For full bibliographic details of reading assignments listed below, see the Readings page.
| Class Sessions | Readings | Due Dates |
|---|---|---|
| I. Introduction | ||
| Introduction to Economic Development Planning: Applied Theory at the Local Level | ||
| II. LENSES—Why and How to Interfere in the Economy? | ||
| 1. Local Economic Development: Market Intervention Rationales |
| |
| 2. Local Economic Development: The Evolution of Mainstream Theory |
| class assigns readings for session 5 |
| 3. The Creative Class and Placemaking |
| |
| 4. Race and Equity in Economic Development |
| |
| 5. Class Choice Topic & Odds and Ends |
| |
| III. TOOLS—How Does Local Government Work? | ||
| 6. Local Government Finance Overview |
| |
| 7. Property Taxes and Local Sales Taxes |
| professional memo #1 due |
| 8. Intergovernmental Transfers / Campaign Finance |
| |
| 9. Annual Budgeting and Procurement |
| |
| 10. Capital Improvement Programs |
| |
| 11. Tax Increment Finance Districts, Business Improvement Districts, Opportunity Zones |
| midterm papers due |
| 12. Zoning for Economic Development |
| |
| 13. Fiscal Impact Studies |
| |
| IV. STRATEGIES—Moving from Concepts to Actions | ||
| 14. Determining Local Advantages and Disadvantages |
| |
| 15. "Buy Local" Models |
| |
| 16. The Creative Class and Incentives |
| |
17. Leveraging Economic Development for Public Policy Goals / Value Capture (guest lecture by Anthony Flint, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy) |
| professional memo #2 due |
| 18. Infrastructure and Public Investment |
| |
| 19. Managing Risk for Businesses |
| |
| 20. Coordination with Other Planning / The Role of Politics |
| |
| V. CASE STUDIES—How Does This Really Work? | ||
| 21. Economic Development Planning in Practice: Thompson’s Point, Portland, ME (guest lecture by Chris Thompson, Thompson's Point developer) |
| |
| 22. Iterative Economic Development Planning: Assembly Square, Somerville, MA (guest lecture by Wig Zamore, Mystic View Task Force & Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership) |
| final projects due |
| VI. Conclusion | ||
| Student Presentations | ||
