Urban Studies Course Offerings 2012-2013

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.

Comparative and archaeological view of urban design and sustainability. How fast changing cities challenge human relationships with nature. Innovation and change, growth, industrial development, the consumption of goods and materials. Five millennia of city life including Near Eastern city states, Graeco-Roman antiquity, the Indus Valley, and the Americas.

Comparative perspective on research with communities and basic overview of research methodologies, with an emphasis on the principles and practices of doing community-based research as a collaborative enterprise between academic researchers and community members. How academic scholarship can be made useful to communities. How service experiences and interests can be used to develop research questions in collaboration with communities and serve as a starting point for developing senior theses or other independent research projects.

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.

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 and 132, or consent of instructor.

Looks at the historical backgrounds of current issues in urban environmental policy, including waste, transportation, air pollution, and other major issues. Covers the period 1800 to the present. Explores the relevance of historical scholarship

Core course for Urban Studies majors. We will study urban space both historically and cross-culturally. Urban Studies, by definition, is an interdisciplinary field, where the methodological approaches draw upon a diverse set of analytic tools. Disciplines that occupy a prominent place in this class are geography, cultural anthropology, sociology, history, media studies, and literature. In this context, we will discuss the importance of cities around the world to the economic, cultural, and political well-being of modern societies and examine how forces such as industrialization, decentralization, and globalization affect the structure and function of cities.

Introduces students to the diverse ways of ¿doing¿ public/community-engaged scholarship, including public interest and public policy-oriented research, design research, social entrepreneurship, activist/advocacy and community-based research models. Through a multidisciplinary set of case studies of actual research/action projects in the US and abroad, students will compare and assess research models in terms of methodological approach, academic rigor, control and ownership of the research process, means and modes of data dissemination, researcher subjectivity, depth of community partnership, and relative potential for sustainable, long-term community impact. The course material is designed to provide students with a broad framework and context to imagine how to produce their own scholarship/research as a form of public service and social transformation.

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 and 132, or consent of instructor.

This class will examine the history of San Francisco, with a focus on social and political history. Possible topics include Indians and Spanish settlers, the Gold Rush, immigration, public culture, Progressive Era reform, the earthquake and fire of 1906 and its legacy, labor and unionism, race and civil rights, sexuality and politics, and redevelopment.

Methods of land use control related to the pattern and scale of development and the protection of land and water resources. Emphasis is on the relationship between the desired land use goal and geographical landscape, physical externalities, land use law, and regulatory agencies. Topics include the historical roots of modern land use controls; urban reforms of the 19th century; private ownership of land; zoning; local, state, and federal land use regulation; and land trusts preservation. Smart growth, environmental impact consideration, private property rights, and special purpose agencies are related to current issues.

The omnipresence of automobile infrastructure negotiating the urban, suburban, and rural landscapes emphasizes the prioritization of this mode of transportation in the United States. Although the overlap of highway and urban area is sometimes addressed (and re-addressed), it tends to create sub-districts, fragmentation, and unnecessary conditions of separation. While serving as an important circulation network on the west coast, connecting Los Angeles to Seattle, the infrastructure of Highway 101 cuts through various communities, at times creating division at the local scale. One of the more marked manifestations of this division is in East Palo Alto, where the highway separates residents on the west side from schools and activities on the east side, acting as a barrier that must be navigated by car. This studio aims to articulate the issues created by the presence of the highway and study design solutions that not only mitigate the presence of these two systems (highway and community) at a general level, but develop strategic approaches to the issues facing the specific area. In this regard, students will engage with the site, community members, and local officials. They will focus on the issues and impact of transportation infrastructure and offer design oriented ideas and responses for addressing the intersection of urban development and highway systems.