1. PAI786: Urban Policy
Class 1:
Introduction

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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. The city on the left is Seattle, with its huge natural harbor.
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.

7. 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.

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

9. The Boston financial district is on the right.
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.

10. 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

11. The city on the right is San Diego (from the North).
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).

12. 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.

13. 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.

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

15. 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.

16. Urban Policy: Introduction
What’s Missing?
For the most part, these pictures leave out the most important thing about cities: the people!
That’s what this class is about:
Where do different types of people live?
What types of housing do people live in?
How many people are poor? Why are they poor?
Do some people still face discrimination? Why?
Why do some people live in such run-down neighborhoods?

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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).

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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 micropolitan statistical areas.
A “census block group” is just what it sounds like—an intermediate geography between census blocks and census tracts.

27. Urban Policy: Introduction

28. Urban Policy: Introduction
Number of Metropolitan Areas
As of February, 2013, there were
388 MSAs and 541 micropolitan statistical areas in the United States
These number include 7 MSAs and 5 micropolitan statistical areas in Puerto Rico.

29. Urban Policy: Introduction

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

31. Urban Policy: Introduction
Characteristics of the Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2010
Race (Percent)
Area
Population
Income Per Capita
Poverty Rate in Central City
White
Black
Other
Percent Hispanic
New York
18,897,109
$52,037
18.7
59.2
17.8
23.1
22.9
Los Angeles
12,828,837
$42,784
19.8
52.8
7.1
40.2
44.4
Chicago
9,461,105
$44,379
21.6
65.4
17.4
17.2
20.7
Dallas
6,371,773
$41,764
23.2
65.3
15.1
19.6
27.5
Philadelphia
5,965,343
$46,075
25.0
68.2
20.8
11.0
7.8
Houston
5,946,800
$46,570
20.6
60.2
22.5
35.3
Washington
5,582,170
$56,984
18.4
54.8
25.8
19.4
13.8
Miami
5,564,635
$42,764
26.5
70.3
21.0
8.6
41.6
Atlanta
5,268,860
$37,101
55.4
32.4
12.2
10.4
Boston
4,552,402
$53,553
16.9
78.8
7.3
13.9
9.0
San Francisco
4,335,391
$59,993
11.6
51.7
8.4
39.9
21.7
Detroit
4,296,250
$37,927
36.4
70.1
22.8
3.9
Riverside
4,224,851
$29,680
58.9
7.6
33.5
47.3
Phoenix
4,192,887
$34,452
21.1
73.0
5.0
22.1
29.5
Seattle
3,439,809
$50,378
10.6
71.9
5.6
New Orleans (46th)
1,167,764
$23,475
23.8
58.2
34.0
7.9
Syracuse (80th)
662,577
$36,833
31.7
85.5
8.1
6.5
3.4