Minnesota State University, Mankato

URSI 433/533, Urban Development

Urban & Regional Studies Institute

Thursday, 2-4:5 p.m.
This syllabus is subject to change without notice. Contact the professor for most recent changes.

Instructor:

Dr. “J” Cherrington, 106 b Morris Hall

Office Phone: 389-5031                                                               E-mail: janet.cherrington@mnsu.edu

Office Hours:  These are posted on my office door or on my website.

                                                                                                       www.intech.mnsu.edu/cherrington

Texts:

Required:

Asset Building & Community Development, Gary Paul Green, Anna, Sage Publishing, 2000  (ISBN 0-7619-2464-7)

The Urban Community, W. Allen Martin, Chris DeJohn, Ed., Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004, (ISBN 0-13-098423-X)

Class Packet:  URSI 4_533 at Morris Hall Copy Shop

Course Goal:

This course investigates whether people can work together to develop their community by looking at community development (CD) as a planned effort to produce assets that increase the capacity of residents to improve their quality of life.  While some may limit their definition of community development to community development corporation activities (CDCs), this course explores other organizations outside the “industry”.  These include local economic development organizations and neighborhood associations involved in promoting locality development through neighborhood watches, building-level tenant associations, block clubs, and voluntary groups of youth doing community service.  Also considered are the roles of fairly specialized organizations, i.e., micro enterprise loan funds, land trusts, and training consortia.

Student Learning Outcomes:  By the end of the course, you will:

1.   Understand the history of CD in the U.S. and its organizational context.

2.   Analyze the four process stages of CDs.

3.   Articulate various strategies for developing a process to engage residents in strategic decision-making in their localities.

4.   Analyze how CDs are structured along with their strengths and weaknesses.

5.   Understand the five forms of community capital: human, social, physical, financial, and environmental.

6.   Analyze how communities can address affordable housing problems.

7.      Understand various strategies for addressing credit problems in communities.

8.      Understand how communities can build sustainability into their development strategies and know the indicators to assess their progress.

9.      Understand community-based efforts in international settings, especially in under developed countries.

10.  Analyze how communities can attempt to link up with global markets and the broader society without sacrificing control over their future.

11.  Use presentation software in ways to present technical information that nonspecialists can comprehend.

Personal Skill Development Goals:  In addition to the specific course outcomes, there are 4 additional goals that are most common to all other URSI graduate courses at MSU.  They are:

·        to develop your creative and critical thinking powers in addressing problems and opportunities.

·        to develop your personal communication skills, both written and oral.

·        to improve your ability to work and interact with others in a team approach.

·        to improve your understanding and use of technology through presentation software.