Cities have always been understood as an endless stream of contradictions, reflecting the many currents of contemporary society.  They are highly diverse, yet highly segregated spaces.  People seek cities for their unlimited opportunity and resources, yet many who live in cities represent the most economically disadvantaged and socially isolated populations in the world.  Cities are destinations where people converge to take advantage of their natural and manmade amenities, yet many also characterize cities as hotbeds of crime and iniquity.

This course investigates some of the major issues in the study and development of cities and their surrounding areas, with a general focus on U.S. cities and a spotlight on neighborhoods and local communities.  In addition to studying the major schools of thought pertaining to the social and spatial development of cities, we will consider how the city represents contested sites where institutional actors and residents (local, extra-local, and symbolic) play out broader political, economic, and sociocultural issues through the appropriation of space and the production of its meaning.

This course meets the Experiencing Social Differences (ESD) Requirement for the College.  The course aims to develop awareness, understanding and skills of analysis for examining topics such as racial and class-based stratification in cities, how the rise of suburbia influenced the creation and practices of the urban ghetto, the (re)production and defense of authentic culture in ethnic, immigrant,, and sexual enclaves (iconic gay and lesbian neighborhoods), the use of “authentic” culture in iconic immigrant and sexual enclaves as amenities in the revitalization of contemporary cities, and how marginalized individuals use cities as important sites of political, economic, and sociocultural resistance, from urban riots to immigration rallies to SlutWalks.