WSU Urban Studies Blog

Urban Studies professors Dr. Tom Conroy and Dr. Tim Murphy, along with Dr. Alex Briesacher (Sociology) and associate vice president Mary Jo Marion (Civic Engagement) presented at the annual meeting of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities in October.  Their panel, The Devils in the Details: The Complexities of Early College Partnerships , focused on the wide-spectrum of Early College models in the US and other areas of complexities including demographic shifts and "unharmonized" visions of EC programs. Altogether, they argued, these different levels of complexities contribute to confusion and disarray in programs that negatively affect the missions of many programs and/or lead to confusion of objectives.   Well-received by attendees, the session made the case that the area most controlled by individual institutions was the "unharmonized" aspects, which is addressed when institutions create and communicate clear objectives for Early College Programs th...

 

On Wednesday, Oct. 4th, Dr. Adam Saltsman, Associate Professor of Urban Studies, spoke on a panel at Clark University. The panel explored the transnational nature of humanitarian aid in Myanmar two years after a coup ushered in military rule there. Along with the other panelists, Dr. Saltsman drew from his research and  recent book , speaking about the challenges, dilemmas, and everyday politics of aid and advocacy in Myanmar, including among a growing diaspora of Burmese activists abroad. Congratulations, Dr. Saltsman! 

CityLab has published a new Infographic  that presents a precinct by precinct breakdown of the political races in the 2023 preliminary municipal election.   There were five races. Four of the City Council district seats (Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5) and one in a new School Committee district (District E).  Each area had more than 2 candidates running, which triggered the preliminary runoffs.  Voter turnout for the election was typically low at 9.1% overall. At the district level, though, there was some variation:      District 1 -- 10.7%     District 2 -- 8.1%     District 4 -- 4.9%     District 5 -- 12.2%     District E --   9.1% Such an imbalance raises questions about the At-Large seats in the general election. In this election, the precinct with the highest vote total, which was in District 5, had as many voters as 10 of the lowest vote total precincts. Seven of the 10 lowest voting precincts were...