Community and Economic Development (CEDEV)

Understanding theories, concepts, and frameworks of community and economic development and community decision-making models in application to community development practice and issues. CEDEV 500 Principles of Community and Economic Development and Leadership (3) What factors affect the quality of life of American communities? How can citizens and leaders affect change in their community? This course provides an overview of principles of community and economic development and an introduction to approaches to organizing, planning and managing change in communities. Students gain an understanding of principles and strategies of community and economic development in relation to general systems theory, community decision making, and leadership strategies in group and community settings.Students who complete the course should be able to discuss theories and models of development, to apply general systems theory to development issues, and to understand approaches and techniques for community leadership. They will gain an appreciation of conflict and consensus approaches to decision making and change, and understand action strategies for community development and change.This is a required introductory course for all incoming students in the new Community and Economic Development graduate program. The course will also be of interest to graduate students in other programs who have an interest in community and economic development.

Exploration, understanding, and application of leadership roles, strategies, and principles in group and community settings.

Understanding the interaction of population characteristics, land use, municipal funds, and taxation in a locality and how they impact the operation and management of government jurisdictions. CEDEV 509 Population, Land Use and Municipal Finance (3) How do people approach the task of providing and funding the infrastructure and services in American communities? What effect does different population characteristics and demographic mix have on local governance? Should land use be tied to the changing character of community populations? Where does funding originate for providing municipal goods and services and how do communities manage municipal budgets? This course provides a multidimensional overview of three key aspects of community and economic development. Population - the people. Land Use - the place. Municipal finance - the things they do there. Students will gain an understanding of how to analyze population and demographic issues in communities. They will learn about planning and land use laws, regulations and issues. They will come to understand the elements and dynamics of municipal finance. The course is designed to integrate the above aspects of community into an overall understanding of key interactions in American communities.

Social change in rural society, emphasizing prediction and control of the change process. Even years. R SOC (CEDEV) 516 Change in Rural Society (3) Rural America has experienced change throughout its history, but the most rapid have occurred in the past three decades. Forces of urbanization, industrialization, technological change and globalization of the economy drive change in rural America, and the effects of these forces differ across the United States. Some rural areas benefit from the changes that occur while others are devastated. Some rural people and places are able to adapt and view change as an opportunity, while others are unable to respond to the forces that threaten them. Individuals, families and communities have changed in response to these broad forces. This becomes manifest in new patterns of inequality, family life, educational attainment, migration, age and racial patterns, health and well-being, and local service availability. Questions examined in this course include: What are the theories that explain or describe the social change that has been affecting rural people and places? What industrial restructuring and economic change has occurred in rural areas, how has it affected rural areas, and what drives this restructuring? What other social change has taken place, and can we determine potential sources of that change? What are the options available to rural people and communities as they adapt to forces of change, and how much can they influence their own futures? Underlying each of these questions is the issue of whether the well-being of rural people, families, and communities has improved or is threatened by these changes, and which rural areas are most likely to benefit and which are threatened. Students will leave the class with a broad understanding of the forces affecting rural America, and how and why those forces influence some people and places differently. Grades are assigned in this class based on a term paper on a topic related to rural social change, reaction papers written about each set of reading assignments, serving as discussion leader, and class participation.

Implications of planned change for international rural societies, considering basic structural constraints, known institutional linkages, and potential synergetic consequences. R SOC (CEDEV) 517 International Rural Social Change (3) Three-quarters of the world's population live in developing countries where problems of hunger, malnutrition, underemployment, high morbidity and mortality, overurbanization, and inadequate housing, (to name just a few) often are severe. This seminar covers the sociology of economic change in developing countries. Through an extensive list of readings, a series of topical videos, and in-depth class discussions, seminar participants should come away with a firm grounding in the ways development has been defined, the social and economic problems facing developing countries today, the basic ways in which economic development has been approached theoretically and empirically, the implications for developing countries of being embedded in a larger world economy, the influence of multinational corporations, the policies that developing countries have followed in fostering economic growth, the nature of foreign aid, the causes and consequences of Third World debt, the nature of the informal economy, rural development and land reform, world hunger and the Green Revolution, and other topics.

Advanced theories and methods for rural economic development research.

This course is an overview of the field of planning. It examines the history of planning and the theories behind it, and the corresponding roles that planners can play in their communities. It establishes the legal framework for planning as a profession, and examines landmark legal cases involving planning and its tools. It provides answers for such questions as: Why do communities plan? How has planning developed as a profession? What is the political context of Planning? What is the role of a planner within their community and government structure? How does planning relate to other disciplines? It also examines the different types and levels of planning, the process of planning, what data needs to be collected, how a comprehensive plan is made and implemented, and who planners must interact with in the course of doing their job. Finally, the course reviews contemporary issues in planning. Throughout, the course attempts to emphasize both the positive and negative impacts of planning.

Regional growth and development, focusing on challenges to theory, policy, and practice, emphasizing change in metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas. CEDEV 560 Regional Development: Principles, Policy, and Practice (3) Effective regional development requires that history, theory, and policy are reflected in practice. Globalization impacts the development of regions and places in the United States and around the world. In this context, the development of regions impacts and is impacted by the pace and level of development elsewhere. Regional development addresses issues of how growth and disparity are spatially distributed and differentiated, and what causes these patterns to occur. The challenge is twofold. The first challenge is defining exactly what a region is and identifying who ultimately decides the policies and practices that determine its fate. The second is determining who benefits and who bares the costs of particular local and regional development approaches. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to concepts and frameworks of regional development. The first part of the course focuses on definitions and theories of regional growth and development, and begins to uncover ambiguities in pre-existing definitions and theories of regional development associated with topics such as growth and development theory, the new geography, cluster economics, and sustainability. It then delves into various policy approaches and issues including regional, environmental, and rural issues. The course culminates with a discussion of putting regional theory and policy into practice through case studies. Issues and topics addressed in this course include identifying a region and defining 'place'; understanding the relationship between economic efficiency and sustainability; sustainable development and place-based development; the use of policy and its framing to allow regions and places to build on their assets. Additionally, the course will address how regions become interdependent and how relationships can be optimized in this context, and determining the best way and available sources to garner capital to fund development projects. Students will learn how to identify the assets of a region and the impact of interregional collaboration. The course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze the politics of regional development and the important considerations in regional development planning and practice.

Understanding connections between communities and surrounding ecosystems; exploration of management techniques for building adaptive, resilient, and sustainable communities and environments. CEDEV 567 Resilient Communities and Environments (3) This course provides students with a foundation in concepts which can be used to explore the interconnections of communities and environments, particularly as they apply to community and economic development. The focus of this course is applying concepts from resilience thinking to sustainable community and economic development. In this course, students will explore how communities, whether rural or urban, are linked to their environment, and how this, in turn, can affect the success of community development projects. The class explores the social, political, economic, and ecological barriers guiding these relationships. Topics covered in this context include environmental law and regulation; environmental and land use planning; risk and risk management; the rhetoric of sustainability; natural resource dependency; and interconnections between social and environmental justice. The last portion of the course discusses possible management techniques for building adaptive, resilient, and sustainable communities.

Understanding and applying methods and hands-on experience with techniques used in community and economic development. Lab. CEDEV 575 Methods and Techniques for Community and Economic Development (3) How do I find out what is happening in my community? The economy? The environment? What methods and techniques should I use? I need a toolbox for change! This is a hands-on course designed to provide students with an understanding of community and economic development methods and techniques, and experience in applying them to a variety of problems that they might expect to encounter in the field. The course is based on modules developed and offered by faculty in the Community and Economic Development graduate program. The specific content varies from year to year depending on the needs of each cohort of students. Typical topics include several methods and techniques from each of the following three areas: General Community Assessment Techniques, including identifying power structures, industry structure and employment, natural resources and amenities, human and social capital, local government and services, and land use patterns. Specialized Techniques for Community and Economic Development, including retail trade area analysis, use of GIS, program evaluation, IMPLAN, Input/Output modeling, location quotient, shift-share analysis, survey design and implementation, and the use of social and economic indicators. Leadership and Process Skills, including visioning, goal setting, and strategic planning; grant writing; small group dynamics; conflict management, negotiation, principled bargaining, and deliberation; public speaking and working with the mass media; coalition building, project management; and use of the Internet, design and implementation of Web pages. This is a required course for all students in the MS in Community and Economic Development.

Consideration of community and economic development applications in communities and practices of public and private organizations and agencies.

Course outlines the steps for students to apply CEDEV theories and methods to a topic in writing their Master's paper.

Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction, including field experiences, practicums, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.

Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester.