Urban Dynamics: Global, Regional, and Local Connections

Cities are a study in contrast - both a source of opportunity and a place where great wealth and poverty coincide. U.S. cities face enormous challenges as globalization has sparked a new era of urban innovation, yet has also intensified inequality and spurred new technologies of social control. This course asks: How have U.S. cities changed over the last century? How is globalization impacting the lives and opportunities of city dwellers? How do gender, age, race/ethnicity, class, and citizenship affect urban residents' experiences? How do urban policies and social movements advance or impede social justice across groups and places? Course topics include the social, economic, and political forces restructuring cities, inequality and diversity in the city, cities in the global economy, and the future of cities.

In Rome, this course will address challenges in European cities.