Course Instructor: Dr. James C. Saku

Office Phone: 301-687-4724, Secretary: 301-687-4369

Office Location: FA 224

Office Hours: 9:00-10:00 MWF, 1:00-2:00 P.M. (W) or by appointment

Lecture Hours: TR 12:30-1:45, FA 219

Course Objectives

1. Introduce students to the concepts, theories and methods of regional planning and development.
2. Examine regional economic inequalities
3. Evaluate planning techniques and policies used to reduce regional disparities
4. Examine specific examples of regional development policy in the United States
5. Introduce students to writing of project proposal

Required text: Edward J. Blakely (1994). Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications, California.

Class Assignment:  Each student is required to review and provide critical comments on one of the following regional development projects in the United States. These materials are available on reserve in the library. Your review should be limited to 3 typed double pages.

1. The United States I: The TVA
2. The United States II: The EDA and the Appalachian Regional Commission
3. The United States III: The Austin Project

Grading: All in-class and final examinations will consist of short questions and essays. Prior approval is required for missing an examination. No make-up examinations will be granted if you fail to seek prior approval.

The final grade will consist of 7 elements

Points

Class attendance = 25 points

Field trip (April 9, 1998) = 25 points

Class assignment (February 12) = 50 points

Presentation of research project = 25 points

Research project (May 1, 1998) = 75 points

Midterm (March 19, 1998) = 100 points

Final examination (May 20, 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.) = 100 points

Your final grade will be determined based on the total points accumulated over 400. The scale is as follows:

A = 90-100%

B = 80-89%

C = 70-79% No NC grade will be awarded

D = 60-69%

F< 60%

Academic dishonesty:  Note that academic dishonesty including plagiarism and cheating during examination is a serious offence and carries severe penalty. Refer to the Pathfinder for details.

Disruptive Student behavior:  The university will not tolerate disorderly or disruptive conduct which substantially threatens, harms or interferes with university personnel or orderly university processes and function. A faculty member may require a student to leave the classroom when his/her behavior disrupts the learning environment of the class. A student found responsible for disruptive behavior in the classroom may be administratively withdrawn from the course.

Policy:  Students are expected to attend classes regularly and participate actively during class discussions. Attendance will be recorded and failure to attend classes will result in the loss of marks. Students are responsible for informing the instructor of their presence if they arrive after attendance has been taken.

Project Proposal:  Each student is required to prepare a project proposal for government assistance for a development project. Refer to chapter 11 of your text on how to prepare project proposals. As a project director of a firm interested in establishing a business in an industrial park, write a project proposal to your county for financial aid. The county is interested in the project because of potential job creation in the region and possible spin-off effects. On the other hand, the firm needs financial support from the county for the project.

Your project proposal should consist of the following

1) A covering letter (1-2 pages)

A covering letter is a formal letter from your company to the county requesting for funds. This type of letter is usually brief and very formal. It should be limited to a page or two. It is important to avoid sloppy language and abbreviations. Spellings and grammar should be checked. The letter should be directed to:

Mr. Paul Goodman, Director

Economic Development

County of Many Places

County House, MD 0000

2) Development Proposal (Review Blakely, chapter 11) (8-10 pages)

Development proposal is a detailed business plan which outlines the nature of support required from the Economic Development Authority. The plan is used to convince funding agencies that your business is viable. It is also used to demonstrate the short and long-term impacts of development on local or regional economy. You proposal should indicate the nature of your human resources, that is, technical and supporting staff.

While students are encouraged to adopt their own format, the project proposal must include the following elements. Headings and sub-headings are strongly recommended.

1. Introduction of the firm (type of product or service, scale of production, when the company started, possible subsidiaries, head office location, current level of employment)
2. Past references possible sources of past funding, private or governmental
3. Advantages of the locality market and raw material availability, labor, related companies, ducational facilities, health services
4. Level of assistance from the county (space, bonds, loans, employee training, tax holidays)
5. Immediate and future impacts
6. Date of start, future expansion, impacts of construction, multiplier effects
7. Final arguments

As a project coordinator for the company, attach your current resume. It is a good idea to emphasize your experience with the project.

4) Reply from economic development authority (1-2 pages)

Pretend you are the economic development officer of the county. In your response to the company, provide a critical appraisal to the proposal. You may accept or decline the proposal. Either way, you need to justify your decision.

General Course Outline and Reading (subject to change)

1: Introduction

Basic concepts: Regional planning and policy defined Arguments for and against regional planning

2: Why economic development? Chapter 1

What is development? Types of development - global, regional and community

Theories of development monetary policy, welfare and social policy regional/local development  policy national economic development policy advocacy approach, pluralist argument, traditional

4: The planning process Chapter 4

who is involved? politicians, professional planners, public, other professionals, degree of public participation phases of regional planning

5: Techniques of economic development Chapter 5

goal of regional data and analysis, types of data: qualitative and quantitative shift share analysis, location quotient, income multipliers, employment multiplier population employment ratio, retail gravity analysis

6. Strategy of economic development Chapter 6

what is a strategy? goals and requirements of a successful strategy, types of strategies (locality,

business development, human resource development, community based employment, elements of

a strategy, project financing

7. Elements of a project proposal Chapter 11

why project plan? project viability (community, location/ market, commercial, implementation) financial analysis -- cost-benefit, organizational design and business plan)

Part 2: Types of Development Planning

8. Regional transportation development (reading assigned)

the role of transportation in regional development modes of transportation (road, rail, air, water) 

phases of transportation development -- pre-analysis, technical and post-analysis

9. Historic preservation for regional development (reading assigned)

why historic preservation? what should be preserved? methods of historic preservation 

problems in planning for historic preservation

10. Business Development Chapter 8

why business planning? Approaches (one stop centres, start up ventures, small business development centres, group marketing systems, micro-enterprises, enterprise zones)

10. Human Resource Development Chapter 9

goals of human resource development approaches to human resource development-- customarized training, fist source agreements, employment maintenance, skill banks, training programs, youth enterprises, disabled kills development

11. Community Development Chapter 10

why and how community development is achievable? organizational structure - community development corporations, community cooperatives, local enterprise agencies, employment/worker ownership, community employment and training boards

12. Institutional Structures Chapter 12

why institutional structures? organizational structures -- economic development specialist, typology of development organizations -- economic development agencies as units of local government, independent private development agencies, economic development corporations, public-private partnerships

13. High Technology Economic Development Chapter 13

what and why high technology regional development elements of high technology development, inducing high technology development