GEOG 28: Urban Social Geography Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00am-12:15pm Davie Hall 112 Fall 2003 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Dr James Fraser Assistant: Nancy Xenelis Office: Hickerson House, Rm 205 xenelis@email.unc.edu Phone: 962-6835 Office Hours: TBA pavement@unc.edu Office Hours: 12:30-2 T, TH at Strong’s Coffee (on Franklin next to Sutton’s Apothecary) Course overview This class will introduce students to the ways in which urban geography has played a role, along with other disciplines that focus on the urban, in understanding cities and the issues that surround them This will include an examination of how cities are conceived, lived, represented That is, this class will ask the questions, what are the various ways that people create, and attempt to materialize, their geographical imaginations of what they want the city to be? What are the ways in which different social groups make claims on space and place, and how does the scale at which these activities occur have effects In addressing these questions we will be analyzing how the state, market, and civil society intersect, and how this has changed over the 20 th Century in the U.S and other parts of the world In responding to these issues we will consider how boundaries get drawn in cities, where those boundaries exist and what the consequences are for such boundaries Course format and expectations The format of the class follows below It is expected that people will come to class prepared to discuss the material This will be reflected in a substantial portion of time being used for activitybased learning in the classroom Typically, we will meet and have about a 20-30 focused lecture/discussion on the readings, a 30 minute session where students will work in small groups reporting back to the larger class, and 15 minutes of wrap-up We will be viewing six films that accompany the texts we are using for the class, and students will be expected to incorporate these audio-visual materials into their responses to examination questions As for the mechanisms used to grade student performance, we will have three (3) examinations which will contain five short essay items each In addition, there will be a 7-10 page paper due toward the end of the semester Students are expected to adhere to the University honor code, which can be viewed at http://instrument.unc.edu/basicframe.html There is no final exam Grading Grading will follow the standard grading system of the university (A, B, C, D, F) Each examination will be worth 25% of your final grade and the term paper will also represent 25% For a general indication of how grades are to be assigned, “A” course work demonstrates an excellent understanding of course material and themes, significant contributions in class discussions, completion of examinations and the term paper with a high level of critical thinking and well written responses “B” course work demonstrates a strong understanding of course material and themes, consistent contributions in class discussions, completion of examinations and term paper with some critical thinking skill and well written responses “C” course work demonstrates a general understanding of course material and themes, minimal contributions in class discussions, completion of examinations, and a term paper that summarize ideas examined in the course “D” course work demonstrates a vague understanding of course material and themes, occasional or no contributions in class discussions, incompletion of examination, and a poorly written term paper “F” course work demonstrates that a student was rarely present for class, rarely demonstrated completion of readings, examinations, and handed in a substandard term paper Readings & Course Materials There are two books that students must purchase for the class: -Steve Pile, et al., Unruly cities -John Allen, et al., Unsettling Cities Both books are available at Student Stores All other readings will be on reserve at the Undergraduate Library unless the url is given in the syllabus It is recommended that students refer to The Dictionary of Human Geography 4th Edition (edited by R.J Johnston, et al) throughout the semester for definitions, summaries and clarification for terms and concepts used during the course The Syllabus Week Thinking about cities relationally T Aug 26—Introduction to course, course expectations & requirements Informal small group discussion: Why urban geography? READ for next class: -Chapter 1, Unsettling Cities, Cities of Connection and Disconnection R Aug 28—Thinking about the Scale of Cities Lecture & Discussion: What does it mean to think about a city relationally? What are some of the ambivalent tensions about cities that you have noted in your everyday life? READ for next class: -Chapter 2, Unsettling cities, Moving Cities: transport connections ASMNT for next class: Choose a city that you would like to focus on for the ongoing class activities and term paper What were some of the reasons you decided on the city? Bring in some basic demographics and information that you can share in class about the city you chose This should only require web-based research Week Networks of connections T Sept 2—Continuing to Explore the Making of Connections Lecture: How are cities multi-scalar constructions? Class Film: “New York: Making Connections” R Sept 4—Transport: Access to the City and Beyond Class Activity: Exploring current course themes through term papers Class Discussion: What’s mobility got to with freedom and rights to the city? READ for next class: -Chapter 1, Unruly Cities, The Heterogeneity of Cites Week Negotiating diversity in the city T Sept 9—Negotiating Differences in the City Lecture & Discussion: U.S Federal Policies and spatial disconnection – A history of the production of suburbs and ‘ghettos’ ASMT for next class: Find some historical records that show how spaces in your city have become altered by social relations extending beyond the city (i.e., federal or state policy, migration patterns, movement of industry) Then, focus on at least one area of your city and discuss in more detail how it has transformed over time READ for next class: Chapter 2, Unruly Cities, Urban ‘disorders’ R Sept 11—Defining and Responding to Urban (dis)Order Class Lecture/Discussion: The discourses around urban poverty and (dis)order Class Film: Mexico City: Whose City READ for next class: -Chapter 3, Unsettling Cities, City Life and difference: negotiating diversity Week Diversity and spatial differentiation in the city T Sept 16—Movement and Settlement in the City Lecture & Discussion: How are identities and space connected? Class Film: Sydney: Living with Difference Discussion: What makes Sydney’s distinctive cultural life possible? R Sept —18 Meet with partners in class to map out the work you have done and need to in order to connect your city term paper projects to course themes we have covered READ for next class: -Chapter 3, Unruly Cities, Walled Cities: surveillance, regulation, and segregation Week Spatial patterns and segregation T Sept 23—What ways different groups separate and distance themselves form each other? How are these social relations constituted, in part, by the built environment? Lecture and Discussion: Re-Claiming the city: Gentrification and the ‘Back to the city movement’ R Sept 25—Examination & Discussion ASMT for next class: Locate information for your city on the ways in which immigrants (newcomers to the city) have spatially located Are there detectable patterns, an, if so, delve deeper into the factors that account for these More broadly, begin to identify the general spatial patterning of your city paying attention to issues the ways that different populations have made claims to public and private space Do any areas have a reputation for certain types of activities or populations residing in them? How has this come to be? READ for next class: -Chapter 4, Unruly Cities, Divisive Cities: power and segregation in cities Week Spatial pattern, the city, and urban sprawl T Sept 30—Observing Spatial Patterns Lecture & Discussion: Segregation in Charlotte, NC, from the 19 th Century R Oct 2—Cities and Social Environmental Issues Class Film: Subdivide and Conquer READ for next class: -Chapter 4, Unsettling Cities, Cities and natures: intimate strangers ASMT for next class: Go to the Baltimore Ecosystem Study home web page and view the ways in which urban environmental issues are constructed Come to class prepared to provide an overview of the main components of the overall project, and to discuss the ways that the BES web site constructs the issues to be addressed Week Sustainable cities and urban governance T Oct 7—How are cities becoming sustainable? GIS Training: Amanda Henley Presentation Lecture & Discussion: The Baltimore Ecosystem Study READ for next class: -Chapter 6, Unruly Cities, The unsustainable city? ASMT for next class: Look up information on your city to find examples of initiatives that deal with urban sustainability, broadly speaking (i.e., social and environmental) How are these efforts conceived, who is responsible for their progress, and what challenges you see that they face? R Oct 9—City politics and the environment Lecture & Discussion: Environmental politics and issues of urban development – the case of urban gardens Class Activity –discuss spatial patterns in your cities Class Activity: What initiatives have your city taken to be socially and environmentally sustainable? How are these interrelated processes? Week The scale of urban governance T Oct 14——City politics and governance in the 20th and 21st Centuries Lecture & Discussion: Theories of urban politics – What’s power got to with it? READ for next class: -Chapter 5, Unruly Cities, City Politics ASMT for next class: Look up information on the type of governance structure(s) that are in place in your city These would include institutionalized channels through which decisions get made In addition, focus on issues of land use What stakeholders are involved in conceiving and representing the city? For example, you might find a planning agency and determine what roles it plays, or you may focus on private actors including foundations or corporations R Oct 16—Who governs and where they operate? Who is a stakeholder in urban governance? What does scale got to with it? Lecture & Discussion: Examining the scale of urban governance Class Activity –discuss the stakeholders who are involved in urban politics Do these groups reside in the city or outside of the city? READ for next class: -Chapter 7, Unruly Cities, Administered Cities Week Administered Cities: Managing Unruly Places T Oct 21—How does the city become administered? What groups have been involved in these processes? Lecture & Discussion: Examining the administration of social services through nonprofits READ for next class: -Chapter 5, Unsettling Cities, Cities of power and influence: settled formations R Oct 23—Fall Break Week 10 Cities of all sizes T Oct 28—How cities intersect with economic, political, and cultural globalization? Class Film: Cities in a Hurry R Oct 30—Examination & Discussion Week 11 Urban revitalization around the world T Nov 4—Does size matter? Mid-size cities and global ambition Lecture & Discussion: what strategies are different cities using to be networked in flows of capital, people, knowledge, and culture? READ for next class: -Chapter 6, Unsettling Cities, City rythms: neo-liberalism and the developing world R Nov 6— How different cities around the world experience development? What are some of the ways in which cities in less affluent countries experience monetary policy set by organizations operating globally? Lecture & Discussion: Transnational urban experiences: flows that tie and flows that Bind Class Activity – Think about how you would study this in your cities What have you learned so far, and what avenues will you pursue? READ for next class: -Chapter 7, Unsettling Cities, Cities and economic change: global governance Week 12 Neoliberalism and it limits T Nov 11 Lecture & Discussion: Neoliberalism and the City: There is an alternative ASMT for next class: What actually existing policies and programs are affecting, and have affected, the cities you are studying? How have these cities actually played a role in constituting such programs and policies and perhaps altering them? R Nov 13— What are the components of neoliberalist discourse and activities, and how pervasive is this political-economic strategy? Class Discussion: We will break into small groups and then return to a larger discussion toward the middle of class Talk about your cities and the ways they are being neo-liberalized or not READ for next class: -Both Chapters in Unsettling cities and Unruly cities Week 13 Visions of the city T Nov 18—The jumbled orderings of the city Lecture & Discussion: Social movements in the city: part R Nov 20—How open are cities? Lecture & Discussion: Geographical imaginaries for the city: social movements part Week 14 T Nov 25—No class; work on term papers R Nov 27—No Class; Thanksgiving Break Week 15 Finding our way home T Dec 2— Term Papers Due & Review Session for Third Examination R Dec 4—3rd Examination & Class Wrap-Up