URP 538SEM - Economic Concepts and Contexts for Planning

Urban planning practices operate within the context of economic, environmental, and political institutions at all levels of governance. This course provides an introduction to microeconomic principles through which the neoclassical economy operates, and political economy approaches for understanding how a broad range of political system types determine economic outcomes. Topics explored include cost-benefit analysis, public goods and common pool resources, environmental and ecological economics, economics of climate change, urban environment social justice, the welfare state, economic inequality, and neoliberal globalization. Students will develop competency in applying microeconomic principles, and familiarity with policy approaches for generating economic outcomes with respect to labor, poverty, inequality and the environment.

Credits: 3