Urban Studies Course Offerings 2007-2008
AUTUMN
Urbanst 110, Introduction to Urban Studies (Stout, F)
The study of cities and urban civilization. History of urbanization and current issues such as suburbanization, racial discrimination, globalization, terrorism, and the environment. Public policies designed to address these issues. (4 units)
Urbanst 111, Urban Politics (Bischoff, K)
The major actors, institutions, processes, and policies of sub-state government in the U.S., emphasizing city general-purpose governments through a comparative examination of historical and contemporary politics. Issues related to federalism, representation, voting, race, poverty, housing, and finances. Prerequisite: POLISCI 2 or consent of instructor
(5 units)
Urbanst 112, The Urban Underclass (Rosenfeld, M)
Graduate students register for 249.) Recent research and theory on the urban underclass, including evidence on the concentration of African Americans in urban ghettos, and the debate surrounding the causes of poverty in urban settings. Ethnic/racial conflict, residential segregation, and changes in the family structure of the urban poor. (5 units)
Urbanst 114, Cities in Comparative Perspective (Ebron, P)
Core course for Urban Studies majors. The city as interdisciplinary object. Discourses about cities such as the projects, practices, plans, representations, and sensibilities that combine to create what people know about urban spaces. Local, national, and transnational spatial scales. Conversations across regional boundaries; geographies of difference. Case studies. (5 units)
Urbanst 123, Approaching Research and the Community (Cotterman, K)
How experience with community organizations provides a starting point for developing community-based senior theses or independent research projects. Principles and practice of doing community-based research as a collaborative enterprise between academic researchers and community members; how academic scholarship can be made useful to community organizations. Guest speakers from community organizations, faculty, and alumni of the Public Service Scholars Program. (2 units)
Urbanst 131, Social Innovation and the Social Entrepreneurship (Edwards, M)
Invited lecture series. Perspectives and endeavors of thought leaders and entrepreneurs who address social needs in the U.S. and internationally through private for-profit and nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental organizations, or public institutions. (1 unit)
Urbanst 133, Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory (Edwards, M)
Interdisciplinary student teams create and develop U.S. and international social entrepreneurship initiatives. Proposed initiatives may be new entities, or innovative projects, partnerships, and/or strategies impacting existing organizations and social issues in the U.S. and internationally. Focus is on each team's research and on planning documents to further project development. Project development varies with the quarter and the skill set of each team, but should include: issue and needs identification; market research; design and development of an innovative and feasible solution; and drafting of planning documents. In advanced cases, solicitation of funding and implementation of a pilot project. Enrollment limited to 30. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 131, 132, or 133, or consent of instructor. (4 units)
Urbanst 198, Senior Research in Public Service (Schmidt-Posner, J)
Limited to seniors approved by their departments for honors thesis, and admitted to the year-round Public Service Scholars Program sponsored by the Haas Center for Public Service. What standards in addition to those expected by the academy apply to research conducted as a form of public and community service? How can communities benefit from research? Theory and practice of research as a form of public service. Readings in research theory and methods of participatory action research; presentations on research as service; workshops on each participant's thesis work-in-progress; public presentation of completed research; and thesis evaluation by a community-based reader. May be repeated for credit. Corequisite: 199. (1-3 units)
Urbanst 203, Senior Seminar (Kahan, M)
Conclusion of capstone sequence. Students write a substantial paper based on the research project developed in 201 or 202. Students in the honors program may incorporate this paper into their thesis. Frequent peer and instructor reviews. Visit from model scholar chosen by students. (5 units)
WINTER
Urbanst 110, Introduction to Urban Studies (Stout, F)
The study of cities and urban civilization. History of urbanization and current issues such as suburbanization, racial discrimination, globalization, terrorism, and the environment. Public policies designed to address these issues. (4 units)
Urbanst 113, Introduction to Urban Design: Contemporary Urban Design in Theory and Practice (Gast, G)
Issues in urban development and conservation. Neighborhood livability, central city revitalization, historic preservation, and regional growth through comparative case studies from N. America and abroad. Projects focus on neighborhood, downtown, and regional issues in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Two Saturday field workshops in San Francisco. (5 units)
Urbanst 126, Spirituality and Nonviolent Urban and Social Transformation (McLennan, W; Karlin-Neumann, P; Sanders, J)
A life of engagement in social transformation is often built on a foundation of spiritual and religious commitments. Case studies of nonviolent social change agents including Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement, César Chávez in the labor movement, and WIlliam Sloane Coffin in the peace movement; the religious and spiritual underpinnings of their commitments. Theory and principles of nonviolence. Films and readings. Service learning component includes placements in organizations engaged in social transformation. (5 units)
Urbanst 132, Concepts and Analytic Skills for the Social Sector (Kieschnick, M)
Analytical methods, marketing, language, organizational mission, strategy, and finance in the for-profit and nonprofit social sectors. Focus is on the integration of theory and application. Opportunities and limits of methods from the profit sector to meet social goals. Enrollment limited to 20. Prerequisite: ECON 1. (4 units)
Urbanst 198, Senior Research in Public Service (Schmidt-Posner, J)
Limited to seniors approved by their departments for honors thesis, and admitted to the year-round Public Service Scholars Program sponsored by the Haas Center for Public Service. What standards in addition to those expected by the academy apply to research conducted as a form of public and community service? How can communities benefit from research? Theory and practice of research as a form of public service. Readings in research theory and methods of participatory action research; presentations on research as service; workshops on each participant's thesis work-in-progress; public presentation of completed research; and thesis evaluation by a community-based reader. May be repeated for credit. Corequisite: 199. (1-3 units)
Urbanst 202, Preparation for honors Thesis (McAdam, D and Kahan, M)
Primarily for juniors in Sociology or Urban Studies, sophomores who plan to be off-campus Winter Quarter of their junior year may register with consent of instructor. First part of capstone experience for Urban Studies majors pursuing a non-internship based research project or honors thesis. Urban Studies majors enrolling in 202 rather than 201 must arrange an alternative way of fulfilling the internship requirement. Students write a research prospectus and grant proposal, which may submitted for funding. Research proposal in final assignment may be carried out in Spring or Summer Quarter; consent required for Autumn Quarter research.
SPRING
Urbanst 133, Social Entreprepreneurship Collaboratory (Scher, L)
Interdisciplinary student teams create and develop U.S. and international social entrepreneurship initiatives. Proposed initiatives may be new entities, or innovative projects, partnerships, and/or strategies impacting existing organizations and social issues in the U.S. and internationally. Focus is on each team's research and on planning documents to further project development. Project development varies with the quarter and the skill set of each team, but should include: issue and needs identification; market research; design and development of an innovative and feasible solution; and drafting of planning documents. In advanced cases, solicitation of funding and implementation of a pilot project. Enrollment limited to 30. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 131, 132, or 133, or consent of instructor. (4 units)
Urbanst 161, U.S. Urban History since 1920 (Kahan, M)
Possible topics include: the end of European immigration and its impact on cities; the rise of the automobile; mass culture and consumerism; the Depression and cities; WW II and the martial metropolis; de-industrialization; suburbanization; African American migration; urban renewal; riots, race, and the narrative of urban crisis; the impact of immigration from Asia, Latin America, and Africa; homelessness; the rise of the Sunbelt cities; gentrification; globalization and cities. (5 units)
Urbanst 164, Utopia and Reality in Modern Urban Planning (Stout, F; Turner, P)
Primarily for Urban Studies and Art majors. Utopian urbanist thinkers such as Ebenezer Howard, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright who established the conceptual groundwork of contemporary urban planning practice. Research paper. (5 units)
Urbanst 165, Sustainable Urban and regional Transportation Planning (Kott, J)
Environmental, economic, and equity aspects of urban transportation in 21st-century U.S. Expanded choices in urban and regional mobility that do not diminish resources for future generations. Implications for the global environment and the livability of communities. (4-5 units)
Urbanst 171, Urban Design Studio (Glanz, D)
The practical application of urban design theory. Projects focus on designing neighborhood and downtown regions to balance livability, revitalization, population growth, and historic preservation. (5 units)
Urbanst 175, Global Cities and the Transnational Economy (Choi, J)
How key cities command and coordinate the global economy. Why a division of labor exists amongst a global hierarchy of cities. How economic globalization creates a need for sophisticated information analysis and decision making capabilities. Why corporate headquarters and advanced services are concentrated in a handful of cities. Cluster-oriented development strategies. Case studies. Concepts, theories, and tools from economic sociology and regional economics. (5 units)