Spring 2013 Course Highlights Template.docx - NYU Wagner

URBAN PLANNING COURSE HIGHLIGHTS
Spring 2013
*** WEIGHTED PRE-REGISTRATION LOTTERY FOR SELECT COURSES ***
Wagner will hold a pre-registration lottery process for high-demand courses. This weighted lottery process will allow
students to request these courses without having to rush to place a registration request immediately after
registration opens on Albert. In the pre-registration process, students will use an online request form instead of using
Albert.
The online form will be available at http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses / from Friday, October 26 at 9:00 am until
Thursday, November 1 at 5:00 pm. It does not make any difference when during the pre-registration period you
submit the form. Please read the important information and directions below.
Selection for seats in the lottery courses will be based on certain weighted factors, including whether the course is a
requirement for the student’s specialization, how many semesters a student has remaining at Wagner, etc. In cases
where there are multiple sections of a course available, a student’s section preference will also be part of the
weighting. Having previously attempted to pre-register for a course will also be a weighting factor (i.e., if you didn't
get into the class in Fall 2012 and enter the pre-registration for the same course in Spring 2013, you will be given
preference).
If there are enough seats in the course for all of the students in a tier to be enrolled, all of those students will be
enrolled. If there are not enough seats for all of the students in a tier to be enrolled, students in that tier will be
randomly ordered and placed in the course or on the waitlist according to that order.
Everyone who enters the weighted lottery will be notified on Thursday, November 8 about whether they have
secured a seat in a course or their position on the waitlist (if appropriate). Students will be provided with a unique
permission number so that they may register for the course via Albert, when Albert registration opens on Monday,
November 12. Students must register themselves, using the permission number, before 11:59 pm on the evening of
Wednesday, November 14. Students must clear any holds on their account (bursar’s hold, etc.) since the codes will
expire if not used by November 14.
Students in a lottery course waitlist position will be manually placed on the waitlist by Wagner on Thursday,
November 15. The courses in the lottery will be open to all students for registration on Albert on Friday, November 16.
The Spring 2013 pre-registration courses are (updated on 10/24/12):
1. PADM-GP 2135 Developing Human Resources
2. PADM-GP 2140 Public Economics and Finance
3. PADM-GP 2170 Performance Measurement
4. PADM-GP 2171 Program Analysis and Evaluation
5. PADM-GP 2173 Operations Management for Public, Nonprofit and Health Contexts
6. PADM-GP 2201 Institutions, Governance and International Development (002 w/Natasha Iskander)
7. PADM-GP 2310 Understanding Social Entrepreneurship
8. PADM-GP 2411 Policy Formation
9. PADM-GP 2445 Poverty, Inequality, and Policy
10. PADM-GP 2875 Estimating Impacts in Policy Research
11. PADM-GP 2902 Multiple Regression and Introduction to Econometrics
12. PADM-GP 4101 Conflict Management and Negotiation
13. PADM-GP 4112 Building Effective Teams
As of 10/24/12

14. PADM-GP 4340 Digital Innovation Lab
15. URPL-GP 2608 Urban Economics
Weighted Pre-Registration Lottery Timeline: Quick View
Friday, October 26 9:00 am Pre-registration Lottery Form is live at
http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/
Thursday, November 1 5:00 pm Pre-registration Lottery Form closes
Thursday, November 8 5:00 pm Students notified of Lottery request results- whether they have
secured a seat in a course (and issued a permission code) or their
position on the waitlist (on which they will be manually placed by
Academic Services)
Monday, November 12 9:00 am Students begin to register themselves on Albert using permission
codes (if not on waitlist)
Wednesday, November 14 11:59 pm Deadline for students to use permission codes
Thursday, November 15 5:00 pm Students placed on Lottery course waitlists by Academic Services
Friday, November 16 10:00 am Lottery courses are open to all students for registration on Albert
Reminder: Students must clear any holds on their account (bursar’s hold, etc.) since the course registration
permission codes for the lottery will expire if not used before Wednesday, November 14. The lottery process will not
take into account any schedule conflicts. If you secure a seat in conflicting courses, you must choose which course to
take and which to forego.
If after reading through the instructions you have remaining questions, email wagner.academicservices@nyu.edu.
*** IMPORTANT GENERAL REGISTRATION NOTES ***
Check Albert for Updated Course Meeting Dates, Times and Course Changes
The course schedule is posted on Wagner website but it is important to always check Albert for the most updated
information on courses. Albert may be updated daily, while the course schedules on the Wagner website are updated
once per week.
January Intersession courses included in Spring 2013 schedule
Courses offered in January 2013 are included and in the Spring 2013 schedule on the Wagner website (search for
“January”), and as part of Spring 2013 on ALBERT.
Skills Courses
Most skills courses are 2-credit courses (4000-level courses).
Outside/University-wide Electives
To view the University-wide list of courses that has been pre-approved by the Wagner faculty and may be taken as
electives, visit http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/otherlistings.php. This is a helpful tool that allows you to see non-
Wagner courses listed by topic area, for example international development, social policy, education policy,
As of 10/24/12

nonprofit management, and more. We have made every effort to update non-Wagner course numbers, but you may
need to consult with the department to verify new course numbers. For instructions on how to register for non-Wagner
courses, see: http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/registration/outsideWagner.php.
Pre-Term Workshops
Pre-Term Workshops are open to all current students. Registration is completed through Albert. For more information
on Pre-Term, consult the website: http://wagner.nyu.edu/current/services/preterm.php
Courses by Semester
To view an outline of when courses are typically offered, visit http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/ and download the
“Courses by Semester” documents for each program.
Composing Your Career
Dates and times for these workshops can be found in Albert and on the spring course schedule,
http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/. Students must submit pre-registration requests for the non-credit “Composing Your
Career” workshops.
Core Course Waiver Exams
Students who do not qualify for an automatic course waiver (see waiver policies at:
http://www.nyu.edu/wagner/current/registration/waivers.php) may write a waiver exam. The waiver schedule for
May is posted on our website, and students can register online (at the link above). Waivers must be completed prior
to the start of a student’s second semester.
SPSS Proficiency Exam
SPSS proficiency is a requirement for graduation. Students who waive Statistics (CORE-GP 1011) must demonstrate
proficiency in SPSS by passing the SPSS examination (NONCR-GP 938) prior to starting Capstone or by completing
PADM-GP 2902 Multiple Regression and Introduction to Econometrics. Register on Albert for the optional preparatory
module (NONCR-GP 931) for the SPSS exam and for the exam (NONCR-GP 938). Students who take CORE-GP 1011 gain
proficiency through their coursework.
Labs/Recitations for Quantitative Courses
Please note that the labs/recitations for the following courses are mandatory, but have been given separate course
numbers:
Statisitcs lecture: CORE-GP 1011; laboratory: CORE-GP 111
Microeconomics lecture: CORE-GP 1018; recitation: CORE-GP 118
Financial Management lecture: CORE-GP 1021; recitation: CORE-GP 121
Multiple Regression lecture: PADM-GP 2902; recitation: PADM-GP 290
You must register the corresponding non-credit lab/recitation when you register for a lecture.
Please note that PADM-GP 2140 Public Economics and Finance has an optional recitation section (PADM-GP 140). It
is not mandatory to register for this discussion when you register for the lecture, although it is highly recommended.
As of 10/24/12

*** SPRING 2013 COURSE INFORMATION ***
(In addition to the courses on the following pages, there are course announcements listed on the Health,
International, PNP course highlight documents found here http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/)
~ new courses offered in January intersession (listed on spring schedule) ~
PADM-GP 4132 Governance of Public/Private Finance: Policy, Law & Business (2 credits)
Instructor: Richard Brodsky
Day/Time: Tuesday/Thursday 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dates: 1/08/2013 - 1/24/2013
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1020
Recently, traditional methods of capital flow between the private and public sector have undergone tremendous
change. For many years the financial and social needs of both sectors were adequately addressed by traditional debt
instruments, largely bonds and notes. Starting some years ago, there began a proliferation of new entities that now
account for the bulk of public indebtedness. These have sprung up without serious examination of the reasons for
their creation, their governance, their policies and practices, and their consequences. This course will examine all
forms of these new structures, the law and reality of their operation, international, national and state efforts to
monitor and control them, and their impacts on financial markets and government policies. The course will look at
efforts by the IMF to rationalize and regulate Public/Private groups and by New York State to rationalize and
democratize their governance, the application of fiduciary obligation to their operations, unintended legal and
financial problems, and the unresolved financial, ethical, legal, policy and political questions that remain. Cases to
be studied include the financing of the new Yankee Stadium, the TARP Fund, PATH, and the Norwegian Sovereign
Wealth Fund. The course will include required readings, notable guest speakers from both public and private sectors,
team case studies, and a final paper.
PADM-GP 4340 Digital Innovation Lab (2 credits)
Instructor: Yasmin Fodil (see bio below)
Day/Time: Wednesday/Friday 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Dates: 1/7/2013 – 1/25/2013
Prerequisites: None
Advances in the capabilities of digital technology to organize, create, and share information combined with the
pervasiveness of personal technology devices has transformed our society in innumerable ways. Technology has also
changed the way that institutions interact with and serve their constituents as evidenced through a number of
interesting innovations in the field. The course will delve into several of these programs, such as: Code for America,
which brings develops, designers and entrepreneurs into city government to help the offices become more open and
efficient; TurboVote, a tool that is trying to make voting as easy as possible by using the web to streamline the
absentee voter registration process; the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Blog which enables a dialogue
with the public about their methods and guidelines, potentially improving the relationship between travelers and the
agency; among others. This is a practical course that will help you gain the practical skills necessary to develop and
refine a socially conscious digital innovation concept and bring it to fruition.
Instructor Bio:
Yasmin Fodil is the co-founder and director of BYO consulting, where she specializes in creative public policy making
and how technology can be used to make government and organizations more collaborative, participatory,
transparent, and accountable. She has worked at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on an internal
communications plan for their engineering directorate and as an Information Officer for the Office of the Arts and
Special Projects at the NYC Department of Education.She regularly blogs at wethegoverati.wordpress.com. Fodil has a
As of 10/24/12

Masters of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelors in Government from
Cornell.
~ new courses offered in spring semester ~
URPL-GP 4629 – Transportation at the Technology Frontier (2 credits)
Instructor: Sarah Kaufman
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 6:45 pm – 8:25pm (meets in the first seven weeks of the semester)
Prerequisite: None
The course will explore the major categories and characteristics relating to technology in mobility networks,
relationships within and to them, and concepts surrounding them through both seminar classes and field research.
As planners, technologists and policymakers pursue the “internet of things” in infrastructure, future transportation
developments will need to address emerging technologies and the networks that connect them.
Transportation networks to be discussed in this course include the physical (rail, road); spatial (connected
neighborhoods/nodes); information (data, communications); linguistic (local jargon); external (connectivity to
adjacent networks); sociological (multi-demographic strangers); supportive (back-end infrastructure); and
experiential (the story as output). Among these networks are the relationships that enable them: Machine-tomachine
(train to rail, car to car), human to machine (rider to train); and human to human (fleeting interactions), as
enabled, or exacerbated, using new technologies. Students will consider how transportation networks are affected by
the tools, policies and resources surrounding technology’s incorporation.
URPL-GP 4237 – Urbanization in Developing Countries (2 credits)
Instructors: Solly Angel
Day/Time: Thursdays, 8:35 pm - 10:15 pm (meets in the first seven weeks of the semester)
Prerequisite: PADM-GP 2201
The course focuses on understanding and coming to terms with the current prospects of global urban expansion. The
first part of the course will focus on four propositions underlying a new paradigm for managing the rapid urbanization
that can now be observed in developing countries: the inevitable expansion proposition, the sustainable densities
proposition, the decent housing proposition, and the public works proposition. The second part of the course will
focus on urbanization in a new historical perspective, on the geography of world urbanization, and on the global
hierarchy of cities. The third part of the course will explore the theory and the empirical evidence concerning global
urban expansion by focusing on seven topics: global urban land cover and its expansion; the persistent decline in
urban densities; from centrality to dispersal; the fragmentation of urban landscapes; the pulsating compactness of
urban footprints; urban and cover projections 2000-2050; and urban expansion and the loss of cultivated land.
PADM-GP 2425 – Government 3.0: Rethinking Governance for the 21st Century (4 credits)
Instructor: Beth Noveck
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 4:55 pm - 6:35 pm
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1020
We live in an era of unprecedented technological innovation with ingenious new advances for achieving clean energy,
eradicating disease and providing greater wellness, more equitably and effectively delivering education, and
improving the quality of human existence and expression. At the same time, we are experiencing clear deficits within
centralized institutions of government and civil society: deficits of agility, innovation and capacity. These traditional
institutions are failing to tap into the diversity of expertise and experience of individuals and communities, rendering
us less able to quickly discover, recognize, implement and scale innovative approaches to pressing problems and
making it impossible to translate technological innovation into social progress. New technology makes collaborative
problem solving possible. In this course, we explore how we might use technology -- from big data to social media --
to redesign our systems of governance to devolve power from centralized, hierarchical institutions and evolve more
robust collaboration among individuals, groups and institutions including government and the media. Through
customized reading lists, blogging assignments, and a final design project participants will apply what we learn
about innovation to the issues about which they are the most passionate.
As of 10/24/12

PADM-GP 4143 – Research Tools and Methods for Public Service (2 credits)
Instructors: Shankar Prasad and Judy Polyne
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 4:55 pm - 6:35 pm (meets in the second seven weeks of the semester)
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1011
Quantitative and qualitative methods are essential for effective policymaking. In addition to helping us identify social
problems, we can use research to help determine causes of these problems, suggest potential solutions and
evaluate effectiveness of existing programs. Most policy-relevant research questions can be addressed in many
different ways, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In this course, students will learn the formal principles
of research design as they apply to both qualitative and quantitative methods. Students will also learn about the
comparative advantages and disadvantages of different data collection methods. The primary goal of this course is to
learn how to identify and evaluate alternative research designs and data collection strategies. These conceptual tools
will help students become more sophisticated consumers and producers of research. A secondary goal is to provide
a hands-on introduction to observing phenomena, conducting interviews, running focus groups and writing effective
surveys.
PADM-GP 4619 – Arts, the Artist, and Public Art in Urban Revitalization (2 credits)
Instructor: Tim Tompkins and Sherry Dobbin (see bio below)
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 6:45 pm - 8:25 pm (meets in the first seven weeks of the semester)
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1022
This seven-week course addresses the role of arts institutions, artists and public art in revitalizing cities, with an
emphasis on comparative domestic and international examples of distinctive interventions and the larger lessons
that can be drawn from them. We examine how the economic, geographic and social context shapes both art and its
role with respect to public policy goals. Students will refine their ability to analyze existing projects and programs
and plan creative interventions as tools for revitalizing cities. In the process, we will also examine and broaden the
definition of public art. The class is appropriate for those interested in both public policy, planning and
administration as well as arts-based practice and theory.
Instructor Bio:
Sherry Dobbin, Director of Public Art for Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance. She
brings over 20 years international experience across performance and visual arts, and art in the public realm, where
she has worked as producer, administrator, consultant and curator. Prior to Times Square, she was the Director of
Robert Wilson's The Watermill Center and a Project Director of arts-led regeneration throughout London and Eastern
UK. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (UK), and holds a Masters with Distinction from University of London,
Birkbeck College in Cross-disciplinary Arts History and a BFA in Theater Studies from Boston University College of Fine
Arts.
~ application-only courses in spring 2013 ~
(these courses are not in the weighted pre-registration lottery)
PADM-GP 2129 – Race, Identity and Diversity in Organizations (4 credits)
Instructor: Erica Foldy
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 6:45 pm - 8:25 pm
Prerequisites: CORE-GP 1020
Note: This is an application-only course separate from Wagner’s Weighted Pre-Registration Lottery. In order to
request registration, please fill out the form here. Applications should be no more than about a page. Applications
will be accepted from now until Monday, October 29th. Students will be notified about registration results on
November 8th. If you have questions, please contact Ann Lin at ann.lin@nyu.edu.
As of 10/24/12

This course brings together a wide range of thinking and scholarship about race and identity to encourage learning
about what race is, why it matters, and racial dynamics in organizations. While recognizing the importance of
intersectionality and other markers of difference such as gender and class, the course focuses on race for two
reasons: 1) it is generally the most charged dimension of diversity in the United States, the most difficult to discuss
and, therefore, the topic we most often avoid, and 2) it has the greatest impact on life chances and opportunities:
race is often the best predictor of income, wealth, education, health, employment and other important measures of
well-being. The course will roughly divide into two parts. The first part will address the phenomenon of race more
broadly, while the second half will look more closely at organizations, especially public service contexts such as
social services, health care and philanthropy.
URPL-GP 2616 – Colloquium on the Law, Politics, and Economics of Urban Affairs (4 credits)
Instructor: Ingrid Gould Ellen
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 2:00 pm - 3:50 pm
Prerequisites: CORE-GP 1011 and either PADM-GP 2140 or URPL-GP 2608
Note: This is an application-only course separate from Wagner’s Weighted Pre-Registration Lottery. In order to
request registration, please fill out the form here. Applications should be no more than about one page. Submissions
will be accepted from now until Monday, October 29th. Students will be notified about registration results on
November 8th. If you have questions, please contact Joanne Williams at joanne.williams@nyu.edu.
This course, taught jointly by faculty at NYU Law and Wagner, offers students an opportunity to explore the theoretical
underpinnings of the leading current debates about such critical urban policy issues as whether and how to contain
suburban sprawl; the impacts of various efforts to increase the production of affordable housing; and the successes
and failures of efforts to improve and equalize the quality of education. The primary focus of the colloquium are
discussions of works in progress by scholars from around the country, working in such disciplines as planning, law,
public policy, and economics. In colloquium weeks, students participate in an in-depth discussion of the paper with
the author. Students submit a short paper critiquing the work in progress. In alternate weeks, students meet with
faculty to discuss supplemental readings and learn the background necessary to understand each paper.
~ course moved from summer to spring 2013 ~
PADM-GP 4250 – Hunger and Food Security in a Global Perspective (2 credits)
Instructor: John Gershman
Day/Time: Mondays, 4:55 pm - 6:35 pm (meets in the second seven weeks of the semester)
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1018, CORE-GP 1011, and CORE-GP 1022
Note: This 2-credit course meets in New York only (see PADM-GP 2250 for Ghana-based version, which meets in
summer).
This course explores the political and economic policy issues surrounding hunger and food security, drawing on
many case examples and using Ghana as a case study. The course will provide an overview of some of the core
dimensions of global hunger and food security policy issues, including debates over a new green revolution, food
aid, fair trade, the impact of expanded biofuels production and the impact of the inter-related financial, food, and
fuel crises.
~ courses taught in an intensive format spring 2013 ~
PADM-GP 2204 Development Assistance, Accountability, and Aid Effectiveness
(4 credits)
As of 10/24/12

Instructor: Paul Smoke and John Gershman
Day/Time: Fridays 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Dates: 2/08/2013, 2/22/2013, 3/15/2013, 4/05/2013
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1018, CORE-GP 1022
PADM-GP 2245 Financing Local Government in Developing Countries
(4 credits)
Instructor: Paul Smoke
Day/Time: Fridays 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Dates: 2/01/2013, 2/15/2013, 3/01/2013, 3/08/2013, 4/12/2013
Prerequisite: CORE-GP 1018, PADM-GP 2201
~ courses not offered in spring 2013 ~
PADM-GP 2236 – Protecting Rights and Promoting Development: Labor and Environmental Standards in the
Global Economy
Instructor: Salo Coslovsky
Not offered again until 2014
URPL-GP 2666 – Water Sourcing and Climate Change
Instructor: Natasha Iskander
Not offered again until 2014
For course descriptions (see “course listings”), course syllabi, course schedules, courses-bysemester,
and program checksheets, go to: http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/
As of 10/24/12

SPRING 2013
9:00am-
10:40am
10:00am-
11:40am
2:00pm-
3:40pm
4:55pm-
6:35pm
6:45pm-
8:25pm
8:35pm-
10:15pm
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Land Use Law:
The Planning
Perspective
(URPL-GP 1605-
002)
Urban Economics
(URPL-GP 2608-002)
Urban Planning:
Practices and
Methods
(URPL-GP 1603-001)
Planning for
Emergencies and
Disasters
(URPL-GP 2645)
Urban Economics
(URPL-GP 2608-001)
Transportation at the
Technology Frontier
(URPL-GP 4629)*
Urban Planning:
Practices and
Methods
(URPL-GP 1603-002)
Colloquium on the Law, Politics,
and Economics of Urban Affairs
(URPL-GP 2616)
Meets 2:00pm-3:50pm
Land Use Law: The Planning
Perspective
(URPL-GP 1605-001)
Housing and Community
Development Policy
(URPL- GP 4638)*
Environmental Impact
Assessment
(URPL-GP 2610)
Building Green Housing
(URPL-GP 4639)**
Urban Planning:
Practices and Methods
(Lab)
(URPL-GP 1603-003)
Transportation Policy
(URPL-GP 2470)
Special Topics in
Housing: Informal
Settlements
(URPL-GP 4636)*
Selected Topics in
Community Equity and
Wealth Building
(URPL-GP 4635)**
Urban Planning:
Practices and Methods
(Lab)
(URPL-GP 1603-004)
* Indicates class meets Weeks 1-7 of semester; ** Indicates class meets Weeks 8-14 of semester
+ Indicates irregular meeting pattern: see Albert for details
Development Assistance,
Accountability, and Aid
Effectiveness
(PADM-GP 2204)+
Meets 9:00am-3:00pm
Financing Local
Government in Developing
Countries
(PADM-GP 2245)+
Meets 10:00am-2:00pm
Advanced Geographical
Information Systems
(URPL-GP 2690)**
Meets 2:00pm-5:00pm