Local governments are constantly making policy decisions that shape the lives of residents and the futures of cities. This course focuses on how these decisions get made, who has power to make them, and their impact on urban citizens. We will address how challenges in cities are understood by city council, staff, and the public, and how certain “policy solutions” win out over others. In the process, we will draw from both classical and contemporary theories of local government as well as the latest research on urban policy making. We will also be learning field research methods to study policy making as it happens on the ground in cites.