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Paper MemoPlease submit a brief, one-to-two page proposal for your final paper here. This should be turned into me by this Thursday, February 18. The proposal should include:Required: A topic for your paper; cites in which you want to examine this topic; and a brief description of the topicRecommended: A research question. This actually poses a specific question you want to study with regard to the topic. (This will move to “required” at the next stage of the outlining process but I realize some of you may have more questions than answers at this point)Note that you are free to change topics/research questions at this point. This is for me to vet your ideas for feasibility so that you don’t, for example, stray into an area where source material is seriously in short supply.Note that your paper will take one of two forms — a literature review that analyzes how the problem you’re studying has been reviewed by different researchers; where you stand on this question; and evidence to support your stance……or original research that will include a shorter literature review but then rely more on raw material (e.g. government documents, raw data, field interviews and so on). In general, for a 300-level class, most people opt for the literature review, though I do keep this option for original research open.Please note

that the course is centered on the following topics, which we have been through in course discussions. You’re free to choose outside of these; but I list them here anyway to show what we primarily cover:Urban form, development and land use, including the built environmentUrban transportation, including questions of car dependence, transit use and complete streetsGovernance, both in large cities and small communitiesEconomic development, including aid to business, community infrastructure and public services, again with case studies across a wide range of townsGentrification and urban renewal, including housing, displacement of the poor, and small versus big business.The interaction of race and gentrificationSocial exclusion on the basis of race, class and geographyPlease note that if you go outside the topics covered by the course it will be particularly important for you to move as fast as possible, as you will be going outside literature reviews provided in the course readings for almost all or all, not just part, of your work, and this can involve dependence on interlibrary loan for some stuff. Please note also that theories that intersect the topics, such as path dependence, the interaction between urban patterns and governance and others, are also fair game and can produce interesting and lively results.