URP 509, Section 1

This is a course in the application of microeconomic modes of reasoning to problems that planners deal with. The course begins with an overview of the economist’s analysis of the relationship between markets and efficiency, including the concepts of supply and demand, elasticity, marginalism, opportunity costs, consumer surplus, market competition, and equilibrium. The course then delineates efficiency- and equity-based rationales for planning, and explores how economic modes of thinking can aid in the design of planning to alter market outcomes. This section of the course also considers strengths and weaknesses of both planning and market solutions in various planning contexts including land use, transportation, environment, and economic development. Finally, the course  develops tools of benefit-cost, cost-effectiveness, and fiscal impact analysis.