KGTU 2305 - Cities and Urban policies

Public policy analysis lies at the intersection of several disciplines: sociology, political science, law and economics. Urban policy analysis is not a separate discipline; it is part of public policy analysis. As a science of urban public action, it goes far beyond simple methods or guidelines for action and aims to explain the effects of public policies and their implementation. The course aims to show the limits of sequential approaches and to discuss public policies as configurations of actors. Emphasis will be placed on the instruments of public action and their effects, as well as on the conditions that underpin collective action (intermediary organisations and collective goods). The specific problems of urban poverty and water resource management will be addressed in the final part of the course.

Tommaso VITALE

Séminaire

English, French

The course aims to provide a basic knowledge of policy design and the principles and skills for policy implementation. We will work on content and learning techniques related to ● basic policy design ● basic standard setting ● basic incentives configurational analysis ● basic of contracting out ● basic of program implementation ● basic of policies integration But the course will enable you to acquire cognitive and interpersonal skills that will be relevant to your future professional life: ● fast reading (this is why you have to read papers and books, and not just summaries) ● asking question in a political environment ● write policy briefs and executive summaries ● time management ● focus on deliberate goals and Strategies for Overcoming Distraction ● organise your archive and classify documents following an analytical criterion, and problem-driven archiving Students are encouraged to evaluate the improvement of their skills throughout the semester.

Hassenteufel, Patrick (2011), Sociologie politique : l'action publique, Paris, Armand Colin (se connecter via la bibliothèque de Sciences Po, aller sur Cairn, et le télécharger gratuitement : https://www.cairn.info/sociologie- politique-l-action-publique--9782200259990.htm)

Autumn 2025-2026

Grades are between 0 and 20. To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments 1. Weekly Quotation-Comment-Question and Participation in Class (30%). Before every section, each student will prepare a short commentary, where they will refer to a quotation from one of the assigned texts for the class, discuss it in relation to the lecture, and then develop a question that can be discussed in class. 2. A short paper of problem identification in the implementation of a specific urban policy (30%). It must be sent by email by October 21st. 3. Policy Brief: Written exam; 4-hour long, anonymous. Content examination to evaluate understanding of specific ideas introduced in the readings (40%). It must be sent by email by December 23rd.

Cours en présentiel. On exploitera les quatre instruments pédagogiques dont on dispose. Lectures – chaque semaine la lecture individuelle de textes (articles scientifiques, documents administratifs, rapports de recherche, policy briefs, texte d'aide à la décision) par les étudiants fait partie du format pédagogique. Elle est obligatoire, soutenable et la base de tout apprentissage. Leçons en présentiel – discussion critique commune des théories dans l'analyse des politiques publiques. Discussion des formats des deux exercices soumis à évaluation. Les sessions en présentiels seront retrasmises par zoom seulement pour les étudiants cas-contact. Écriture – Deux exercices d'écriture (l'un d'archvage, l'autre d'aide à la décision) seront discuté collectivement et réalisé individuellement par les étudiants. Office hours : chaque étudiant.e pourra rencontrer l'enseignant au moins trois fois pendant le semestre, pour discuter du projet de dossier de presse, pour discuter du projet de policy brief, et pour avoir un retour ponctuel, ligne par ligne, sur le policy brief produit à la fin du semestre.