Geography 428: Urban Geography

“Cities in a Globalizing World”

Spring Semester 2014 UNC at Chapel Hill

Dr. Nina Martin Class Time: T & Th 9:30-10:45

Office: Saunders Hall # 224 Location: Saunders Hall 204

Tel: 962-3916 Off Hrs:T 11-12:30 & TH 12:30-2

Email:

Description

Cities throughout the world are undergoing rapid transformations as the world “globalizes.” This course explores how urban development is shaped by (and shapes) processes of global change. Various aspects of the global city will be studied from the perspective of urban geography. These include debates over what constitutes a “global” city, the economy and labor markets of global cities, politics and the governance of global cities, and urban social movements.

This course is designed for advanced undergraduates in Geography and Global Studies, and students from related disciplines, such as Sociology, Political Science, and Anthropology. There are no formal prerequisites for this class, though familiarity with urban studies, globalization theory, urban politics, and/or economic sociology would be an asset.

Course Aims

The course aims to give students a broad grounding in the academic literature on global cities. By the end of the semester you should be able to do the following:

Understand the debates on the origin and meaning of a “global”, “globalizing”, “world”, etc city

Critique the concept of a global city network

Analyze the economic and labor market transformations in global cities

Understand the idea of “globalization from below”, and the ways in which people and their everyday lives are impacted by globalization and migration patterns

Describe and critique how urban settlement patterns are being reshaped by global trends

Evaluate the ways in which people and organizations are contesting globalization and its impacts on cities

Course Structure: Each class may consist of a mix of lecture, discussion, small group work, and student presentations. This class will have a heavy emphasis on discussion and critical thinking. Be thoughtfully brave in class discussions—take risks! Your success in this class depends, in part, on your willingness to engage with the materials and to share your ideas with the class.

Expectations: By registering for this class you are agreeing to meet the requirements outlined in this syllabus. Think of the syllabus as a contract!

There isone required text for this class:The Just City, by Susan Fainstein, published by Cornell University Press in 2010.All other readings are posted on Sakai, under “Resources”.

Each class has required readings. You must have read the material before coming to class. Having “read the material,” however, is not as simple as it sounds. For each assigned reading, you should take notes, try to find the strengths and weaknesses in the work, think of questions that the author has not addressed, and come ready to discuss the reading.

Graded Elements

Requirement / Percentage of grade / Date
Attendance and participation / 15% / Semester long
Assignment 1 / 5% / Jan 21st
Midterm / 20% / March 4th in class
Presentation on readings / 10% / Semester long—see asterisks (Sign-up sheet to be handed out in class on 1/21)
Final Exam / 20% / Fri, May 2nd at 8am in Saunders 204
Paper & Presentation / 30% / April 17thin class

Attendance & Participation: Attendance for this class is mandatory and I will take attendance at each class and make note of who participates in discussions. If you miss classes without an acceptable excuse (e.g. serious illness, family emergency, etc.) your final grade in the course will be affected. I reserve the right to give surprise quizzes if I feel that students are not doing the reading, participating, or attending class. Do not arrive late for class.

Late Assignments: You must have a documented medical condition or family crisis in order to hand in an assignment late without penalty. Otherwise, you will lose 10% of the value of the assignment for each day an assignment is late. Please contact me as soon as possible if, for any reason, you cannot hand in an assignment on time.

Laptop Policy: I prefer no laptops in class as they contain so many temptations to engage in non-class related activities. If I find a student using a laptop for anything other than taking notes, I shall ban them from the classroom.

Honor Code: This class follows that UNC honor code. As the Department of Geography’s liaison to the Honor Court, I take the honor code seriously. Please familiarize yourself with it: honor.unc.edu.

Course Schedule

Date / Topic / Reading
TOPIC 1: What are Challenges and Promises of Urbanization in an Era of Globalization?
1/9 / Course Intro / Ron Martin, 2004, “Geography: Making a Difference in a Globalizing World”
Stuart Hall, 2006, “Cosmopolitan Promises, Multicultural Realities” in Divided Cities.
1/14 / No class held. Instead watch film, Requiem for Detroit, available at:
1/16 / No class held, instead complete Assignment 1
1/21 / Assignment 1 due in class
The global city hypothesis / John Friedmann. 1986. “The World City Hypothesis.”
1/23 / Sassen: What is the global city really about? Capital?*
Janet Abu-Lughod: What is a global city really about? People?* / SaskiaSassen, 2001, The Global City 2nd edition, pages 3-21
Janet L. Abu-Lughod, 1999, America’s Global Cities: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, pages 1-16
1/28 / Not a city, but a network?* / Beaverstock, Smith and Taylor. “World-city Network: A New Metageography?” Annals of the Association of American Geographers
1/30 / World-City Networks Presentations / None
Economies of Global Cities: Power and Polarization
2/4 / Neoliberal Urbanism I* / -Rossi Vanolo, Urban Political Geographies,72-81
-David Harvey, 2005. Intro and Ch 1 from, A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford University Press.
2/6 / Neoliberal Urbanism II* / -Rossi Vanolo, Urban Political Geographies, 80-102
2/11 / Do cities have power in the global marketplace?* / H.V. Savitch and Paul Kantor, 2003, “Urban Strategies for a Global Era” in American Behavioral Scientist, 46
--Case studies on cities and power/economic growth posted to Sakai
2/13 / Who lives and work in global cities? The rich? The poor?* / --Simone Buechler. 2006. Sao Paulo: Outsourcing and Downgrading of Labor in a Globalizing City. From The Global Cities Reader, edited by Neil Brenner and Roger Keil.
--David Ley. 2004. Transnational Spaces and Everyday Lives. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 29 (151-164).
Global City Image and the Politics of Representation
2/18 / Politics of representation / --Rossi Vanolo, Urban Political Geographies, 26-30 & 38-40
2/20 / Mega Projects and the landscape of representation* / --Ute Lehrer. “Willing the Global City: Berlin’s Cultural Strategies of Inter-urban Competition After 1989”
--Sharon Zukin. “The City as a Landscape of Power”
R&V 40-41
2/25 / Gentrification* / Loretta Lees. 2008. Gentrification and Social Mixing. Urban Studies. 45 (12): 2449-2470.
2/27 / Creative Class* / -Richard Florida, 2002, excerpts from The Rise of the Creative Class
-RossiVanolo 51-59
--Deborah Leslie and JP Catungal. 2012. Social Justice and the Creative City. Geography Compass. 6/3, 111-122.
3/4 / Midterm
3/6 / Global City in Film and Fiction / Readings TBA
3/11 &3/13 / Spring Break!
Evaluating city building: what is just?how are just cities constructed?
3/18 / Theories of Justice* / -Fainstein, Just City, Chapter 2
3/20 / New York* / Fainstein, Just City, Chapter 3
3/25 / London* / Fainstein, Just City, Chapter 4
3/27 / Amsterdam*
Right to the City & Urban Social Movements* / Fainstein, Just City, Chapter 5
--Fainstein, Just City, Chapter 6
4/1 / Case Study: South Central Los Angeles Farmers
Film: The Garden / --David Harvey, “The Right to the City”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2003.
-Rossi Vanolo, Urban Political Geographies, 144-147
--Right to the City Alliance:
4/3 / Film: The Garden / Irazabal and Punja, 2009, “Cultivating Just Planning and Legal Institutions”, Journal of Urban Affairs, 2009, 31(1).
4/8 / The Garden / Homework discussion questions
4/10 / Association of American Geographers Conference / No class, work on final paper
4/15 / Justice Movements, LA bus riders union* / Joe Grengs, 2002, “Community-based Planning as a Source of Social Change: The Transit Equity Movement of Los Angeles’ Bus Riders Union”, JAPA, 68(2).
Final papers, class review and exam
4/17 / ***Paper due***
Group presentations / Read classmates’ papers posted to sakai
4/22 / Group presentations / Read classmates’ papers posted to sakai
4/24 / Final class: Class summary and wrap-up / Rossi Vanolo, 179-181
Final exam: Fri, May 2nd at 8am in Saunders 204

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