INTRODUCTION TO URBAN STUDIES

This course is intended to be both an interdisciplinary introduction to the city and to the field of Urban Studies. As an introduction to the city, the course will address a variety of questions: What is a city? How did cities develop? How do cities function socially, politically, and economically? Why do people live in cities? What are some of the major issues facing cities in the early twenty-first century, and how can cities address these issues? As an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Urban Studies, the course will present models of how scholars approach cities from a variety of disciplinary viewpoints, including architecture, planning, law, sociology, history, archaeology, anthropology, political science, public policy, and geography. Students will learn some of the major concepts in the field of Urban Studies, and will study the works of leading scholars in the field. Students in the course will approach cities from a number of disciplines, not only through the reading, but also through assignments that take place in different locations throughout New York City.

• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Claire D Panetta
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• Instructor: Aaron Passell
  CULPA: 8 h-index: 3 Info
• 3 points

INTRODUCTION TO GIS METHODS

Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission.  Students create maps using ArcGIS software, analyze the physical and social processes presented in the digital model, and use the data to solve specific spatial analysis problems. Note: this course fulfills the C requirement in Urban Studies.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Christian Siener
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 3 points

INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PLANNING

INTRO TO URBAN PLANNING

This course is a basic introduction to the field and practice of urban planning in the United States. The course will focus on key concepts in planning history, theory, and practice, including the various conflicts and dilemmas planners face, stakeholders involved in urban planning, and the tools and methods that planners use to address challenges in the built environment.

The core questions that this class will return to throughout the semester are: How does planning take place, and whose interest(s) does planning serve? How does planning (re)produce social inequities? Planning is often framed as a technical exercise to rationalize the built environment and create more “livable” cities. However, planning is not value-neutral. As we will examine throughout the course of the semester, power relations fundamentally shape the planning profession, and planning decisions have contributed to racial, economic, and gender inequalities and spatial segregation in cities throughout the United States. We will also explore debates about how to encourage more inclusive cities and engage in more ethical planning practice.

The course is divided into six sections. In Part I, we will explore foundational concepts in urban planning, such as how previous scholars have defined urban planning and urban space. In Part II, we will explore the historical context in which the planning profession emerged and key moments in planning history. In Part III, we will examine normative models of planning, or how the planning profession conceives of itself. In Part IV, we will learn about the different technical tools that planners use to regulate urban development and key debates surrounding these tools. In Part V, we will interrogate the role of the planner, the role of power relations in planning, and how planning decisions have resulted in racial, class, and gender exclusion in the built environment. In Part VI, we will contemplate future directions in planning.

• MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Jennifer M Davis
  Info
• 3 points

HERITAGE AND THE CITY

Dialogue and debate about cultural and architectural “heritage” permeate our lives today, suggesting that the material traces of the past continue to shape the way we negotiate and make sense of the present.  This course asks students to consider how this negotiation of heritage manifests in urban contexts: How do urban residents navigate heritage spaces in their daily lives?  How are these spaces embedded in surrounding urban communities—and what sociospatial and political conflicts do they engender among community members?  How do different forms of heritage articulate with broader urban processes such as gentrification and re-development?  To tackle these questions, this course takes a global and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on sources from history, memory and museum studies, anthropology, geography, archaeology, architecture, and urban planning.  Through their engagement with this material–as well as a semester-long fieldwork project in New York City, students will become familiar with the dominant concerns of scholars and professionals working on–and with–urban heritage.

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Claire D Panetta
  Info
• 3 points

INTRODUCTION URBAN SOCIOLOGY

Prerequisites: Students must attend first class. Examines the diverse ways in which sociology has defined and studied cities, focusing on the people who live and work in the city, and the transformations U.S. cities are undergoing today. Sociological methods, including ethnography, survey research, quantitative studies, and participant observation will provide perspectives on key urban questions such as street life, race, immigration, globalization, conflict, and redevelopment.

• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Aaron Passell
  CULPA: 8 h-index: 3 Info
• 3 points

HOUSING POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES

HOUSING POLICY IN THE U.S

How should we define housing? As a concept, housing is both simple and complex. As a physical concept, housing provides shelter, and it is durable and visible. Yet, housing is more than just its physical components. As a social concept, housing is a clear insignia of social status and can be an investment vehicle to accumulate and hoard wealth. Additionally, housing (and housing policy) both amplifies and reinforces larger patterns of racial and economic bias witnessed in wider society. This course examines the institutional, economic, regulatory, and political factors that affect the production, subsidization, and siting of housing in the United States. We will trace the varied policy approaches that local, state, and federal governments have leveraged to deliver affordable housing over time. Throughout the course, we will pay particular attention to how U.S. housing policy historically is built on a segregationist ideology, often linking the presence of non-white and low-income households with neighborhood instability and as a threat to stable property values. We will also explore the various approaches that the public sector has pursued to attempt to undo the racially segregated housing market of its own making.

The course is divided into three sections. Part I reviews how previous scholars have defined housing, provides a brief introduction to housing policy history, and introduces the basics of supply and demand in housing markets and housing finance. Part II examines various approaches to provide affordable housing at the federal, state, and local level and how these approaches have evolved over time. Part III examines contemporary housing policy debates.

Since this class is an upper-level seminar, students should expect to read about 150 pages of reading per week and to listen to a podcast or watch a select movie on specific weeks. Students will be expected to complete all of the assigned readings before class. Class time primarily will be devoted to class discussions, so students should plan to formulate thoughts about the readings before class and to participate actively in class discussions each week.

• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Jennifer M Davis
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• 4 points

JUNIOR SEMINAR IN URBAN STUDIES

CARCERAL GEOGRAPHIES

Prerequisites: Non-majors admitted by permission of instructor. Students must attend first class. Enrollment limited to 16 students per section. Evaluation of current political, economic, social, cultural and physical forces that are shaping urban areas.

• T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Christian Siener
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 4 points

URBAN STUDIES SENIOR SEMINAR

Prerequisites: Senior standing. Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates. Readings, class presentations, and written work culminate in major individual projects, under the supervision of faculty trained in architecture, urban design, or urban planning.

• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Rachel Throop
  CULPA: 1 Info
• Instructor: Claire D Panetta
  Info
• Instructor: Christian Siener
  CULPA: 1 Info
• Instructor: Jennifer M Davis
  Info
• 4 points