Cities in the 21st Century
People, Planning, and Politics
Main Cities Page     Itinerary

CURRICULUM

COURSES / 16 CREDITS:
• Urban Politics and Development
• Culture and Society of World Cities
• Urban Planning and Sustainable Environments
• Contemporary Urban Issues: Problems and Solutions

Urban Politics and Development
(16 credits per semester)
Spring Syllabus
Fall Syllabus
Understanding the political process and its role in urban development is central to comprehending how cities work and grow. Who exercises power in cities and what are their sources of power? What is the structure of cities and how does this enhance or impede their growth? What is the role of state and local government in formulating development policies in a changing world economy? What challenges are faced by public policymakers and other stakeholders? This course will examine a variety of structural elements and processes including government structures, relationships between city and regional institutions, privatization, community development, economic growth, industrial restructuring, technological change, workforce development, the informal economy, and poverty and income distribution.

Culture and Society of World Cities
(four credits)
Spring Syllabus
Fall Syllabus
How do people identify and construct boundaries for various social groupings (race, class, ethnicity, gender, and locality)? What strategies do people use to adapt to living in cities? How do neighborhoods become distinctive? What are the celebrations and festivals? Who participates in each? What are the sources of information on these social categories and symbolic activities? This course examines how these elements combine to form the rich layers of multicultural urban society, how communities are structured and destroyed, and how values relate to urban life. An emphasis is placed on how anthropologists have adjusted their research methods in response to the study of urban life, and a specific focus will be placed on providing students with the tools necessary to conduct preliminary fieldwork in urban areas.

Urban Planning and Sustainable Environments
(four credits)
Spring Syllabus
Fall Syllabus
What are the intentional and natural forces that guide the development of the world’s cities? How has urban planning attempted to guide these forces toward a prosperous and equitable reality? This course will study the lifelines that sustain dense human habitation. As the pace of urbanization increases in developing countries, the process of modernization and globalization often seems at odds with traditional, and frequently sustainable, systems of land and energy use. Do contemporary environmentally–conscious approaches toward sustainability have any chance of success? In response to rapid automobilization and de-densification of cities around the globe, are planners having any success at choreographing the development of city systems and services in equitable and sustainable ways?

Contemporary Urban Issues: Problems and Solutions
(four credits)
Spring Syllabus
Fall Syllabus
Are today’s headlines a fleeting concern or a clue to understanding broad forces at work—forces that define the lives of the people in the cities and countries we visit? Throughout the Cities program, a broad spectrum of contemporary topics will be presented. In each city, topics of special significance to that city will be examined in depth through lectures, field visits and case studies. In this course, students will also have an opportunity to pursue individual comparative research on topics of their own choosing. The course will be co-taught by all the faculty to emphasize the multi-disciplinary analysis of issues and integrate the experience- based learning of the semester.

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