All policy is urban policy

While I am a teensy bit excited that these little blog posts are coming to an end, I find that I am going to miss these weekly reflections that have so seamlessly fit into my routine. Who would have thought that forcing yourself to reflect on the course material we learned each week would have actually been conducive to more effective learning!! Thanks Gabe!

As I gear up for my last course reflection, I realized that I don’t think I will ever be done trying to learn and understand the complexities or urban life and urban policy. But a few things have been made abundantly clear to me.

Studying urban issues has allowed me to engage and learn about things I care about that have a day-to-day effect on my life. Now, when I walk through a park or use a bike lane, I have a deeper understanding and appreciation of how these things came about and how it was a probably challenging feat, because isn’t everything challenging in urban policy?

But now equipped with a larger understanding of urban policy, I can appreciate the intricacies — and complications — that come with being involved in urban issues. I now know that trying to define the role that all three levels of government play in municipal life is a daunting task that I will never fully understand. I now know that genuinely trying to define what constitutes a city is far more complicated than anticipated, and it extends more than just creating a boundary or border. I also definitely know that pretty much all policy is urban policy and the reach that it extends is far greater than I had ever known. Urban policy is essential to maintaining the everyday functioning of society and it shapes the ways in which we live.

While I may or may not end up working in the urban policy space after we graduate, I do know for certain that I will be working with urban policy issues, because isn’t all policy urban policy?