ITB 222E - City and Society

Course Objectives

1. To analyse the social relations which shape the cities;
2. Introduce the processes of capitalist urbanisation and industrialisation that started in the Nineteenth Century in a historical and comparative perspective;
3. Analyse contemporary processes of urban change and urban problems;
4. Develop the ability to read and understand texts, make research and write;
5. Develop the ability to communicate and discuss issues effectively.

Course Description

This course deals with the social relations shaping the cities. The course introduces the processes of capitalist urbanisation and industrialisation that started in the Nineteenth Century in a historical and comparative perspective. This historical overview is followed by the analysis of contemporary processes of urban change. Economic and institutional developments, ‘deindustrialisation’, processes of urbanisation in developing economies, ‘gentrification’, housing problems of the urban poor, urban public space, ecological-social problems of urban society and contemporary rural-urban migration are analysed.