Urban Policy | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

Meet Our 2022 McCarthy Fellows in San Francisco

Our 2022 McCarthy Fellows in San Francisco have just began their journey with the City and County of San Francisco, by attending their first class at City Hall. In this week’s blog, meet 16 students who will be learning firsthand about San Francisco’s local policymaking, administration, and politics throughout the semester aimed at shaping San…

Thrills at 48 Hills

Zachary James ’20, graduate student in the Urban and Public Affairs program, spent his summer working in the field of investigative journalism as a writer for the local online newspaper, 48 Hills. He reflects in this week’s blog on the issue areas he was exposed to and how his internship gave him the ideas for…

First Semester Tips

Monica Bejarano, M.A. Urban and Public Affairs, ’19 I did it. Turned in my last paper and finished my last presentation. My first graduate semester is over! Tired and rather chronically exhausted and all I want to do is lay on the floor and veg out to Netflix for an ungodly amount of hours. But,…

Elections and Democracy – San Francisco Style

As my friend Jon Bernstein pointed out in a Bloomberg View piece last year, the timing of our elections can have a profound consequence for policy and governance. For instance, the specific timing of the economic crash in 2008 had important implications for President Obama’s agenda. – Corey Cook

Seeing LGBTQ Struggles Through Assemblymember Tom Ammiano’s Eyes

Having the opportunity as a Master of Arts in Urban Affairs student, to take part in a 2-day seminar with the iconic former Assemblymember Tom Ammiano was nothing short of extraordinary. To be in the presence of a legendary progressive activist like Tom was something I will never forget. – Chris Bardales

Election Day Reflection: Supporting Stevon Cook’s Campaign for Board of Education

“”Our campaigns have not grown more humanistic because candidates are more benevolent or their policy concerns more salient. In fact, over the last decade, public confidence in institutions- big business, the church, the media, government- has declined dramatically. The political conversation has privileged the nasty and trivial. Yet during that period, election seasons have awakened…

Art Agnos in Urban Affairs class

Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos recently spoke to Master of Arts in Urban Affairs students about the urban planning of the San Francisco waterfront, including the Golden State Warriors Arena and the 8 Washington project.