Political Science 360: Environmental Policy - Salisbury as a Sustainable City

Fall 2018

Course Description

POSC 360: This course provides an overview of domestic (local, regional, and national) environmental politics and policy. The purpose of this course is to provide students an understanding of the complexity and interconnectedness of environmental issues and how these attributes trigger various political responses including within the context of environmental justice. The course interrogates the formation and implementation of environment politics with relation to the economy, culture, society, and science, applying this understanding to the local level.

Civic Engagement Project Description

This project uses the City of Salisbury as a site of research and practice. Instead of writing a traditional research paper where your main sources of data are found in the library or online, this project requires that you to also venture into and engage with the local community. We will begin with the following questions: What might a sustainable city look like? What policy proposals might support sustainability within the City of Salisbury? To answer these questions, you will divide up into groups of three and select one project area listed below. These divisions are based on the format of the Cohen’s The Sustainable City course text. Utilized this book as a framework for the assignment.

As a group you will generate a policy recommendation using the provided template. In doing so, you will consider the related technical, financial, organizational, and political requirements for the policy you propose. You should also consider who are the relevant actors and why. Revised policy proposals will be submitted to the City Administrator. This assignment is worth 20% of your overall course grade.

Overall Civic Engagement Project Goals:

• Develop an understanding the basic theories and practices of environmental policy making and implementation
• Understand and evaluate the role of local government, businesses, community members, and other stakeholders in the policy process
• Apply policy writing concepts in the local setting
• Engage the local community to contextualize local level environmental policy process and administration

Class Members