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Urban Society and Social Change
Why Urban Society and Social Change?
Many students are drawn to Urban Studies by their desire to understand and address the unique problems confronting cities today. This concentration focuses on issues in contemporary urban society, and on the tools and concepts that can bring about change to improve urban life. Courses focus on a diverse range of issues, from environmental degradation to racial and class inequality. Students also learn how community action, urban planning and design, and organizations in nonprofit, for-profit, and government sectors address these challenges.
This concentration prepares students to enter graduate programs concerned with urban affairs, community service, and public policy, and to work with local governmental agencies and for-profit and nonprofit organizations engaged in community service and development.
Advising
Students in this concentration may select as their advisor either
Michael Kahan (email) (read more)
Or Doug McAdam (email) (read more)
Special Programs and Opportunities
Students in the Urban Society and Social Change concentration should consider applying for a Haas Center Summer Fellowship, which provides funding for a summer spent working for a non-profit or government organization.
Those interested in policy should also consider applying for a summer placement with Stanford in Government, or a quarter at Stanford in Washington. Consult your Urban Studies advisor to determine if courses or internships taken in Washington can fulfill Urban Studies course requirements or the internship requirement.
Required Course
The following course is required for the Urban Society and Social Change concentration:
POLISCI 133. Ethics and Politics of Public Service
Additional Courses
The following courses may be counted toward the Urban Society and Social Change concentration. Please consult with your advisor to select a program of courses that suits your intellectual and personal goals.
ANTHRO 32. Theories in Race and Ethnicity
CEE 64. Air Pollution: From Urban Smog to Global Change
CEE 100. Managing Sustainable Building Projects
CEE 115. Goals and Methods of Sustainable Building Projects
CEE 124. Sustainable Development Studio
CEE 129. Engineering and Policy Responses to Climate Change Impacts on Seaports
CEE 131. Architectural Design Process
CEE 141A. Infrastructure Project Development
CEE 142A. Creating Sustainable Development
CEE 171. Environmental Planning Methods
CEE 172. Air Quality Management
EARTHSYS 124. Environmental Justice: Local, National, and International Dimensions
EARTHSYS 133. California Climate Change Law and Policy
ECON 150. Economic Policy Analysis
ECON 155. Environmental Economics and Policy
EDUC 270A. Learning to Lead in Public Service Organizations
ENGR 150. Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
HISTORY 105. Gandhi, King and Non-Violence
HISTORY 255. Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Social Gospel and the Struggle for Justice
HISTORY 259A & B. Poverty and Homelessness in America
HISTORY 260. California's Minority-Majority Cities
HUMBIO 122S. Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, Health
HUMBIO 127A & B. Community Health: Assessment and Planning
HUMBIO 128. Community Health Psychology
OSPCPTWN 20. Supervised Service Learning
OSPCPTWN 22. Preparation for Community-Based Research in Community Health and Development
OSPCPTWN 24. Targeted Research: Project in Community Health and Development
OSPCPTWN 42. Race, Class, and Status: Capetown in Comparative Perspective
OSPMADRID 20. Sustainability of the Natural, Built, and Social Environments of Spain
OSPMOSC 57. Social Inequality in Socialist and Post-Socialist Societies
POLISCI 221F. Race and American Politics
POLISCI 236. Theories of Civil Society, Philanthropy, and the Nonprofit Sector
PUBLPOL 135. Regional Politics and Decision Making in Silicon Valley
PUBLPOL 183. Philanthropy and Social Innovation
SOC 118. Social Movements and Collective Action
SOC 119. Understanding Large-Scale Societal Change: The Case of the 1960’s
SOC 135. Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy in the United States
SOC 140. Introduction to Social Stratification
SOC 141. Controversies About Inequality
SOC 141A. Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, Health
SOC 143. Prejudice, Racism, and Social Change
SOC 145. Race and Ethnic Relations
SOC 160. Formal Organizations
or MS&E 180. Organizations: Theory and Management
SOC 161. The Social Science of Entrepreneurship
SOC 164. Immigration and the Changing United States
SOC 166. Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Chicanos in American Society
URBANST 115. Urban Sustainability: Long-Term Archaeological Perspectives
URBANST 123. Approaching Research and the Community
URBANST 126. Spirituality and Nonviolent Urban and Social Transformation
URBANST 127. Community Planning Workshop
URBANST 131. Social Innovation and the Social Entrepreneur
URBANST 132. Concepts and Analytic Skills for the Social Sector
URBANST 133. Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory
URBANST 137. Innovations in Microcredit and Development Finance
URBANST 162. Managing Local Governments
URBANST 163. Land Use Control
URBANST 165. Sustainable Urban and Regional Transportation Planning
URBANST 171. Urban Design Studio