- URB STD 450G-001 Urban Growth and Development: A Global View , Spring 2024
Instructor: Jamie Harris (jmh@uwm.edu)
Urbanization is advancing at an unprecedented rate around the world, with most of that growth occurring in the “developing” Global South, often in informal settlements. More than 1 billion people now reside in informal settlements, and many megacities will be approaching populations of 30 million over the next decade. Rapid urbanization, and the shadow cities that accompany this kind of development can have broad implications for urban poverty and inequality, migration, and the impacts of climate change. Along with this explosion of urbanization, the last two decades have witnessed much new theorizing and empirical research focused on cities and urbanized regions of the Global South. Many of these scholars have challenged conventional urban theory and critiqued the field of urban studies that emerged in the 20th century for its decidedly European and North American orientation. Unable to fully account for the complexity and diverse historical, political and cultural basis of different urbanisms that were emerging, these scholars, many from outside the West, began to formulate new approaches and concepts to more fully understand urban change and development. This interdisciplinary, hybrid course will examine some of these debates and explore some of this new empirical work as we delve into an array of urban contexts across several regions and countries outside the U.S. Particular attention will be given to urban informality and territories of exclusion in Brazil, Ghana, and India; state-led urbanization in China; Global City formations in a number of cities; greening cities and climate disaster and resilience in Europe, Asia, and Canada; urban citizenship, tactical urbanism and 'right to the city' campaigns, and the role of urban space in shaping and fostering political mobilization for gender equality, poor people, and climate justice, across a number of cities and countries. - URB STD 921-001 Seminar: Research Methods in Urban Studies , Fall 2024
Instructor: Joel Rast (jrast@uwm.edu)
This is a primarily qualitative research methods course that focuses on methodologies most often used in the field of urban studies. Key themes will include sociology of knowledge, research design, field research and interviewing techniques, qualitative data analysis, community-based participatory research, content analysis, comparative/historical research, and case studies. Appropriate for master’s and PhD students from Urban Studies, Sociology, Geography, Political Science, and History with an interest in qualitative methods and urban affairs. Course readings will both illustrate methodological themes and approaches and illuminate key topics of interest in urban studies.