USP 512 Environmental Planning Methods (3) - Examination of the patterns and processes in human-dominated landscapes, and the tools for understanding human behavior and decision making. By applying several environmental planning tool to managing landscapes, this course aims to provide students with skills to translate data into information. Topics covered include, land conservation, impact of land use on watersheds, sustainability and environmental modeling and simulation. Focus is on the application of tools to addressing pressing problems of regional significance. Expected preparation: USP 531 or Geog 488/588. Syllabus. Last taught fall 2024.
USP 517 Urban Economic Development Policy (3) - This course analyzes urban economic development policy by building an overall framework that demonstrates how urban economies create and distribute wealth and affect citizens' quality of life. Federal, state, and local policies must pursue three broad objectives: 1. raising the area's standard of living; 2. preserving and protecting environmental quality and quality-of-life; 3. reducing poverty and income inequality. This course provides students the ability to analyze and assess alternative policies through the ability to apply analytical methods for assessing policy effectiveness; by examination of evidence of policy effectiveness; by reviewing case studies; and via a student's personal research of specific urban problems. Prerequisites: USP 515 or equivalent courses in economics. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2023.
USP 518 Energy and Society (3) - Consideration of the role of energy in human society, including energy and social change, energy and urban form, technologies of energy supply and demand, social institutions governing access to energy, and cultures of consumption. Current social issues involving energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, and climate change are stressed. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2023.
USP 520 Applied Demographic Methods I (4) - The first of a two-course sequence. The purpose is to introduce the various basic methods of demographic analysis. The topics to be covered include data sources, population characteristics and change, and measures of mortality and fertility. In addition, the course will help students develop and acquire skills for presenting data. Recommended prerequisite: a course in regression analysis, such as USP 534. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2021.
USP 521 Applied Demographic Methods II ( 4) - The second of a two-course sequence. The purpose is to introduce more advanced methods of applied demographic analysis. The topics to be covered are: data sources, internal and international migration, data evaluation, population estimates, and projections. The course will consist of readings, lectures, and laboratory sessions, homework exercises, one examination and one term-long project. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2023.
USP 522 Practicum in Applied Demography (4)- Represents the capstone course for the graduate concentration in applied demography. The focus is on integrating a practicum experience with the methods of applied demography into a research paper. Students will develop, revise, and resubmit numerous drafts of a final research paper. Students will also provide professional peer review in evaluating the development of fellow student research papers. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2006.
USP 526 Neighborhood Conservation and Change (4) - The dynamics of neighborhood development, including economic and institutional factors in neighborhood change; neighborhood definition and image, residential choice; residential segregation; neighborhoods in the political process; and neighborhood conservation strategies. Recommended prerequisite: junior standing. Graduate students undertake a substantial independent project in addition to other course requirements. Syllabus. Last taught spring 2024.
USP 427/527 Commercial District Revitalization (3) - Examines the evolution and revitalization of commercial districts over time. It explores the role of commercial districts in contemporary urban regions, and introduces the concepts of commercial district management and other strategies for promoting vital urban centers. Through readings, field observations, classroom discussions, and a series of assignments, students will explore the interrelationships between the built environment, economic trends, and public policy in shaping the commercial districts we see today. Students should learn to understand commercial districts as complex and multifaceted places that are always changing and unpredictable, but often play a crucial role in a community's identity and purpose and in supporting affordability, equity, and sustainability. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2025.
USP 528 Concepts of Community Development (3) - An investigation of models and perspectives on community development. Both structural and dynamic concepts related to processes of community-based change will be explored, including methodological approaches for assessing community settings, and the various roles and relationships in a community-based decision environment. Includes required field observation and a substantial independent field research project which examines cases of community problem-solving. Syllabus. Last taught winter 2025.
USP 532 Data Collection (4) - The acquisition of data for research in an urban context. Emphasis is on the concepts, terminology, and methods related to the use of survey research and secondary data. Recommended prerequisite: USP 430 and/or an introductory undergraduate statistics sequence and USP 530. Syllabus.
USP 434/534 Green Buildings I (3) - An overview of contemporary green building practices and the design and development processes essential to their success. Emphasis on strategies that have the highest economic return and/or the greatest environmental benefits. The full lifecycle of the built environment is considered, from planning and design through construction, operation, and the end of use. Syllabus. Last taught winter 2025.
USP 536 Policy Evaluation Methods (3) - Focuses on the methodological issues that must be addressed in attempting to evaluate programs and policies. Course offers an introduction to a variety of techniques useful in policy evaluation. Topics which may be covered include difference equations, Markov models, and queuing models. A section of the course considers the methodological issues that arise in cost-benefit analysis, such as present value calculations, determining the value of nonmarket benefits, and correctly evaluating costs. Recommended prerequisite: USP 515 or equivalent. Last taught Fall 2009.
USP 438/538 Real Estate Law (3) - Provides students with a comprehensive summary of real property from a legal perspective with an emphasis on transactional issues. Includes issues relating to types of ownership, descriptions of property, easements, public and private limitations on use, real estate contracts, forms utilized in transfers, financing and title assurances. The class will enable students to understand the legal framework and the rights and responsibilities of owners and transferors/transferees of real property. Prerequisites: EC 201 (undergraduates). Expected preparation for graduate students: RE 521. This is the same course as RE 438/538; may be taken only once for credit. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2023.
USP 439/539 Workforce Development (3) - Introduction to policies and practices for workforce development. Topics discussed include labor market dynamics, failures and inequities; tools and methods for urban labor market analysis; and workforce development policies for skill investment, job matching and career development toward goals of household, business, community and regional economic development.. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2019.
USP 543 Geographic Applications to Planning (4) - Principles and models of spatial organization, behavior, and location in geographic space. Major conceptual models of urban structure and form, urban regional hierarchy, transportation flows and other forms of spatial interaction, and their applications to modern planning and other disciplines. Spatial data models (rasters, TINs, LRSs, other) and advanced analytical and modeling capabilities of GIS (surface, 3-D, and network analyses). Discussion of real-life GIS applications to transportation, land use, environmental planning, community development, and related areas. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2010.
USP 445/545 Cities and Third World Development (3) - Critical survey of historical, economic, cultural, political, and urban aspects of Third World development, starting with the colonial era. Historical patterns of integration of the Third World with the emerging world market system. Covers problems of the post-independence period, focusing on urban sectoral issues and policy alternatives. Specific topics include trade, investment, industrialization, finance, technology transfer, political participation, land use, housing, transportation, information infrastructure, population growth, social services, militarism, and cultural conflict. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2023.
USP 546 Real Estate Development II (4) - Introduces students to persistent and emerging challenges of real estate development through analysis of case studies. Provides students the experience of developing a comprehensive and unified analysis of a commercial real estate project. Each student will submit a case study with greater specificity showing how the design, development, market, finance, construction, and management of the project are integrated. Students will work closely with industry participants and faculty to develop their analysis as well as alternative strategies for the project at critical stages of its development. Prerequisite: USP 523. Syllabus. Last taught fall 2023.
USP 549 Regional Planning and Metropolitan Growth Management (3) - Explores regional planning in the U.S. today through an examination of historical and contemporary regional planning practice. Begins with an overview of the history of regional planning, including the evolution of thought regarding regionalism and the nature of regions. Examples of regional plans will be used as the basis for examining assumptions, approaches, and methods serving as the foundation for regional planning practice. A synthesis of the findings of the review of plans will be used to draw general conclusions about the field and its prospects. Pays particular attention to the principles, approaches, and methods of growth management generally and with respect to metropolitan regions. Syllabus. Last taught fall 2022.
USP 552 Urban Poverty in Critical Perspective (3) - Examines historical, empirical, and theoretical perspectives on urban poverty in the United States. It addresses the politics of poverty discourse by examining why explanations and policy prescriptions have emphasized morality and behavior: race, family and culture; and dependency and responsibility rather than systemic economic inequality. Last taught Spring 2011.
USP 554 Planning and Housing Markets (3) - Explores the interaction of planning and local housing markets and submarkets. In a market economy, non-public actors build, own, and operate the majority of the housing stock (along with other assets, including other types of real estate, businesses, even ideas). Planning has a role in framing and influencing the decisions and approaches of these actors. Last taught Fall 2009.
USP 457/557 Information Cities (3) - Focuses on the political, social, and cultural impacts of mass media and information technologies within the urban matrix. Contextualizes the "information society" in historical, institutional, political, economic, and global settings. Topics include flexible production, the segmentation of consumption, alternatives to mass media, the Web, the reorganization of work, the transnationalization of culture, commercial and political surveillance, and the development of urban information infrastructure. Last taught Spring 2011.
USP 560 Climate Resiliency Planning (3) - This course aims to examine the response of society to a changing climate, with an emphasis on the practices, processes, and programs that can improve the resiliency of communities to climate-induced impacts. We will investigate what it means to be “resilient”, exploring principles from planning, sociology, engineering, environmental studies, and disaster studies, and other related fields. We will also pay special attention to the interplay between social inequality, poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability to natural disaster. Syllabus. Last taught spring 2025.
USP 564 Political and Administrative Issues in Aging (3) - Coverage of organizational dynamics as related to the elderly including the provision and use of services. Covers voting behavior and advocacy as well as administrative and legal issues that are particularly applicable to the elderly. Last taught Spring 2010.
USP 567 Urban Housing Policies (3) - Review of the history and the role of public policy in the housing sector. Study of past and current trends in the delivery of housing services in urban areas. The basic philosophies related to the supply of housing are analyzed and examined relative to current trends in the delivery of housing services in urban areas. Critical review of the role of the federal government and the construction industry. Equal attention to the role of public housing and the impact of urban renewal. Active participation in discussion and a research paper are required. Syllabus. Last taught spring 2025.
USP 570 Transportation and Land Use (3) - An analysis of transportation and land use interactions in urban areas. The impact of highway and transit changes on travel behavior, locational decisions and urban form are examined. Recommended prerequisites: USP 515 and USP 544. Syllabus. Last taught winter 2025.
USP 571 Environmental Policy (3) - Surveys federal, state, and international environmental policy-making with an emphasis on process design. Political and technical objectives for policy, the roles and responsibilities of institutions, federal-state tensions, representation and analysis of stakeholding interests, the role of the media, and environmental justice are key elements. Topical areas include issues concerning resource management as well as pollution prevention. Syllabus. Last taught spring 2024.
USP 468/568 Oregon Land Use Law (3) - The Oregon program is placed in a national context that stresses the broad nature of planning here. Structural relations between state, regional, and local government planning and regulation are analyzed. Legal aspects of the implementation of the various functional statewide planning goals are studied, as are the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals and recent developments in local government land use planning and regulatory processes. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2023.
USP 569 Sustainable Cities and Regions (4) - This course explores the questions of whether and how cities can be sustainable -- and how they can continue as places that sustain cultures, economics, and nature. Basic technological and theoretical models of human-nature interaction will be considered, along with visionary possibilities for the future of cities and urban regions, globally and in Portland. Particular attention will be given to global-local interactions and to the strategies, programs, policies, and tools that can deliver sustainable and equitable development and advance environmental justice. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2023.
USP 573 Housing Economics (4) - Looks at the economics of real estate and housing, including land rent, interest rates, apartment rents, and housing prices, using an economic framework. Basic concepts in urban economics such as land rents, externalities, and public goods are reviewed. Explores the technique most commonly used in real estate and housing economics: hedonic pricing. Explores the rationale and impact of government intervention in the private real estate market. Expected preparation: USP 515 or RE 521. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2012.
USP 574 Socio-Technical Change in the City (4) - At the core of the urban sustainability challenge is how societies build, maintain and reform socio-technical systems—linking actors, institutions and values to the built and natural environment. Drawing from science and technology studies, this course analyzes socio-technical systems and the challenges to navigating them along more sustainable trajectories. Last taught Spring 2016.
USP 577 Urban Environmental Management (3) - An accelerated survey of principles, concepts, and techniques employed in the management of urban environmental problems, with particular emphasis to "best practice" and emerging ideas. Selected topics may include: watershed stewardship, brownfield development, green spaces, protection of urban wildlife, stormwater management, urban agriculture, residential toxics. Last taught Winter 2008.
USP 582 Sustainable Transportation (3) - This course covers the sustainability dimensions of transportation, considering historical trends and future prospects. Topics covered in the course include energy use and alternative energy sources, technological change, traffic safety, vehicle emissions, environmental justice, the role of transportation in the economy, and the role of land use and urban design. Last taught Winter 2015.
USP 583 Transportation Finance (3) - Much of the current funding for roads, transit, and freight comes from fuel taxes, but increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles and the use of alternative energy sources raise questions about the long-term viability of this revenue source. This course will review existing transportation finance and examine some of the proposals for alternative financing mechanisms. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2023.
USP 586 Urban Social Networks (3) - Analysis of the social psychological and anthropological literature on social networks: the structure and content of interpersonal networks (including kinship, friendship, instrumental) in an urban setting. Specific topics will include: the nature of interpersonal ties in the city, urban migration and networks, access to urban resources, methods of analyzing personal and group networks. Last taught Fall 2012.
USP 588 Sustainable Development Practices (3) - Introduction to analytic and management approaches intended to limit the social and environmental harms associated with most past patterns of development. Builds upon basic understanding of socio-environmental change and provides a foundation for subsequent in-depth studies of particular sustainable development strategies and analytic techniques. Students study a broader range of sustainable development topics, tools and techniques. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2023.
USP 493/593 Public Participation GIS (3) - Offered as a studio-based GIS class. The objective is for students to apply GIS skills acquired in previous GIS courses to a specific real-world spatial problem. Tasks will involve problem definition, primary data collection, advanced GIS analysis, and presentation of results. This format will give students practical experience in implementing GIS technologies with specific emphasis on planning problems. Students will be required to work in small groups in a simulated professional planning practice environment. Expected preparation: USP 531 and USP 543 or USP 591 and 592. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2019.
USP 594 Planning in the Pacific Northwest (3) - This course will utilize the work of Pacific Northwest historians, writers, critics and others as a vehicle for equipping planners with a somewhat systematic and certainly eclectic cultural overview of the region they hope to serve. This course will attempt to prepare them to be members of a place and of a culture of place and to embrace the art and literature of the Pacific Northwest as part of their ongoing professional development. Though focused on the Pacific Northwest, the general approach used in this course should be applicable to other regions as well. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2017.
USP 597 Regional Economic Analysis (2) - Reviews analytical tools and data sources and provides hands on training for applying them to questions about regional economies. Includes demographic analysis, regional business structure, analyzing regional economic change, labor market analysis, researching firms, and conducting cluster analysis and economic opportunities analysis. Expected preparation: basic statistics. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2021.
USP 613 Urban Economic and Spatial Structure (3) - MUS/PhD Core. Provides an introduction to the economic and spatial aspects relevant to the field of urban studies. Provides an overview of existing theories and empirical evidence relating to urban spatial and economic relationships. Examines the impact of federal, state, and local government policies, and changing economic conditions on these relationships. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2023.
USP 614 History and Theory of Urban Studies (3) - MUS/PhD Core. Leading thinkers and milestones in the analysis of urban development and urban life. Complementary theories and models of the social sciences. Postmodern approaches. Visionary and critical responses to the possibilities of metropolitan life. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2022.
USP 615 Economic Analysis of Public Policy (4) - Introduction to the use of microeconomic analysis in the evaluation of public policy. Intended for entering graduate students with a limited background in economics. Develops basic analytic methods and emphasizes application of the analysis to issues of public policy. Prepares students for advanced classes that use this type of analysis. Syllabus. Last taught winter 2022.
USP 616 Cities in the Global Political Economy (3) - Introduction to political theory and the political economy of globalization. Begins with core political ideas from classical economy (Locke, Rousseau, Smith, Mills, Marx, Marshall, Keynes, Friedman, and Rawls) and proceeds to an analysis of the rise of transnationalism and globalization. Looks at changes in the global economy, revolutionary changes to capitalism, the fall of communism, and impacts of the globalization of cities, communities, the state, work, social mobility, welfare, cultural diversity, and the environment. Syllabus. Last taught winter 2022.
USP 617 The Sociology and Politics of Urban Life (3) - MUS/PhD Core. A survey of important theories and empirical research about the social structure and political dynamics of urban areas. The impacts of globalization on urban social and political life, the changing nature of community and social relations within cities and suburbs, and evolving patterns of intergovernmental cooperation and conflict within metropolitan regions will be analyzed. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2021.
USP 619 Development Partnerships (3) - Considers public and private partnerships to develop real estate in terms of the benefits to the wider urban community and policy goals such as affordable housing, community redevelopment to economic development, and sustainability. The course looks at how public and private organizations can meet policy goals, create economic returns, and mitigate risk. Expected preparation: USP 523. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2014.
USP 624 Development Project Design (3) - Provides an understanding of architectural practice, the value added by design, the intersection of design with broader community concerns and developer's objectives, and the management of the design process, including tools for decision analysis in all phases of the building design process. Case studies of the major building types will be presented. Expected preparation: USP 523. Syllabus. Last taught fall 2023.
USP 630 Research Design (4) - MUS/PhD Core. Principles of research design, including philosophical bases of scientific research, approaches to research, problem identification, problem statement, development of research questions, development of research hypotheses, and the relationship of research hypotheses to modes of data gathering and analysis. The laboratory (630L) must be taken concurrently. Recommended prerequisite: USP 430. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2022.
USP 634 Data Analysis I (4) - MUS/PhD Core. Application of multivariate statistical analysis in an urban context. Emphasis on applications of various techniques within the general linear model. Recommended prerequisite: USP 532. The laboratory (USP 534L) must be taken concurrently. Recommended prerequisite: USP 430. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2023.
USP 636 Political and Economic Decision-making (3) - Examines the philosophical and conceptual assumptions embodied in alternative decision-making theories in the fields of economics and politics. Designed to show students the differences in individual and collective decision-making processes and the technical and social challenges faced in decision-making processes in the market place and the realm of politics. Examples cover local, national, and international policy topics. This is the same course as PS 559 and may be taken for credit only once. Recommended prerequisite: USP 515/615. Last taught Fall 2008.
USP 654 Data Analysis II (4) - Takes an applied approach to statistical analysis and research methodology and is the second in a two-course sequence. Provides students with statistical background, conceptual understanding, technical writing skills, computer application, and the ability to apply these skills to realistic data analysis problems and research designs. Topics include simple regression and correlation, multiple regression, and logistic regression. The laboratory (USP654L) must be taken concurrently. Recommended prerequisites: USP 534/634 or an equivalent course approved by the instructor and prior experience with statistical software. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2023.
USP 655 Advanced Data Analysis: Structural Equation Modeling (3) - Introduces students to structural equation modeling, a regression-based technique that incorporates elements of path analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Topics covered include path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural models with cross-sectional, longitudinal, and multiple groups. The general goal is to provide a thorough background in the conceptual aspects, statistical underpinnings, and application of this method. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2015.
USP 657 Advanced Data Analysis: Discrete Choice Modeling (3) -This course presents the theory and practice underlying the formulation and estimation of models of individual discrete choice behavior with applications to travel, travel related and other choices. The course will provide students with an understanding of the theory, methods, application and interpretation of multinomial logit (MNL), nested logit and other members of the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) family of models. It will also include an introduction to mixed logit models. Syllabus. Last taught fall 2022.
USP 660 Policy Process (3) - Focuses on the politics of the policy process. It examines the role, influence and interaction of legislatures, executives, bureaucracies, courts, policy communities and citizens. Follows the stages of policy development: problem definition, agenda setting, budgeting, authorization, implementation and oversight. Case material is taken from federal, state, and local governments with special consideration given to the intergovernmental aspects of the policy process. Last taught Winter 2008.
USP 663 Program Evaluation (3) - This course is designed as a graduate introduction to the field of evaluation research and program evaluation. Topics covered include contemporary and emerging theoretical perspectives on evaluation research, experimental and quasi-experimental design, internal and external validity and reliability, measurement, analysis of change, ethical issues in evaluation, administration of program evaluation. Last taught Fall 1996.
USP 674 Spatial Analysis (3) - The use of geographically coded data to identify and anticipate future patterns of human activity in metropolitan areas and systems of cities. Emphasizes techniques to establish whether the characteristic landscapes associated with static and dynamic models of behavior are present. Diffusion processes, expanded location theories, and models of decision making from spatially arrayed cues receive particular attention. Recommended prerequisite: USP 532. Last taught pre-2000.
USP 676 Activity Location (3) - The location of human activities in urban systems. Location of economic activities where profit maximization is desired, and location decisions with equity maxima. Last taught Fall 1999.
USP 679 Metropolitan Fiscal Structure (3) - The course will focus on the following topics: the tax burdens, fiscal resources and expenditure patterns of local governments in metropolitan areas. The impact of revenue sharing and categorical grants. The spatial distribution of local government services, transfer payments, and tax burdens. Review of literature on the urban-suburban exploitation thesis, the Tiebout-Oates model, etc. Last taught Winter 2006.
USP 682 Sustainable Transportation (3) - This course covers the sustainability dimensions of transportation, considering historical trends and future prospects. Topics covered in the course include energy use and alternative energy sources, technological change, traffic safety, vehicle emissions, environmental justice, the role of transportation in the economy, and the role of land use and urban design. Last taught Fall 1998.
USP 683 Qualitative Analysis (4) - MUS/PhD Core. Study of a variety of qualitative methods of analyzing social science problems with an emphasis on applications to urban studies. Students study the philosophy of academic inquiry, understanding and interpretation of social action. Specific techniques include content analysis, participant observation field observation, ethnography, interviewing and focus groups, among others. Organization, coding and analysis of qualitative data. Recommended prerequisite USP 530/630. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2022.
USP 689 Advanced Urban Politics and Sociology (3) - This is an advanced readings seminar focusing on the literature and emerging theoretical and methodological debates in the fields of urban sociology and political science. This course is intended as an intensive seminar for graduate students seeking both greater familiarity and involvement with the literature and discourse in these fields. Prerequisite: USP 517/617. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2022.
USP 697 Research Design 2 (4) - PhD Core. Research seminar required for students in urban studies doctoral program; open to MUS and other advanced graduate students. Students apply their substantive background and methodological training to develop all the components of a social science research paper: statement of focused research question, literature review, development of hypotheses, definition of appropriate methodology, design of data acquisition, and pilot testing of data acquisition strategy. Expected preparation: USP 614, USP 613, and USP 617. Syllabus. Last taught Spring 2024.