Specialty Areas

The Urban & Regional Development Specialization stresses applied and empirical policy research that is grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation. Students will be prepared in analytical techniques suitable for research and policy analysis through courses addressing several topics at the neighborhood, city and regional levels, including: Economic Development; Transportation Policy; Infrastructure Provision ; Public Service Delivery ; Growth Management ; Regionalism and Governance

Required courses for this specialty include:
PPOL8611 Metropolitan Governance and Administration
PPOL8613 Transportation Policy
Two Additional Courses from These Choices:
PPOL8614 Colloquium in 20th Century Black Urban History
PPOL8615 The Restructuring City
PPOL8616 Urban Planning Theory and Practice
PPOL8617 Law and Management
PPOL8618 Growth Management Systems
PPOL8642 Regional Economic Development
PPOL8643 Rural Development Issues
PPOL8644 Public Budgeting and Financing

Students may also develop a focus in other related fields or design their specialty based on faculty resources available. As with all programs, such a program would need the approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of the Program. Program faculty will continue to develop additional substantive and methods courses.