PAI786: Urban Policy

PAI786: Urban Policy Class 1: Introduction

Urban Policy: Introduction • Class Outline • Review Course Requirements and Readings • Introduce American Cities • Introduce Census Urban Geography

Urban Policy: Introduction • Course Outline • Introduction • Evaluation of social programs • Housing • Basic analytical tools • Housing problems and housing policy • Discrimination and Segregation • Concentrated Poverty and Welfare Programs • Employment and Economic Development • Urban Crime

Urban Policy: Introduction • Course Requirements • 1. Case Studies • Participate in discussions • Write memo • 2. City Journal • Essays on topics in the class • Turned in twice; three entries in all • 3. Policy Summit • Group presentation • Policy memo

Urban Policy: Introduction • American Cities • American cities and their suburbs are enormously diverse. • Here are a few examples from my travels over the years.

Urban Policy: Introduction Many cities arise around a port.The city on the right is New Orleans, with its Mississippi River port. The city on the left is Seattle, with its huge natural harbor.

Urban Policy: Introduction Many other cities rise around a seat of government.The city on the left is, of course, Washington, D.C. The city on the right is Boston, Massachusetts, which is a state capitol.

Urban Policy: Introduction Some cities have beautiful natural settings. The city on the top is Miami. The city on the bottom is Honolulu.

Urban Policy: Introduction Some cities develop large business concentrations or money-making amenities. The sports stadiums in Seattle are on the left (with Mt. Rainier in the background). The Boston financial district is on the right.

Urban Policy: Introduction Other cities develop famous tourist-attracting amenities.Here is the French Quarter in New Orleans (the night before a bowl game in the Superdome) Here is Pike Street Market in Seattle. Here is Boston’s Chinatown

Urban Policy: Introduction Some cities have severe environmental problems, such as smog associated with extensive commuting by car.The city on the left is Los Angeles (taken from the Getty Museum). The city on the right is San Diego (from the North).

Urban Policy: Introduction Many cities have high-income residential neighborhoods. The Garden District in New Orleans is on the right. A gated community in Miami is on the left.

Urban Policy: Introduction And, of course, many cities have slums, defined as neighborhoods with poor housing and social problems. These pictures are from the 9th Ward in New Orleans a couple years after Hurricane Katrina. You can see the high water mark in the picture above.

Urban Policy: Introduction Sometimes, even in the poorest neighborhoods, you see rebirth. Here is another picture of the 9th Ward.

Urban Policy: Introduction Finally, of course, cities are surrounded by suburbs, many of which have beautiful residential neighborhoods, good public services, and community events.These are suburbs of Syracuse.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Alternative Definitions of “Urban” • Common Usage • Urban = large city (and perhaps its inner suburbs) • Defined as governmental units • Census Definition (explored below) • Urban = metropolitan = large cities, their counties, and the counties that are linked to them • Analytical Definition • Urban = place with relatively high population density

Urban Policy: Introduction • Census Geographic Units • Region • Division • State • County • County subdivision • Place (or part) • Census tract (or part) • Block group (or part) • Census block

Urban Policy: Introduction • Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) • A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) combines a large population nucleus with adjacent counties that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. • Each MA must contain either a place with a minimum population of 50,000 or a U.S. Census Bureau-defined urbanized area and a total MA population of at least 100,000.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Micropolitan Statistical Area • A micropolitan statistical area is a mini MSA. • It must have a central place with a population between 10,000 and 50,000.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Consolidated and Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA and PMSA) • If an MSA has 1 million people or more, two or more primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs) may be defined within it. • Each PMSA consists of a large urbanized county or cluster of counties that demonstrate strong economic and social links to other portions of the larger area. • When PMSAs are established, the larger MSA of which they are component parts is designated a consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA).

Urban Policy: Introduction • Central City • In each MSA, PMSA, and CMSA, the largest place and, in some cases, one or more additional places are designated as ‘‘central cities.’’ • The largest central city and, in some cases, up to two additional central cities, are included in the title of the MSA.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Urbanized Area (UA) • An urbanized area (UA) consists of densely settled territory that contains 50,000 or more people. • The U.S. Census Bureau delineates UAs to provide a better separation of urban and rural territory, population, and housing in the vicinity of large places. • This is closest to analytical definition, but it is not used for most types of data.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Census Tract • Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or statistically equivalent entity delineated by local participants. • The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of decennial census data, but their boundaries sometimes change. • Census tracts generally have between 1,500 and 8,000 people, with an target size of 4,000.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Census Block • Census blocks are areas bounded on all sides by visible features, such as streets, or by invisible boundaries, such as city limits. • Generally, census blocks are small in area; for example, a block bounded by city streets. However, census blocks in sparsely settled areas may contain many square miles of territory.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Other Terms • A ‘‘metropolitan area’’ (MA) is either an MSA, a CMSA, or a PMSA. • A “core-based statistical area’’ (CBSA) is either an MSA or a micropolitanstatistical areas. • A “census block group” is just what it sounds like—an intermediate geography between census blocks and census tracts.

Urban Policy: Introduction

Urban Policy: Introduction • Number of Metropolitan Areas • As of December 2009, there were • 366 MSAs and 576 micropolitanstatistical areas in the United States • In addition, there were 8 MSAs and 5 micropolitan statistical areas in Puerto Rico.

Urban Policy: Introduction • Urban Diversity • American metropolitan areas are enormously diverse in terms of • Population • Income and poverty • Race and ethnicity • Governmental structure

PAI786: Urban Policy