COURSE NUMBER: MBA277.1
COURSE TITLE: Tech and the City: How to get Urban Innovation
Right
UNITS OF CREDIT: 3
INSTRUCTOR: Molly Turner
E-MAIL ADDRESS: molly_turner@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS FORMAT: Lectures, live cases with high profile guest
speakers, interactive discussions, one group exercise, a
possible field trip
PREREQUISITE(S): None
REQUIRED READINGS: Timely news articles and a few carefully
selected chapters from books on urban history and tech innovation, such as Jane
Jacobs’ “Death and Life of Great American Cities,” Evgeny
Morozov’s “To Save Everything: Click Here,” and
Anthony Townsend’s “Smart Cities”.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Class participation, a few brief memos
(1-3 pages), a group project and presentation
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
This course will help you be a more successful and impactful urban innovator.
Today some of the most transformative and fastest growing companies are
“disrupting” urban life. At their best, these companies make smarter cities. At
their worst, they make inequitable cities. This course will critically examine
how new technologies and business models are impacting cities and will identify
the approaches that produce not only the best business outcomes, but also the
most equitable and sustainable outcomes.
Throughout, we will address some of today’s most challenging questions, such as:
What makes a city “smart”?
How might today’s new technologies (eg. autonomous
vehicles, sensors, artificial intelligence) impact urban life and governance?
Should “disruptive” new companies ask for regulatory forgiveness or permission?
What can we learn from Airbnb and Uber’s experiences with city governments?
How can companies better understand and measure their impacts on cities?
To begin, you will get a crash course on the history of cities, learn from the
biggest mistakes of our urbanist past, and develop the tools to thoughtfully
assess the impacts of today’s tech businesses on cities. Then, with the help of
guest lecturers – high profile founders, government officials, and journalists
– we will look at a variety of tech companies that are innovating in cities
today and examine their impacts, regulatory challenges, government relations
strategies, and community engagement strategies. Finally, you will apply
everything you’ve learned by conducting a thorough investigation of a
contemporary urban innovation topic of your choosing.
CAREER FIELD:
If you want to work for or start your own tech company, this course will teach
you how to be a more civic-minded entrepreneur. If you want to work in the
public sector, this course will teach you how to be a more entrepreneurial
civil servant. At the very least, this course will teach you to be a more
critical consumer.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Molly Turner is an urban planner and tech policy pioneer. As an early employee
of Airbnb, she founded the company’s public policy team in 2011 and co-authored
some of the world’s first “sharing economy” regulations. As Airbnb’s Global
Head of Civic Partnerships, Turner directed the company’s partnerships with
governments around the world, including its international disaster response
program and its 2015 business launch in Cuba.
Today, Turner is a leading voice on urban innovation as a member of the Aspen
Institute’s Center for Urban Innovation Working Group on Innovation and
Regulation and as a board member of the urban policy think tank SPUR, and the
urban ventures accelerator Tumml. She is also an
advisor to several early stage tech companies.
Before Airbnb, Turner worked for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic
Development, the UNESCO World Heritage Center, and a sustainable tourism
consulting firm. Turner holds a Master in Urban Planning from Harvard
University and a BA from Dartmouth College.