Urban Studies | Field Areas

Specializations are available in the following areas of advanced interdisciplinary study: Planning (Ph.D. only), Community Development, Policy Analysis, Gerontology and Social Demography. Each doctoral student offers two fields of specialization, at least one of which should be chosen from among those listed above. M. U. S. students offer one field. A student-nominated field, developed in conjunction with School faculty, may be offered as a second specialization by doctoral students and as the one required field by M. U. S. students. Faculty groups work closely with students to develop coherent specializations that prepare each individual to do research in that field. Doctoral students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination over their two fields.

Planning
Community Development
Economic Development
Gerontology
Policy Analysis
Social Demography
Transportation
Regional Science

Planning

Planning focuses on the development and implementation of mechanisms for organizing social, economic, political and environmental change at the local, state and regional levels. The field includes study of the relationships and interactions among public and private institutions, organizations, citizens, and landscapes, the design of processes for facilitating dialogue among public actors, and the tools for planning analysis and evaluation.

Required Courses:

• USP 510/610 Sociology and Politics of Urban Life: Advanced Readings
• USP 540 History and Theory of Planning I
• USP 541 History and Theory of Planning II
• USP 616 Cities in the Global Political Economy
• USP 607 Planning Theory Seminar
• Appropriate methods courses

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Community Development

Community Development deals with the dynamics of neighborhood and community formation and change and with public policies that address the needs of groups and places within contemporary society. Within the broad field of Community Development, students can address such topics as ethnic and neighborhood history, housing and economic development, the roles of public and nonprofit institutions in community building, mediation and conflict resolution, changing patterns and systems of communication, and the changing meanings of place.

• USP 510/610 Sociology and Politics of Urban Life Advanced Readings
• USP 616 Cities in the Global Political Economy
• USP 528 Concepts of Community Development
• USP 507/607 Community Development Seminar
• Appropriate methods courses

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Economic Development

Economic Development is concerned with the factors that lead to differential rates of economic development at various spatial scales: within and between nations, states, regions, cities, and neighborhoods. In analyzing these differences, issues such as the meaning of economic development, who gains and who loses from various changes, as well as analysis of policies to promote economic development, are addressed. The Center for Urban Studies and Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies offer research opportunities in this field.

Required Courses:

• USP 515 Economics: Applications in Urban
• USP 672 Regional Economic Development
• USP 510 Economic Development Policies
• Choose One:
  • USP 610 Econometrics for Public Policy
  • USP 591 Geographic Information System I
• Choose Two:
  • USP 546 Real Estate Development II
  • USP 551 Community Economic Development
  • USP 578/678 Impact Assessment
  • USP 579 State and Local Public Finance
    
  • USP 588/688 Sustainable Development Practices
  • USP 590 Green Economics and Sustainable Development
  • USP 510 Sustainable Regions and Cities
  • USP 510 Tourism and the City
  • USP 616 Cities in the Global Political Economy

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Gerontology

Gerontology addresses the social issues, problems, policies, and programs that affect the quality of life for our rapidly aging population. Students have the opportunity to work directly with faculty on publicly and privately funded research at the College's highly regarded Institute on Aging. Adult development and aging is approached from a multidisciplinary and collaborative perspective.

Required Courses:

• USP 587/687 Perspectives on Aging

Aging-specific electives (five required if Gerontology is 1st field; four if 2nd field):

• NURS 672 Introduction to Family Caregiving for Older People (at OHSU)
• PHE 557/657 National Long Term Care Policy
• PHE 559/659 Economics of Aging
• PHE 556 Health Aspects of Aging
• PSY 562 Psychology of Adult Development and Aging
• SOC 569 Sociology of Aging
• SP 547 Communication and Aging
• USP 585/685 Housing Environments for the Elderly
• USP 564 Political and Administrative Issues in Aging
• Appropriate methods courses

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Policy Analysis

Policy Analysis provides an opportunity for students to identify urban problems, contemporary and historical policy issues, and stakeholders in the policy process. It also allows for an analysis of the effects of policies and of the historical and political contexts in which they emerge. Students may approach this field from any combination of applied, theoretical, or critical perspectives, such as program evaluation, policy critique, or historical analysis.

• USP 536 Policy Evaluation Methods
• USP 560/660 Policy Process
• USP 561/661 Policy Analysis: Theoretical Foundations
• USP 562/662 Policy Implementation
• PA 555 Program Evaluation and Management
• USP 615 Economic Analysis of Public Policy

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Social Demography

Social Demography provides training in the tools of demographic analysis, with particular attention to the methods of data collection, techniques of demographic analysis, and the interpretation of research findings. Social demography involves the use of the principles and methods of demography in decision making and planning in both public and private settings. Graduates in the field of social demography use demographic data to identify and analyze important population trends and their consequences while working in government agencies, research organizations, and corporations.

• USP 410/510 Population and Society
• USP 520/620 Applied Demographic Methods I
• USP 521/621 Applied Demographic Methods II
• USP 522/622 Practicum in Applied Demography
• Appropriate methods courses

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Transportation

The Transportation field includes planning, policy, forecasting, measurement and evaluation of multimodal transportation infrastructure and systems. The multidisciplinary field covers all modes of passenger and freight transport and includes the holistic study of relationships and interactions of the transportation systems with land use, the region, the economy, the environment, institutions, the community, and people. Students can address topics such as impacts of transportation on land use and land values, the relationships between urban form and travel behavior, the costs and benefits of transport facilities, the operation of transportation facilities, equity impacts of transport and the effects of transportation plans and policies, among others. There are opportunities to work on research through the Center for Urban Studies and the Center for Transportation Studies.

Required Courses:

• USP 556 Urban Transportation: Problems and Policies
• USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning
• USP 537/637 Economics of Urban Transportation
• USP 570/670 Transportation and Land Use
• Choose One:
  • USP 610 Econometrics for Public Policy
  • USP 593 Advanced GIS Applications
  • USP 655 Structural Equation Modeling
  • USP 656 Multilevel Regression
• Choose Two:
  • USP 587 Travel Demand Modeling
  • USP 565 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning
  • USP 543 Geographic Applications to Planning
  • USP 578/678 Impact Assessment
  • USP 579 State and Local Public Finance
    
  • CE 555 Intelligent Transportation Systems
  • CE 558 Public Transportation Systems
  • CE 559 Transportation Operations
  • CE 510 Transportation Safety Analysis
  • CE 510 Freight Transportation and Logistics

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