What is a participatory city? What has that term meant in the past, what does it mean now, and what will it mean going forward? Against the backdrop of increasing inequality and inequity, and the rise in a search for solutions, what role can citizens play in co-creating more just cities and neighborhoods? How can citizens be engaged in the decision making processes about the places where we live, work, and play? And most importantly, how can we work to make sure that all kinds of voices are meaningfully included, and that historically muted voices are elevated to help pave a better path forward?
Designated as an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course.
This course will connect theory with praxis as we explore together history, challenges, methods, and approaches, and impact of community participation and stakeholder involvement in cities.
An Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) Course
Fall 2023
A central premise of the “American Dream” is economic freedom, implying opportunity, security, and in the minds of many, wealth. The statistical and experiential reality, vividly evident throughout the nation’s urban cities, is a staggering inequitable distribution of resources and growing economic instability for scores of households, including those identified as middle class. This course equips and supports students for dialogue on financial issues and helps them to explore why this dialogue is sometimes avoided or feels difficult.
Fall 2023
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of how decisions and policy are really made in Washington. Weekly travel to Washington D.C. required.