URBS 653 Urban Management
Seminar
Spring 2018 T 6-9
Instructor: Tony Filipovitch
Text: Robert A. Caro, The
Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall
of New York (Vintage, 1974)
Course Objectives: In this course, you will research, present, discuss,
and critique standards and emerging concepts in urban management. By the end of this course, you will have:
1.
Studied and assessed the career of
arguably the most significant local government manager in the Twentieth
Century. You will reflect on the object
lessons (both positive and negative) you can take from the goals and methods he
used over the course of his career.
2.
Researched the current thinking on an
issue raised by the life and work of Robert Moses, prepare and present a 45-60
minute presentation on that topic, and lead your classmates in a discussion of
how those principles reinforce the strengths of Moses’ approach and/or
inoculate against the weaknesses of Moses’ approach. To the extent it is relevant, you will
articulate the relevant “contextual differences” between New York State and
Minnesota and between large city (strong mayor, home-rule charter)/city
(manager plan)/small city (administrator plan) styles.
3.
Considered the range of management
styles (Moses’ own, that of others around him, and various styles/approaches
presented by yourself and your classmates), weighed them in light of the
appropriate codes of professional ethics (AICP and/or ICMA) as well as your
personal code of ethics and your respective skills and inclinations, and as a
result formulated your own position paper on managing staff and programs.
Instructional Methodology and Teaching
Strategies: This is a seminar
course. While there will be a few
lectures and there will be several writing projects, this heart of this course
will be your reading and research, and the discussion that you will lead with
your classmates. My teaching style is
based on an "adult-centered" model which assumes that you are active
participants, each responsible for your own learning, and I am a facilitator
and resource who helps you advance your project. My goal for myself as a
teacher is to "take you someplace you would never before have gone
alone."
Assignments:
1. Classwork: The class meetings will begin with a
check-in (reflections/insights about the previous week’s work), move on to
seminar presentation assigned from the course calendar, and conclude with
focused discussion led by the presenter and then general discussion shared
among the class and guests. Each week, I
will invite guests to the class who have some specific, applied experience with
the topic at hand; these guests will serve as resource people and as
reality-checks for our discussion. Although
leading the discussion on each topic will be the responsibility of one or
another of the students in the class, all
students are expected to have read and be prepared to discuss chapters assigned
from the text. Throughout the course, you are expected to demonstrate the
skills and abilities that will be expected in professional practice, including
the skill of active listening.
2. Assignments:
a.
Seminar discussion:
You must select one of the topics from the text and prepare to lead the
class in discussion of that topic. Part
of your job as discussion leader is to summarize the current thinking on the
topic and the issues raised, both by the career of Robert Moses and as
practiced by others in Minnesota cities.
Your job as discussion leader is to engage your classmates and keep the
discussion flowing (see “Notes on Leading
Discussion”). You must develop an assessment tool which
your classmates will complete for you.
You will be evaluated on a) your written notes for leading the
discussion, b) your written assessment of the discussion (including feedback
from your classmates), c) my assessment of your performance
as a discussion leader.
b.
Assessment of Robert Moses as a public manager: By mid-term, you will write an essay,
suitable for PM magazine, reflecting
on the lessons for public managers to be learned from the career of Robert
Moses.
c.
How to Manage:
By the end of the course, you will write an essay, suitable for your
professional portfolio, presenting your own approach to managing staff and
programs. While this is not intended to
be a public document, neither is it a private journal entry. Consider it something that you might share
with your mentor and a close coterie of fellow mangers. It will be a work-in-progress, something that
you might come back to at intervals (say, 5 years) to modify yet again in light
of further experience.
Course Expectations:
1.
Attendance & Class Participation: Students play an important role in
educating and challenging each other.
This can only happen if there is consistent attendance. I expect you to attend. I may take the class roll. Unexcused absence (prior notification is required—even if I am not available, my voice mail and e-mail always
are) can result in loss of points toward one’s grade.
At the first class,
we will discuss the schedule of class meetings—We can meet weekly, or we might
consider meeting less frequently for longer stretches of time.
2.
Grading: There are 100 points
for the course, divided as follows:
1) Seminar Discussion
50
2) Moses Assessment
30
4) How to Manage 20
The final grade
may be based on a curve, but students can expect at least an A if they achieve 90,
a B with 80, etc.
3. Other Matters:
a. Extra Credit: In general, I do
not encourage extra credit in this class. I would rather that you put the extra
effort into your regular assignments. In the event of very unusual circumstances, a maximum of 10 points may be earned by
prior arrangement with me.
b. All assignments are
due on the assigned date. While I would prefer not to receive work late,
you can get at least partial credit for late work
(better late than never, and better something than nothing). I reserve the right not to permit extensions
or makeups unless you obtained prior permission or have a very good
excuse.
c. You may use any
resource for your coursework, as long as you identify your sources.
(Failure to do so is plagiarism and could result in an F for the course). While
you may work on an assignment with classmates, you may not turn in identical (or
essentially the same) reports.
d. Every attempt will be
made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If you are a student with a documented
disability, please contact me as early in the semester as possible to discuss
the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at
507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).
Course Calendar
Date |
Assignments |
Seminar Topic |
Student |
1 |
|
The Powerbroker: Robert Moses |
|
2 |
Caro pp. 1-90 |
Public
Work/Civil Engineering: “How Many
Colors Can You Name?” |
|
3 |
Caro pp. 91-180 |
Planning
Principles: Transportation “People vs. Cars?” |
|
4 |
Caro pp. 181-298 |
Planning
Principles: Recreation & Open
Space “Passive vs. Active Recreation?” |
|
5 |
Caro
pp. 299-401 |
Planning Principles: Residential & Commercial “Highest & Best Use vs. Finding
a Home” |
|
6 |
Caro pp. 402-498 |
Local
Government Finance “Follow
the Money” Fairfax County 10 Principles of
Sound Financial Management |
|
7 |
Caro pp. 499-638 |
Drafting
Legislation/Ordinances/Resolutions “The Devil Is in the Details” |
|
8 |
Moses
Assessment paper |
Ethics—Professional
and Personal |
|
9 |
Caro pp. 639-754 |
Publicity/Public
Relations/Press Relations/ Leaks and Fake News |
|
10 |
Caro pp. 755-849 |
Administrative
Structure/Civil Service/”Getting Things Done” |
|
11 |
Caro pp. 850-960 |
Project
Management (PMBOK) |
|
12 |
Caro pp. 961-1066 |
Negotiations—“Getting
Past No” |
|
13 |
Caro pp. 1067-1162 |
Grant
Writing “Trotters
in the Public Trough” See
Grantsmanship Center https://www.tgci.com/taxonomy/term/57 |
|
14 |
|
Public Participation/Public
Good/Leadership “Is PP really nothing
more than ‘cooling out the marks’?” |
|
15 |
How
to Manage paper |
Power/Charisma/Sources
& Uses “How do you deal with the
devil?” |
|
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