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 429 Poverty in the Urban Community (3) - This is an introductory course about the nature, extent, and causes of poverty in the United States. It covers a brief historical overview, demographics and trends, explanations of poverty, and anti-poverty policies. Questions of race, gender, and the spatial manifestation of poverty will be addressed. Syllabus. Last taught Fall 2016.
USP 432 Theory and Philosophy of Community Development (4) - 1. New approaches to the philosophy of community; 2. theory and comparative practice, and 3. case study of local theory and practice, presentation of an in-depth case study from the Pacific Northwest. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2024.
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 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 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 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 460 Community Development Field Seminar (6) - Participant observation through placement in a community-based organization actively engaged in community development activities on behalf of a specific community, and critical reflection on the placement experience. Prerequisites: completion of the Community Development Core and at least one course or an equivalent from among those listed in Methods in Community Development. Syllabus. Last taught Winter 2023.
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 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 496 Affordable Housing Finance (3) - Introduction to the unique challenges of financing and developing affordable housing projects. The challenges and tools for financing rental as well as owner-occupied housing will be covered, and case studies will be used to illustrate the ways in which financing for affordable housing is created and used, and poses unique challenges for investors, jurisdictions, and community-based groups. Expected preparation: USP 312U. Syllabus. USP 596 still taught. USP 496 last taught spring 2025.