EC 330 Fall 2018 City Project Assignment
Due: Wednesday, November 21, 2018 by 5:00 PM, in .pdf format via Canvas. Similar
to homework assignments, you will lose 2% of your total score per hour late. This
assignment is worth 20% of your total grade, so don’t leave it to the last minute.
Some components of the assignment will require you to use computer programs like
Excel, which are very hard to learn at the last minute.
Grading: 90% of your grade for this project is based on completeness: did you
complete all the sections, answer all the relevant questions, and include all the
visuals required? The other 10% will be based on “style.” You can get style points
for overall presentation, the look of your visuals, for the quality of your writing, or
anything else that makes your . You will not gain points for length. If you can say
something succinctly and completely, say it succinctly.
Drafts: If you are concerned about what kind of grade you might get, email me a
draft by 11/17/18 and I will be happy to read what you have written and tell you
what needs improving. I will try to get back to you by 11/19/18.
References: You do not have to use books, but you may (many of you will find some
answers in Triumph of the City). The Internet is an acceptable place to find sources
for this assignment. Because the Internet is imperfect, find a second source for
everything (very easy if you’re using Google – just click on another link, check to see
what you looked up in the first link is indeed correct, and move on). The last page of
your assignment should include all of the sources you used, except for the second
sources you used to double-check your facts. YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE A
BIBLIOGRAPHY STYLE OF ANY KIND, and you do not even need to alphabetize your
sources (but if you did make your bibliography look nice, that could be a way to get
style points). What I recommend doing is, as you do your research, keep a text file or
Word file open and simply cut and paste all of the links you use as you go. I want to
see what sources you used (I may verify some of your claims).
Software: This assignment will require you to do word processing, combine images,
and make some graphs. I recommend using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
for those tasks, but you may use other similar software. Most of the computers in
the Knight Library have Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, so you should have no trouble
accessing the software you will need. You can combine images in PowerPoint, then
take a screenshot and paste the image into your Word document. To make graphs in
Excel, put the y coordinates in one column and the x coordinates in another column,
highlight the columns, then click on “Insert” and then “Chart,” and from there, there
are many options. Take some time to make your charts look nice. Charts can be
pasted directly from Excel into Word.
Description and Components: Your job is to write an article that is similar to an
encyclopedia about your city, but written around the themes of urban economics.
Your sections should be in the following order. You may include a title page if you
like. You will notice that some material may be mentioned in multiple sections. Feel
free to add material to each section if it is relevant and adds interest. Above all,
make sure your paper captures what makes your city special – that may not be
found in the specific questions asked in each section, so be sure to read about your
city generally before tackling the specifics of each section.
1) Introduction: Identify the city you have chosen. Where is it in the world (what
country, continent, and what state/province/oblast/canton etc. is it in)? If it is on an
island or other defining geographical feature, briefly mention that. Is the city the
capital of something? What is the city best known for? Does your city have any
famous nicknames? Include a small map that clearly shows the location of your city
in context (someone looking at the map should be able to tell where the city is in the
world by looking at the map). You may cut and paste this map, but if you do so, be
sure to include the source in your references. This section should make someone
care about learning more about your city.
2) Location/Geography: Go into more detail about where the city is located. How
big is the city proper in terms of area? How about the greater metropolitan area?
(NOTE: You may use whatever units you like, but be consistent – don’t switch back
and forth between different systems of measure.) How high up is your city
(elevation)? Is it on a mountain? Describe the geographic waterways and water
features (rivers, bays, etc.) that are important to this city’s existence, as well as any
canals. Describe the obvious nearby sources of food (agricultural regions, places for
fishing, etc.) that allow the city to exist. The focus of this section should be more
about geographical features rather than political boundaries, but you may need to
refer to political boundaries and locations as reference points. Include a small map
that shows the city in more close-up detail than the map you used in the first
section. It must be a different map (you may also cut and paste this map, but if you
do, reference it). This section should make someone realize why the location of this
city makes it an obvious place to put a city. If the city location isn’t organic (e.g. the
government arbitrarily chose the location, as in the case of Happy Valley, PA),
address that. If the geography of your city was changed by mankind, describe that.
3) History: Detail a brief history of the city (not the country – although national
events may be worth noting if they are pertinent to your city’s history). This may tie
into the previous section (e.g. “The ancient ___ people chose this location because of
the bountiful fish in ___ Bay.”). Which people founded the city? You should briefly
cover which peoples controlled the city at different times, but you don’t have to go
into crazy detail. Describe any important riots or revolutions that occurred in your
city over the years, and describe the economic conditions that led to them. If the city
was ever destroyed and rebuilt, mention that. You don’t have to get carried away
with this section. Pages and pages could be written about your city’s history. The
purpose of this section is merely to give someone the bird’s eye view of how your
city came to be and how it got to where it is today, but with a particular emphasis on
historical economic events.
4) Population: What is the current population of the city proper? How about the
greater metropolitan area? What is the population density of each? Include a line
graph of your city’s population over time (the availability of historical population
data will vary by city – try to cover at least the last 100 years and use at least 10
data points, but feel free to use earlier data as well). Briefly explain any notable
changes to the population (for example, if the population suddenly spiked one
decade, explain what happened). If the city is shrinking, briefly explain why. Include
a table of at least the top five cities in the country that your city is in, ranked by
population of the greater metropolitan area (you may need to include more than
five cities, if, for example, your city is the sixth largest city in that country). (NOTE:
Tables can be made easily in Word.) Do the cities in that country approximately
follow the rank-size rule (Zipf’s Law)? If your city is a primate city, mention that. If
the number of people who work in your city is vastly different from the number who
live there, mention that. If the population changes radically during certain times of
the year or if large numbers of people visit the city at certain times, mention that.
5) Demographics and Human Capital: Now that you’ve described the people in
terms of numbers, describe the people in terms of attributes. Is there a demonym
for the people of your city? Do the people of your city have a nickname that they use
to describe themselves (not one that others use to describe them disparagingly)?
Describe the age breakdown of the population of your city. Describe the breakdown
by ethnic groups. Describe the breakdown by religious groups. Describe the
breakdown by education level. For most of these, you might want to use percentages
(e.g. “X% of the population are members of the ___ ethnic group, while Y% belong to
___ and the remaining Z% are ___.”), but in some cases, exact breakdowns by religion
may not be available, i.e. if a country is communist (in that case, you may simply say
something like “There is a small Catholic minority in Harbin” or whatever). You may
also include some information that captures the spirit of the people. Do they
celebrate their city’s flag and coat of arms? Are there any festivals that unite the
people of the city? Mention any important religious features that relate to the
breakdown by religion (e.g. if your city was Rome, you’d want to mention its
proximity to the Vatican and connect that to its Roman Catholic population).
Between this section and the last, a reader should be able to tell how big and dense
the city is, and who lives there. Spend at least one paragraph describing the human
capital situation in your city. How is human capital being developed there? What
skills are most in demand? Does a demand for skills lead to a lot of workers coming
from other places? Are there any positive externalities related to human capital?
6) Industry and Agglomeration, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: What are
the major industries in your city? Identify at least two districts where many firms in
the same industry have located near one another. Include a separate map of each,
showing the firms’ locations (an example of this can be seen in the slides for week 1
– the map of auto dealers in Peoria, Arizona). To do this, you may want to get a
screenshot of that part of the city from Google maps (screenshot is
command+shift+3 on a Mac and simply “print screen” on Windows) and then add
labels to it in PowerPoint (using either text boxes or little images). Why did each
cluster form (shared labor pool, shared inputs, etc.)? Relate the agglomeration in
your city to the concepts of a trading city, a factory city, and/or an innovation city.
Relate it also to the concepts of localization economies and urbanization economies.
Is there any industry related pollution? Spend at least one paragraph describing the
trajectory of innovation and entrepreneurship in your city. Is it becoming more or
less competitive? Are businesses flocking to your city or leaving? How have
communications in your city evolved to new technologies?
7) Property Prices: Discuss the prices of property in and around the city (you may
wish to look at the prices of houses, apartments, commercial real estate, and/or
land). How do prices compare to other cities in the country? How do prices compare
to the country as a whole? If prices have significantly changed recently, note that. If
any neighborhoods are particularly expensive, note that. If there is cheap housing
(perhaps government subsidized), note that. How do prices in the most densely
populated part of the city compare to other parts of the city?
8) Physical Structures: Does your city have a few big buildings or many small
ones? Are there rules restricting the height of buildings (city wide or in particular
neighborhoods), and if so, does this contribute to urban sprawl? Are there any
particularly famous buildings worth mentioning? What’s the biggest building? Is
that the biggest building in the state/country/the world? Are there any examples of
edifice error? Are there any structures such as plazas, malls, etc. that serve as
meeting places for lots of ordinary people? Are there any famous marketplaces
where lots of people in the same industry interact? Are there any areas such as
parks or nature preserves where you can’t build at all? If there are zoning laws, how
do they effect building in your city?
9) Transportation: How do people get around your city? How do people enter and
leave your city (airports, highway systems, etc.)? What modes of transport are used?
Do people like them (e.g. if the subway system is notoriously dirty, mention that, or
if the subway system has been improved vastly in previous years, mention that)? Is
there anywhere where congestion is particularly bad? Are there any taxes or tolls
designed to reduce congestion? Do they work? How many people use public
transportation? Is there any notable transportation-related pollution? Spend at least
one paragraph describing shipping of goods in and out of your city.
10) Income and Poverty: What are some measures of the average income in your
city (median and mean)? What are the poorest and richest areas? What industries
do the richest citizens tend to work in? How does the disparity between rich and
poor in your city compare to the rest of the country, or other big cities in that
country (if you can find the Gini coefficient, report it)? What have the people or
government done to fight poverty? Are there any slums, and do they have a name?
Do the slums cause other problems, such as disease, etc.? How do poor people make
themselves better off by coming to your city (or did they come to make themselves
better off a long time ago)? How do poor areas in your city compare to poor areas in
the rest of the country?
11) Discrimination and Segregation: Describe any areas of your city that are
particularly segregated, whether that segregation is de jure or de facto. Did any
previous laws or regulations contribute to current de facto segregation? Are any
groups in your city particularly discriminated against, or do any groups have a hard
time due to demographic characteristics?
12) Crime: What types of crime are prevalent? How have crime rates changed over
time? What is the government doing about it (or what are the people doing about
it)? Do any features of the layout of the city contribute to crime? Are there any areas
of the city in which crime is particularly bad? Don’t forget about white-collar crime.
You may also describe other negative externalities.
13) Other (optional): You may wish to expand on part of a previous section (for
example, if religion is particularly important to your city, you might want to add a
section on that). If your city is home to many famous universities, you may wish to
expound on that. Maybe you wish to describe more about the government and
public policies that effect your city. You may include trivia or fun facts about your
city that don’t really fit in any of the other sections. YOU DO NOT NEED TO WRITE A
CONCLUSION, but you may wish to include one to tie everything together.
14) References: Give me sufficient information so that, if I wanted to verify all of
the information in your project, I could. If one of your sources is Triumph of the City,
just write “Triumph of the City.” For other books, give me enough information that I
could track the book down if I wanted to (title and author is often sufficient, plus
year or edition if the book has changed). You can simply paste the URLs of any
websites you used. If you used wikipedia (ok for this assignment), don’t forget to list
it.
Once you have written a draft: Go back through and read what you have written.
Make sure it has an urban economics bent. You can use this assignment description
as a checklist to make sure you’ve answered all the relevant questions and included
all of the required graphics. Figure out ways to make it flow better. If you simply
answered every question in order, it probably flows poorly. Think of how your
graphics could look better. Just because I asked for a few tables here and there
doesn’t mean you can’t add more. If you think something could be demonstrated
better by using a table versus using sentences, use a table. Compare your words to
your sources to make sure they are significantly different (changing just a few
words is still plagiarism). If your words are too close to your source material, you
risk losing a lot of points or even receiving a zero on the project.
When you are ready to hand it in: Make sure it is in .pdf format. In Word, you can
create a .pdf by clicking on “Print” and one of the print options should be “Save as
.pdf.”
Good luck!
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