasons. The city of Boston serves as a living laboratory for this introductory study of architecture. Using this laboratory, students will work on controversial issues of historic preservation, upkeep, repair, restoration, improvement, modification, removal, adaptive renewal, and new construction as these processes relate to the importance of a sense of place. 4 cr.
Urban Analytical Methods
MET UA 702
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. 4 cr.
