ACP/POS 250: Transit in Transition

Department of Political Science and Public Administration ACP/POS 250: Transit in Transition Spring 2013 TR 9:30-10:45. Instructor: Dr. David Faris Office: AUD 757 Email: [email protected] Office Phone: 312-322-7152 Cell Phone (Emergencies Only): 215-908-5221 Office Hours: Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Course Description:

The transit landscape is commonly perceived as the functional outcome of objective needs. If there is an 18- lane superhighway running through the city, it must have been built because the 14-lane highway had become congested, because drivers wanted more space, and because we needed it. This course asks you instead to look at roads, trains, buses and bike lanes as the outcomes of long-term social and political struggles – struggles that have made the United States uniquely dependent on the automobile, and transformed many American cities into battlegrounds between pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and drivers. Chicago happens to be one of the few metropolitan areas in the United States with a comprehensive public transit grid that includes a large subway system in addition to buses and commuter rail. Chicago also features The Circle, where multiple interstate highways meet in almost the precise center of the city, making Chicago into a kind of unfolding social experiment that pits the car against mass transit on a daily basis. In this course, we will ask how the United States ended up as the world’s most car-dependent civilization, who wins and loses when major highways get built, and why many cities have almost no public transportation at all. We will inquire about the relative economic and social costs of different transportation choices, about the cultural importance of the automobile in American public life, and about the new social movement that has brought us separated bike lines on Wabash Avenue. Most importantly, you will come to see the transportation environment is the result of conscious decisions, and by experiencing, researching and writing about multiple forms of movement, you will be encouraged to see how our very experience of the urban landscape is structured deeply by our chosen mode of transportation.

Required Texts:

The following required texts are available for purchase in the university bookstore. 1 1. Seiler, Cotton. Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America. 2. Wray, J. Harry. Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life 3. Jones, David W. Mass Motorization and Mass Transit: An American History and Policy Analysis.

Other readings will be posted to Blackboard well in advance of class and will be marked on the syllabus by the symbol {BB}. Readings can be found under “Syllabus and Readings,” alpha by author.

Attendance and Punctuality:

Because of the frequency of interactive activities and presentations, your presence in class is essential to the creation and maintenance of a collaborative learning environment. Three absences are permitted, whatever the reason. Any further absences will be subtracted on a percentage basis directly from your final grade, unless excused by a note. We meet about 27 times, so for example, if you miss three classes beyond your 3 permitted absences, you will be docked 1/9 of your final grade – 11 total points. So if you scored an 87 in the class but missed 6 classes, your total grade will be reduced to a 76. The following chart illustrates the penalties associated with the number of skips:

1: no penalty 6: 11 points 11: 31 points 2: no penalty 7: 15 points 12: 35 points 3: no penalty 8: 19 points 13: 39 points 4: 3 points 9: 23 points 14: automatic failure 5: 7 points 10: 27 points

Students who arrive after roll is taken will receive half-credit for that day’s attendance; Students arriving more than 15 minutes late are welcome to stay, but will receive no credit for that day’s attendance. Students who leave class early or for an extended period of time without prior approval from the professor in writing will also be marked absent for the day. Students engaging in distracting or inappropriate behavior (e.g., sleeping, doing work for other classes, etc.) will be asked to stop and/or leave the class. Students asked to leave the class because of inappropriate behavior will also be marked absent for the day.

Crisis Policy

If you are experiencing difficulties with your health, personal life or any other crisis that is affecting your ability to come to class and complete the work, it is imperative that you alert me as soon as possible. The best path is to see someone at Roosevelt’s counseling center, who can then (with your permission) alert all your professors that you are having trouble. I can work together with the counseling center to find an appropriate course of action to help you make it through the class. It is not acceptable to approach me at the end of the semester to tell me you’ve been having problems since January with the expectation that this will change your grade.

Academic Integrity: 2 ACP/POS 250: Transit in Transition

Committing plagiarism or other academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating) will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for the assignment in question, and will result in formal notification of the incident to your major department chair, college dean, and the University’s Assistant V. P. for Student Services. Further disciplinary action may be pursued depending on the circumstances of the incident and may result in expulsion from the university. There are no exceptions to this policy. It is your responsibility to know and follow the official Roosevelt University description of academic integrity.

Assignments

Midterm Examination: There will be one midterm exam, administered in-class on March 5th. A make-up exam will only be given under dire circumstances and only after presentation of all appropriate documentation. Notification of dire circumstances must be made before the exam is administered. Make-up exams must be completed within one week of the original exam date. If the make-up is not completed within one week of the original exam date, the grade for the exam will be recorded as a zero. Questions on make-up exams will differ from those on the original exam but will cover the same material. You may take the exam on a computer; however, you are responsible for sending the correct file to me before you leave the classroom. Please see the list of unacceptable excuses for emailing files to me below.

Research Sequence: Each student will write a 2,500 – 3,000 word term paper, addressing course themes on a topic of your choice. This paper serves as your final exam. The paper will be a 3-part research sequence, comprised of a research proposal (10%), complex synthesis (20%) and judgmental synthesis/final paper (70%). The detailed research sequence is posted to Blackboard for you to review. Relevant dates are included in the syllabus.

Written assignments are due on the assigned due dates and promptly at the times specified on the assignments. Late assignments will be penalized as follows:  1 min – 12 hours past due: -5%  12 hours to 24 hours past due: -10%  24 hours to 36 hours past due: -20%  36 hours to 48 hours past due: -30%  48 hours past due: Assignments not accepted (zero credit earned)

You are responsible for sending the correct file in the correct format. Emails without attachments, or emails containing files other than Word documents, will be regarded as not fulfilling the assignment. You may not under any circumstances:  Claim that you saved the email in draft form but simply forgot to send it  Claim that you sent the email to the wrong address  Claim that you wrote the paper but simply forgot to send it to me 3  Claim that you emailed me but forgot to attach the assignment  Claim that the Internet is down where you live  Claim that your document was lost in a catastrophic computer crash  Claim that your document was lost, stolen or otherwise corrupted  Email me days later with a different file claiming the file you sent me the first time was the wrong one. If you send the wrong file, you MUST realize and rectify the error within the timeframe of the due date.

Exceptions to policies surrounding the turning in of assignments will only be granted in the case of severe illness or emergency occurring within 24 hours of the due date, which must be documented

Participation: Everyone will receive a participation grade based on a combination of your performance in collaborative groups, and your willingness to participate in class discussions and outside activities.

Livemapping Presentations. Your collaborative working group will be responsible for building a Livemap (also known as “crisis mapping”) to illuminate some aspect of Chicago transportation. Details for this project will be distributed in class in early February.

Short Essays: Students will compose two 1,000-word reflections on the readings and class discussions. The prompt for these essays will be distributed in class and posted to Blackboard well in advance of the due dates.

Grading

Short Essay #1: 10% Short Essay #2: 15% Midterm Examination: 25% Research Sequence: 30% Participation: 10% Livemapping Presentation: 10%

The grading scale is as follows. Grades will be rounded down below .5, and rounded up for .5-.9 – i.e. an 89.4 is an 89, but an 89.5 is a 90.

92.5 – 100% : A 86.5 – 89.4%: B+ 76.5 – 79.4%: C+ 66.5 – 69.4%: D+ 89.5 – 92.4%: A- 82.5 – 86.4%: B 72.5 – 76.4%: C 59.5 – 66.4%: D 79.5 – 82.4%: B- 69.5 – 72.4%: C- 0 – 59.4%: F

WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE – March 25th (must submit drop/add form)

LATE WITHDRAWAL POLICY

4 ACP/POS 250: Transit in Transition

Approval to be given primarily for non-academic reasons. It requires completion of form, including statement and rationale for request, explanation of why it was not requested by the deadline, documentation to support the claim, and finally, signatures from the instructor, chair, and dean. Such signatures do not guarantee approval of the petition (it will then be reviewed by committee).

University Policy on Absence to Observe Religious Holidays:

Roosevelt University respects the rights of students to observe major religious holidays and will make accommodations, upon request, for such observances. Students who wish to observe religious holidays must inform their instructors in writing within the first two weeks of the semester of their intent to observe the holiday so that alternative arrangements convenient to both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity. See the student handbook for further details.

Class Schedule Note: Readings are to completed before the class period for which they are assigned.

Weeks 1 -2: The Transit Problematic Tuesday, January 15th Introduction, Course Outline, Expectations

Thursday, January 17th Read: Rothschild, Emma. “Can We Transform the Auto-Industrial Society?” New York Review of Books, February 26th, 2009. {BB} Mass Motorization and Mass Transit, pp. 1-27.

Tuesday, January 22nd Read: Republic of Drivers, pp. 1-68; Mass Motorization, pp. 31-56.

Thursday, January 24th Read: Mass Motorization, pp. 57-94. Weeks 3-5: American Transit From Cold War to Today Tuesday, January 29th Read: Republic of Drivers, pp. 69-104. Mass Motorization, pp. 95-136. Due: Short Essay #1

5 Thursday, January 31st Field Trip: Chicago History Museum. Meet there at 9:00 a.m.

Tuesday, February 5th Read: Republic of Drivers, 105-151.

Thursday, February 7th Read: Mass Motorization, pp. 137-171.

Tuesday, February 12th Read: Mass Motorization, 171-235.

Thursday, February 14th Read: Weeks 6-8: Transit in Chicago Tuesday, February 19th Read: David Owen, “There and Back,” from The Green Metropolis, pp. 101-161. {BB} “History of the El” from Chicago-L.org. {BB}

Thursday, February 21st Read: Stephanie Farmer, “Uneven public transportation development in neoliberalizing Chicago, USA.” {BB}

Tuesday, February 26th Read: Taotao Deng and John D. Nelson, “Recent Developments in Bus Rapid Transit: A Review of the Literature.” Transport Reviews, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 69-96 (January 2011). {BB}; John Hilkevitch, “CTA’s Bus Rapid Transit Won’t Be So Rapid.” Chicago Tribune, August 20th, 2012. {BB} Due: Short Essay #2

Thursday, February 28th Field Trip: Ride the J14 Jeffery Jump Express Bus.

Week 8: Mid-term

Tuesday, March 5th MIDTERM EXAMINATION.

Thursday, March 7th Due: Research Sequence Part I: Research Proposal 6 ACP/POS 250: Transit in Transition

Week 9: Smart Growth in Chicago

Tuesday, March 12th Read: Charter of the New Urbanism. {BB}; Laura Wright Treadway, “Redrawing the American City.” On Earth, December 1st, 2009. {BB};

Thursday, March 14th Raymond Mohl, “Stop the Road: Freeway Revolts in American Cities.” Journal of Urban History, 2004: 674-706. {BB}

Week 10: No Class March 19th and March 21st: Spring Break

Weeks 11-14: Chicago on Two Wheels

Tuesday, March 26th Read: Pedal Power, pp. 1-29; Ben McGrath, “Holy Rollers.” The New Yorker, November 13th, 2006.

Thursday, March 28th Read: Pedal Power, 31-52.

Tuesday, April 2nd Read: Pedal Power, pp. 53-79; Whet Moser, “The Early History and Politics of Chicago Bike Culture.” Chicago Magazine, August 23rd, 2012 {BB}.

Thursday, April 4th Read: Pedal Power, pp. 80-104.

Tuesday April 9th Read: Pedal Power, pp. 105-160

Thursday April 11th No Class: Professor Faris Attending Midwest Political Science Association Conference Due: Research Sequence Part II: Complex Synthesis

Tuesday, April 16th Read: Pedal Power, pp. 161-190. Ann Forsyth and Kevin Krizek, “Urban Design: Is There a Distinctive View From the Bicycle?” Journal of Urban Design, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 531-549 (November 2011). {BB}

Thursday, April 18th 7 Read: Pedal Power, pp. 191-220; Saturday, April 20th: Bike Ride to the South Side (Weather Permitting)

Tuesday April 23rd Livemapping Presentations

Thursday April 25th Livemapping Presentations and semester wrap

Thursday, May 2nd: Due: Research Sequence Part III: Judgmental Synthesis

Important Notes: *Students with disabilities may request special accommodations. Students must let me know within the first week of class if this is the case, and they also must contact Nancy Litke in the Academic Success Center (312- 384-3810). * You must purchase or acquire the books for this class. *Cell phones, mp3 players and other personal electronic devices must be switched off during class. You may use your laptop for note-taking, but students using their laptops for personal communication during class will no longer be allowed to bring laptops. *You cannot eat lunch during class. You can bring snacks. *Enrolling in this course constitutes acceptance of these policies. I reserve the right to alter scheduling on the syllabus and will give advance notice to students of any changes.

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