2023-2024 Course Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Introduces academic requirements for the Public and Urban Affairs (PUA) and Environmental Policy and Planning (EPP) majors. Assists students with academic planning and career exploration. Students develop an ePortfolio to document their personal and professional growth in the major. Course must be taken during the first semester in the PUA or EPP program.
Current events and case studies on complex planning and policy issues challenging the United States. Historical, political, economic, social, and geographical context of the issues. Roles, relationships and responsibilities in governing, government, and the public policy process. Approaches to leadership and leadership styles. Professional ethics and the role of ethics in policy decisions. Dealing with competing values and public vs. interests in policy making.
Introduction to real estate, including markets, land use planning and zoning, development, finance, construction, sales, marketing, management and property valuation. Examines the key actors and processes in each of these areas. Explores major public policies impacting real estate.
Relationships between urbanization and economic development; role of cities in social, political, cultural, and economic development of societies; cities as settings for innovation and change.
Design decision-making in complex contexts. Ethical issues underlying design for sustainability. Evaluation of design in systems, products, places, and modes of living using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). Historical and cultural underpinnings of design and sustainability.
An introduction to urban policy and urban planning. Includes analysis of the basic concepts and principles of urban policy, a review of urban policy in the United States, discussion of the development of urban planning and its role in shaping the urban environment, and an analysis of the relationship between public policy and planning and the organization and structure of the urban environment.
Overview and application of various methods used to study, represent, understand communities in their urban and regional context. Data collection and analysis; population, land use, transportation and economic forecasting; selecting and applying an appropriate method; designing and presenting a community study. Restricted to majors and minors only.
Systematic analysis of the field and practice of public policy implementation. Includes analysis of the structure and dynamics of the policy process as well as specific analytic approaches to understanding policy implementation. Includes analysis of intra-organizational, interorganizational and intergovernmental implementation processes.
Consideration of one particular issue of immediate importance to the contemporary urban environment. Topics emphasize major social or economic policy issues, and may change each year. Junior standing required.
Critical examination of major global environmental problems from a humanities perspective, including international community responses to global environmental problems such as global warming, atmospheric ozone depletion, acid rain, tropical deforestation, toxic waste. Actions by key actors in the international community to develop solutions. Relationship of justice, fairness, equality, and diversity to political questions of power or authority. Pre: 3 credits of Critical Issues in a Global Context.
Introduction to the interdisciplinary principles of environmental policy, planning, economics, and ethics to address pollution abatement, resources conservation, habitat protection, and environmental restoration. The course will focus on practical means of identifying environmental problems and creatively solving them.
The role and context of public administration in the contemporary United States, administrative organization and decision-making, public finance, human resources administration, and program implementation.
The legal context of the exercise of discretion by public administrators in the United States. Adjudication and rule- making; access to administrative processes and information; legislative and judicial control of administration.
The concept of community in Appalachia using an interdisciplinary approach and experiential learning. Interrelationships among geographically, culturally, and socially constituted communities, public policy, and human development. Pre: Junior standing.
Description and analysis of the processes and institutions involved in the making and implementation of public policy in the United States, with a primary focus on domestic and economic policy. Empirical and normative models of the process of public policy making in the U.S.
Methods and approaches used in the analysis and evaluation of public policy; strengths and limitations of various analytic tools; normative issues in the practice of policy analysis.
Contemporary uses of Marxian concepts and theories to study the world economy, business structure, current social issues, modern ethical values, and alienation.
Issues, concepts, and techniques of citizen participation in community development. Institutional frameworks and their historical precedents. Exercises developing group communications skills, public meeting facilitation, and design of community involvement programs. Pre: Senior standing required.
Key concepts and critiques related to the intersection of gender, environment, and international development. Development institutions and organizations with relationship to gender and environment. Theoretical and applied perspectives on eco-feminism; bio-diversity; climate change; feminist political ecology; agriculture and natural resources; participatory methods and empowerment. Case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Pre: Junior Standing.
Issues in applied environmental ethics. Contributions of diverse religious and philosophical traditions to contemporary perspectives on the human-nature relationship. Examination of environmental policies from utilitarian economic, deep ecology, and ecofeminist perspectives. Junior, senior or graduate standing required.
This course examines the legal principles and policy debates involved in the regulation and protection of critical environmental resources. Specific topics vary but will likely include wetlands law and policy, endangered species habitat, open space, forestland and farmland protection, coastal zone management, and floodplain regulation and policy.
Interdisciplinary, experiential problem solving studio focusing on specific environmental problems. Working in groups, students interact with local officials, consultants, developers, environmental groups to explore the processes of environmental management, regulation and mitigation, applying techniques and skills frequently used by environmental planners and policy-makers. Senior status required and 9 credit hours, 3000-level or above, in the Environmental Policy and Planning major or minor;
Critical examination of the social, political, economic, legal, scientific, and technological contexts underlying processes of environmental change, problems, and solutions, as seen from various conceptual and disciplinary perspectives. Senior status required and 9 credit hours, 3000-level or above, in the Environmental Policy and Planning major or minor.
Environmental factors involved in land use planning and development, including topography, soils, geologic hazards, flooding and stormwater management, ecological features, and visual quality. Techniques used in conducting environmental land inventories and land suitability analyses. Policies and programs to protect environmental quality in land use planning and development. Pre: Junior standing.
Planning and policy aspects of managing residuals and environmental contaminants and their effects on human health and environmental quality. Technical and economic factors involved in management of water quality, air quality, solid and hazardous wastes, toxic substances, and noise. Implementation of pollution control legislation, policies, and programs at federal, state, and local levels.
Practical design fundamentals for small scale renewable energy systems: solar building heating and cooling; solar domestic hot water; wind, photovoltaic, and hydroelectric systems; alcohol, methane and other biomass conversion systems. Developing plans, programs, and policies to stimulate development of renewable systems.
This seminar is the integrative forum for the principal elements of the Washington Semester experience. The course explores both the role of political institutions in policy formation and implementation and the primary managerial and leadership challenges that arise for implementing organization managers in American democratic public policy-making. Pre: Junior standing or instructor consent and acceptance into the Washington Semester program.
This course is part of the Washington Semester. Explores the relationship between the imperatives of democratic mobilization, policy choices and organizational choices through intensive study of the operating context of a selected public or nonprofit organization. Examines implications of policy-maker choices for implementing institution dynamics and challenges. Pre: Junior standing and acceptance into the Washington Semester program required.
Examines the provision and financing of public goods and services in local governments. Analyzes associated policy issues. Reviews experience in Western Europe and developing countries, as well as in the United States.
Examination of the legal context in which urban planning and public policy operate. Legal structure, role of law, powers of sovereign governments, constitutional limitations on government activities, and public-private conflict and their influence on planning and public policy are examined. Pre: Junior standing required.
Examination of major development theories and contemporary issues and characteristics of low-income societies (industrialization, urbanization, migration, rural poverty, hunger, foreign trade, and debt) that establish contexts for development planning and policy-making. Junior standing required.
Course examines the interdependences among the elements of the built environment of the city and those between the elements of the built environment and the policy/planning structure of the city. Considered are those elements associated with the primary urban activities (residential, commercial, industrial) as well as the urban form-giving infrastructure facilities that support those land uses (water supply, sewerage, solid waste disposal, transportation, education, recreation, health, and safety).
This capstone seminar explores the central questions of the role of the citizen and the citizenry in democratic capitalistic urban societies as well as the nature of accountability in such regimes. Topics such as the processes by which representation occurs, alternate theories of democratic community and the relationship of the public, private and civil sectors in urban society are treated. Senior status in PUA required. PUA majors and minors must complete this course with a C grade or higher to graduate; otherwise course must be repeated.
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