GEOG 472 - Global Urbanism

The 21st century is an urban century. Half of the world’s population now lives in cities, with the most rapid growth happening in the developing world. The globalized urban processes compel us to rethink existing urban theories as well as the very definition of cities. In this senior capstone seminar, we will explore three strands of scholarly works that expand our knowledge about contemporary global urbanism. The first focuses on the scholarship of neoliberal urbanism, which prioritizes North American and Western European urban experiences and shapes the mainstream thinking of cities. The second consists of on-the-ground variegated contestations, which reveal diverse urban living experiences and propose alternative approaches to the capitalist urbanization process. Finally, there is the scholarship challenging mainstream urban theories with a different epistemological stance. Among other things, it seeks to re-conceptualize urbanization from the global South. In addition to studying these important ways of thinking about global urbanism, students will conduct individual research projects to develop a deeper and more concrete understanding of the contemporary urbanization processes. Generally offered every other year. (4 Credits)