Sprawl and the Law Seminar

Course Catalog Number:
5724
Course Credits:
3
Course Type:
Seminar
Course Priority:
Seminar - 3rd Year Priority
Graduation Requirements:
Upper-Level Writing
"W" Writing
Full Year Course:
No

Course Description

A seminar exploring legal and policy issues related to suburban sprawl, by which I mean development that (1) is far from the urban core and/or (2) is automobile-oriented and disfavors pedestrians.   Typically part of the course focuses on policies that encourage element (1) and another part focuses on element (2).  For example, in the first half of the course, after discussing the impact of highways upon the growth of suburbia, we might discuss case law on whether sprawl-generating highways require an environmental impact statement under federal environmental review legislation.  And while discussing the impact of school desegregation on suburbia, we might discuss desegregation case law.  In the second half of the course, we will discuss zoning and subdivision laws that make suburbia unnecessarily automobile-oriented.