RESEARCH AND TEACHING
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| mupzinefinal.pdf |
"Planning is politics, and planners who think its outside of politics give even more power to those politicians and planners who recognize that planning is political" (p. 6).
Davidoff (1971) Community planning and the advocate in the suburbs. Planning Comment 7(1): 1-13.
"I do not see how any advance in a reasonable explanation of political life can be made in our time without this kind of humble turning to a first-hand observation of government in action, of the functions which people perform collectively through its use, of how they are best organized throughout the community. A theory of public administration means in our time a theory of politics also" (p. 167-168).
Gaus, J. (1950) Trends in the theory of public administration. Public Administration Review 10(3): 161-168.
"We believe political education is inadequate across the board."
American Political Science Assoc. (1989) Task Force on Civic Education in the 21st Century.
RESEARCH
I'm interested in the development and implementation of equitable economies, people-centric policies, and sustainable practices that promote human thriving rather than just surviving. Besides my interests in political urban planning and political public administration, I am interested in the roles that compassion, human physiological needs, civic rights, social expectations, moral obligations, and critical thinking play in forming public opinion and policy development aimed at creating a more just and equitable society. I focus especially on evaluating policy agendas and outcomes based on the educational and professional backgrounds, and policy making processes, of legislators.
Primary Research Interests
I am engaged in an exploration of the nexus of planning, public administration, and politics. My research agenda includes an investigation of the characteristics of planning, broadly conceived, through the analytical lenses of political economy, political campaigning, and governance, for purposes of developing a better understanding of what planning IS. I've recently published an op-ed in the American Planning Association's practice-focused Planning Magazine that argues planning is better understood as the motive and means for evidence-based governing and that planning education and practice should respond to this understanding by conceiving of electoral politics as part and parcel of planning practice - and educating would-be planners accordingly. This op-ed is an extension of the thinking developed in my co-authored "Toward a Political Urban Planning: Learning from Growth Machine and Advocacy Planning to 'Plannitize" Urban Politics" in Planning Theory.
Political Planning and Administration are predicated upon the goals of improving environmental, economic, and social justice and equity for all, most especially disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations in urban environments. These would entail purposeful recruitment of historically disadvantaged and disenfranchised community members into these educational programs. Such a political practice would operate in concert with traditional practice to improve the chances of enacting these normative goals.
This would be accomplished first by creating space in planning or public administration education programs to offer certificates and/or concentrations that add to traditional applied sciences education the necessary instruction and training for so-inclined students to pursue and hold elected office. Second, the engagement in political campaigns would then serve to produce public participation in the debate about various policies and plans to address social conditions as envisioned by advocacy planning, the newer theories of 'just' planning, and new public administration. Third, if successful, the new-found power held by elected planners and administrators would provide the necessary political will to enact policies and implement plans more attuned to egalitarian notions of the public good than has been historically realized.
Additional Research Interests
Other interests include all aspects of environmental policy making and implementation as well as developing and implementing alternative community and economic development policies and plans. Examples of these include use of public funds to create co-operatively owned businesses for housing provision and wealth generation among historically disadvantaged populations rather than subsidizing corporate real estate development and job relocations. Also of interest is how cities might become more self-sufficient (and whether they should) in terms of governance structures in light of their often restricted powers vis a vis state powers.
On a lighter note, I'm also interested in how the design, scale, and condition of the built environment impacts human mental and physical wellbeing. Of special interest is the use of whimsical design in public art, community-building art projects, and infrastructure. I also conduct research on dogs in urban environments; this research is currently focused on issues of crime prevention and community safety.
TEACHING
I have taught online and traditional courses at both the undergraduate (including honors) and graduate levels. I incorporate the concepts of ontology and epistemology and utilize Socratic inquiry and Harkness discussion methodologies as frequently as possible. I frequently have students teach to learn and engage with each other in collaborative writing assignments. I have taught Environmental Policy & Planning at the graduate and undergraduate levels, Research Methods at the undergraduate level, Economic Contexts and Concepts for graduate students, Urban Theory and Political Economy for undergraduates, Public Administration as well as Public Management at the graduate level, and Dogs in Society at the undergraduate level. I have designed a graduate level Real Estate Principles course and am prepared to teach Political Theory, American Government, Planning Theory, Planning History, Urban Theory, Social Theory, and Urban History.
Davidoff (1971) Community planning and the advocate in the suburbs. Planning Comment 7(1): 1-13.
"I do not see how any advance in a reasonable explanation of political life can be made in our time without this kind of humble turning to a first-hand observation of government in action, of the functions which people perform collectively through its use, of how they are best organized throughout the community. A theory of public administration means in our time a theory of politics also" (p. 167-168).
Gaus, J. (1950) Trends in the theory of public administration. Public Administration Review 10(3): 161-168.
"We believe political education is inadequate across the board."
American Political Science Assoc. (1989) Task Force on Civic Education in the 21st Century.
RESEARCH
I'm interested in the development and implementation of equitable economies, people-centric policies, and sustainable practices that promote human thriving rather than just surviving. Besides my interests in political urban planning and political public administration, I am interested in the roles that compassion, human physiological needs, civic rights, social expectations, moral obligations, and critical thinking play in forming public opinion and policy development aimed at creating a more just and equitable society. I focus especially on evaluating policy agendas and outcomes based on the educational and professional backgrounds, and policy making processes, of legislators.
Primary Research Interests
I am engaged in an exploration of the nexus of planning, public administration, and politics. My research agenda includes an investigation of the characteristics of planning, broadly conceived, through the analytical lenses of political economy, political campaigning, and governance, for purposes of developing a better understanding of what planning IS. I've recently published an op-ed in the American Planning Association's practice-focused Planning Magazine that argues planning is better understood as the motive and means for evidence-based governing and that planning education and practice should respond to this understanding by conceiving of electoral politics as part and parcel of planning practice - and educating would-be planners accordingly. This op-ed is an extension of the thinking developed in my co-authored "Toward a Political Urban Planning: Learning from Growth Machine and Advocacy Planning to 'Plannitize" Urban Politics" in Planning Theory.
Political Planning and Administration are predicated upon the goals of improving environmental, economic, and social justice and equity for all, most especially disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations in urban environments. These would entail purposeful recruitment of historically disadvantaged and disenfranchised community members into these educational programs. Such a political practice would operate in concert with traditional practice to improve the chances of enacting these normative goals.
This would be accomplished first by creating space in planning or public administration education programs to offer certificates and/or concentrations that add to traditional applied sciences education the necessary instruction and training for so-inclined students to pursue and hold elected office. Second, the engagement in political campaigns would then serve to produce public participation in the debate about various policies and plans to address social conditions as envisioned by advocacy planning, the newer theories of 'just' planning, and new public administration. Third, if successful, the new-found power held by elected planners and administrators would provide the necessary political will to enact policies and implement plans more attuned to egalitarian notions of the public good than has been historically realized.
Additional Research Interests
Other interests include all aspects of environmental policy making and implementation as well as developing and implementing alternative community and economic development policies and plans. Examples of these include use of public funds to create co-operatively owned businesses for housing provision and wealth generation among historically disadvantaged populations rather than subsidizing corporate real estate development and job relocations. Also of interest is how cities might become more self-sufficient (and whether they should) in terms of governance structures in light of their often restricted powers vis a vis state powers.
On a lighter note, I'm also interested in how the design, scale, and condition of the built environment impacts human mental and physical wellbeing. Of special interest is the use of whimsical design in public art, community-building art projects, and infrastructure. I also conduct research on dogs in urban environments; this research is currently focused on issues of crime prevention and community safety.
TEACHING
I have taught online and traditional courses at both the undergraduate (including honors) and graduate levels. I incorporate the concepts of ontology and epistemology and utilize Socratic inquiry and Harkness discussion methodologies as frequently as possible. I frequently have students teach to learn and engage with each other in collaborative writing assignments. I have taught Environmental Policy & Planning at the graduate and undergraduate levels, Research Methods at the undergraduate level, Economic Contexts and Concepts for graduate students, Urban Theory and Political Economy for undergraduates, Public Administration as well as Public Management at the graduate level, and Dogs in Society at the undergraduate level. I have designed a graduate level Real Estate Principles course and am prepared to teach Political Theory, American Government, Planning Theory, Planning History, Urban Theory, Social Theory, and Urban History.