Cities are back in town : urban sociology for a globalizing urban world

About this course: Urbanization is reaching a new peak in the contemporary world with the rise of mega cities. Researchers try to make sense of these large urban areas using a variety of concepts. The class will review debates and present social science models of cities to analyse and compare contemporary developments. General Overview Help Center Urbanization is reaching a new peak in the contemporary world with the rise of mega cities. Researchers try to make sense of these large urban areas using a variety of concepts. The class will review debates and present social science models of cities to analyse and compare contemporary developments. Globalization, Europeanization processes support the rapid developments of cities in different part of the world. Urbanization is reaching a new high in the contemporary world with the rise of mega cities (beyond 15 million inhabitants) such as Calcutta, Los Angeles, Dhaka, Cairo, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Mexico or Seoul. Beyond the modern metropolis, researchers try to make sense of these large urban areas using a variety of concepts such as the ‘postmetropolis’, ‘global cities’, and ‘global city-regions’. The class will review debates and present social science models of cities and metropolis to analyse and compare contemporary developments. How can do we study those cities when they become mega urban regions, does size matter and for what? Do we see the making of a vast urban world or by contrast beyond the apparent convergence of complex globalisation processes understood in relation to globalised capitalism, is it possible to identify masked differentiations and the strengthening of different urban worlds? How do we make sense of this urban world when cities are not independent units but have to be understood both in terms of territories, rootedness, and at the same time in terms of relations to take into account flux, mobility, circulations ? What is the relevance of social science concepts developed in the Western world to analyse the transformation of Lagos? To what extent may the systematic development of new forms of comparison between northern cities and cities from the South change social sciences and contribute to overcome the bias towards national comparison? For the time being, given current conditions of capitalism, political, economic, cultural and social questions are increasingly becoming urban questions. In the modern conception of the world/globalcity, characterised by size, the aggregation of housing, differentiated divisions of labour, and the density of interaction, several conceptions of cities exist which have become entangled and sometimes opposed to each other. These different conceptions underline different processes of integration: the material city of walls, squares, houses, roads, light, utilities, buildings, waste, and physical infrastructure; the cultural city in terms of imaginations, differences, representations, ideas, symbols, arts, texts, senses, religion, and aesthetics; the politics and policies of the city in terms of domination, power, government, mobilisation, public policies, welfare, education; the social city of riots, ethnic, economic and gender inequalities, everyday life and social movements; and the economy of the city : the division of labour, scale, production, consumption, trade..... Classic urban questions about inequalities, housing, government, integration, are combined with issues about the urban fabric, questions of mobility and rootedness, sustainable development and risks, the making of the cyborg cities, questions of social control and riots, urban culture, innovation and urban economic development. All video produced by Sciences Po for this Mooc are under Creative Commons (BY / NC / SA) Recommended Background The course is designed for undergraduates but it also will interest graduates and professionals concerned in urban issues. The course is organized in 8 sequences and displays multimedia contents (images, video, original documents). There will be also assignments that consist in participating to discussions related to theoretical models presented in the course based on case studies of your choice, and peer assessments on your contributions. Syllabus : Week #1 : Introduction, definition, urban questions and the use of models Week #2 : European cities and the weberian model of integration Week #3 : Colonial and post colonial cities Week #4 : Industrial cities (and Socialist cities) and Marxist models Week #5 : The American metropolis and the Chicago School, Week #6 : Post metropolis, fragments and differences Week #7 : Global cities and mega cities Week #8 : Smart cities and the sociology of science and technology

Created by:  Sciences Po

• Taught by:  Patrick Le Galès

  Centre d'études européennes

Level Beginner Language English, Subtitles: Spanish How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.3 stars Average User Rating 4.3See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Sciences Po Founded in 1872, Sciences Po is France's leading university in the social sciences. For over 140 years, Sciences Po has educated decision-makers of the public and private sectors. Sciences Po is differentiated by its strongly international character: of the 13,000 students in the institution, 46% are international students originating from 150 countries. Sciences Po also holds a high standard of social responsibility and continues to play a pioneering role in the promotion of diversity and equal opportunity in higher education. 30% of the student body receive financial aid at Sciences Po. In 2000, this number was 6%. Over the last decade, Sciences Po has integrated digital tools into its programmes (shared work spaces, eCourses, Moodle, online map library, Controversy Mapping, Forccast Project, etc.) and has naturally migrated towards MOOC teaching platforms as well as other innovative teaching methods.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Week 1 – Introduction
Introduction to urban sociology


6 videos, 2 readings expand

1. Video: Welcome to the new urban world
2. Video: Ancient cities
3. Video: Words to qualify cities and the urban world
4. Video: A world of cities or a generalised urban world ?
5. Reading: Urbanisation processes
6. Video: Definitions
7. Video: Models and urban sociology
8. Reading: References

WEEK 2


Week 2 – European City
European city model


6 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: Introduction to European city
2. Reading: Historical emergence of european cities
3. Reading: The urban bourgeoisie
4. Reading: The Venice Case study
5. Video: Municipal revolution and the fragile political autonomy
6. Reading: Municipal revolution and the fragile political autonomy v2
7. Video: The weberian model of the « Occidental city »
8. Video: Neo weberian model part 1
9. Video: Neo weberian model part 2
10. Reading: How useful is the European city model
11. Video: The Los Angeles case study
12. Reading: References

WEEK 3


Week 3 – Colonial City
Colonial city model


5 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Imposing a universal European framework or looking for alternatives ?
2. Reading: Colonial empires and the making of colonial cities
3. Reading: Do colonisers need cities ?
4. Video: Inequality, segregation and the colonial political order part 1
5. Video: Inequality, segregation and the colonial political order part 2
6. Reading: A model of colonial cities ?
7. Video: Features of colonial cities
8. Video: Legacy of colonisation, post colonial cities ? v1
9. Reading: Legacy of colonisation, post colonial cities ? v2
10. Reading: References

WEEK 4


Week 4 – Industrial City
Industrial city model


4 videos, 7 readings expand

1. Video: Industrial urbanisation and urban change
2. Reading: The Industrial revolution and the emergence of the industrial cities/urban regions
3. Video: Two waves of industrialization
4. Reading: The conditions of the working class: exploitation, poverty, inequalities
5. Video: The making of the industrial city as a social structure
6. Reading: The physical infrastructure of the industrial metropolis
7. Reading: Industrial cities beyond Europe, Chicago takes the lead
8. Video: Methods and variables of the marxist industrial agglomeration model
9. Reading: A marxist interpretation of the industrial city
10. Reading: Industrial cities after the West and the industrial city model
11. Reading: References

WEEK 5


Week 5 – Metropolis
Metropolis model


5 videos, 7 readings expand

1. Video: centers of experiment for modern social life
2. Video: European capitals of the great nation states of the 19th century turn into metropolis
3. Reading: New York, the American metropolis
4. Video: Metropolis in the south
5. Reading: Buenos Aires
6. Reading: Metropolis and the urban way of life
7. Video: The human ecology of cities and the US coming of age of urban sociology
8. Reading: "The City" by Louis Wirth
9. Reading: The segregated metropolis, race and class, measures and cultural making of boundaries part 1
10. Reading: The segregated metropolis, race and class, measures and cultural making of boundaries part 2
11. Video: Competition and the development of the metropolis
12. Reading: References

WEEK 6


Week 6 – Global City
Global city model


4 videos, 7 readings expand

1. Video: a globalising urban capitalist world
2. Reading: The rise of mega cities
3. Reading: The financiarisation of the city, real estates, utilities
4. Reading: A model of the urbanization of capital
5. Reading: Scott and Storper and the new economic geography
6. Reading: Cities of flows and nodes of networks
7. Video: Globalization
8. Video: Big cities with advanced economic functions ?
9. Reading: Unequal City
10. Video: Conclusion Global city
11. Reading: References

WEEK 7


Week 7 – Post Metropolis
Post metroplis model


4 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: Post metropolis and the criticism of models
2. Reading: Different urban worlds
3. Video: Conflictual cities, Contested cities, rejecting modernism, capitalism and the state
4. Reading: Urban Riots
5. Video: Beyond modernism the cultural turn of urban studies
6. Video: Culture and entertainment are back in town, the city of visitors
7. Reading: informal settlements, networks and illegalities part 1
8. Reading: informal settlements, networks and illegalities part 2
9. Reading: Conclusion Post Metrpolis
10. Reading: References

WEEK 8


Week 8 – Digital City
Digital city model


6 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Introduction to smart city – Part 1
2. Video: Introduction to smart city – Part 2
3. Video: Maps and networks – Part 1
4. Video: Maps and networks – Part 2
5. Reading: Maps and networks – Part 3
6. Video: Smart city model – Part 1
7. Reading: Smart city model - Part 2
8. Reading: Access and online activity in the city
9. Reading: Transforming life - transforming India
10. Video: Sustainable city
11. Reading: References