Public Policy Lab: Urban Governance in US Cities

Catalog description

Cities in the United States provide a great variety of services to citizens, including public safety, education, construction and maintenance of infrastructure and more. Across the country, the cost of these and other programs or policies amounted to more than $2.2 trillion in spending by local governments in 2021 according to the US Census. In this 10-week team-based Action Learning Program course, we will partner with 2 different cities with diverse populations. In groups, students will explore one of three local government finance issues in each city: infrastructure, economic development, and workforce development. Teams will assess the efficacy of the cities' existing strategies and propose data-driven, evidence-based recommendations for new policies to benefit all city residents. Students will have the opportunity to engage with an array of city officials and subject matter experts to aid in the preparation of reports that will be presented to local government officials.