COMPARATIVE URBAN POLITICS (PSCI 4092)
Class Schedule and Location: MWF 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM – KTCH 235
Here follows the on-line version of the syllabus. You can download a PDF version here.
I. Course Overview
This course offers a broad overview of comparative urban politics and policies with consideration of the issues of urbanization, development, expansion, management and public policy processes of cities around the world. We will devote particular attention to the issues of urbanization in the developing world and to the politics of illegal settlements. We will also deal with issues related to the governance of metropolises such as expansion, environmental protection, sustainability and immigration.
II. Requirements
This is an upper division political science course that places a heavy emphasis on students’ participation and writing. Class attendance is strongly recommended. NOTE: repeated absence (more than 10%) may result in a low class participation grade. Students are therefore expected to attend all class sessions and complete the assigned readings prior to class.
The final grade is based on participation, two exams, and a policy brief. Your grade is determined as follows:
- Class participation: 20%. This grade will be determined by the students’ attendance and participation in the discussion sections. During discussion sessions, students will be called randomly to answer questions of relevance to the class topics. Students should come prepared to discussion sessions with a few questions on the week readings and/or lectures. I strongly encourage every student to participate actively in class; however, should you feel uncomfortable about speaking in front of your fellow classmates, you can email me questions and comments before each class. That will count toward your participation grade in the same way as in-class interaction. We’ll have a class blog (please follow the link on my website). If you send me comments and questions to post on the blog, those will count as participation as well.
- Exam #1 (In-Class): 25%. The first exam will test students on their knowledge of the material covered in first part of the semester. It will have both a multiple-choice section and an essay/short answer section.
- Policy Brief: 30%. This assignment will test students on their ability to use the theoretical knowledge they acquired in a practical way. Students will produce a brief on a topic of their choice amongst the ones proposed in class or will propose a topic to the instructor. Proposals are due in electronic format by October 12th. The purpose of the brief is to inform a local political leader on the issue(s) at stake and to propose policy recommendations based on the students’ knowledge. The brief’s length should be between 10 and 12 double-spaced pages (6-8 single-spaced). Further details on the brief’s format will be provided in class. The brief is due in class on Friday, November 13th. Students are required to deliver BOTH an electronic AND a hard copy of their briefs. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a 10% grade reduction. The late delivery policy is as follows: no brief will be accepted after class on the day of the deadline. Missing the deadline will result in a zero in the assignment grade.
- Exam #2 (In-Class): 25%. The second exam will test students on their knowledge of the material covered in the last parts of the semester. It will have both a multiple-choice section and an essay/short answer section.
- Extra Credit: this assignment consists in choosing an article from selected sources (which will be provided during the semester) and critique it. The minimum possible grade is 0 points and the maximum is 5 (5% of the final grade). In no way the extra credit assignment can result in negative points.
III. Readings
Readings will include both books and articles.
The following books are required for the class and are available for purchase at the UMC bookstore:
- Mayaram, Shail. 2008. The Other Global City. 1st ed. Routledge. TOGC in the syllabus.
- Neuwirth, Robert. 2004. Shadow Cities: A Billion
Squatters, A New Urban World. illustrated edition.
Routledge. SHADOW in the syllabus.
Please remember to check the class website and my blog for updates and changes in the schedule:
IV. Schedule
Dates to Remember:
- Friday October 9th: In-Class Exam #1
▪ Monday October 12th: Policy Brief proposal deadline
▪ Friday November 13th: Policy Brief Due in Class
▪ Friday November 20th: Extra credit deadline
▪ Friday December 11th: In-Class Exam #2
Week #1: Introduction
Mon. Aug. 24
Class description & Introduction to topics
No readings
Wed. Aug. 26
Introduction to Cities
1. Presentation. Download Handouts
2. Brand, Stewart. 2007. Stewart Brand on squatter cities | Video on TED.com. TED Talks - The Power of Cities. May. http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_on_squatter_cities.html.
Fri. Aug. 28
The Themes of the Course
1. Presentation Notes. Download Handouts.
2. Brand, Stewart. 2009. Stewart Brand proclaims 4 environmental 'heresies' | Video on TED.com. TED Talks - The Power of Cities. July. http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_proclaims_4_environmental_heresies.html.
Week #2: Urbanization in the Developing World
Mon. Aug. 31
People move to the city. Download Handouts.
1. Burdett, Richard. 2008. Beyond City Limits. Foreign Policy, no. 164 (January): 42-43.
2. D. E. Bloom and T. Khanna, “The Urban Revolution,” Finance & Development 44, no. 3 (September 2007).
Wed. Sep. 2
Megacities in the Developing World. Download Handouts.
1. UN-HABITAT, State of the Worlds Cities 2006/7, Part 4 – “Urbanization: Mega & Meta Cities, New City States?”
2. E. Ahmad, “Big, or Too Big?”, Finance & Development 44, no. 3 (September 2007).
Fri. Sep. 4
Discussion
Yamaguchi, Adam. 2008. City on Steroids // Current. Vanguard Journalism. Chongqing, China, May 8. http://current.com/items/88938803_city-on-steroids.htm.
Week #3: Urban Poverty
Mon. Sep. 7
LABOR DAY - NO CLASSES
Wed. Sep. 9
Overview. Download Handouts
1. U.N.F.P.A., “State of the World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth,” New York (2007), Ch. 2 “People In Cities: Hope Countering Desolation”
2. M. Ravallion, “Urban Poverty,” Finance & Development 44, no. 3 (September 2007).
Fri. Sep. 11
Urban Slums. Download Handouts
1. U.N.F.P.A., “State of the World Population 2007”, Ch. 3 “Rethinking Policy on Urban Poverty”
2. “The Strange Allure of the Slums,” The Economist, May 3, 2007,
3. “A Flourishing Slum”, Economist 385, no. 8560 (December 22, 2007).
Policy Brief Titles
1. The Administration of Mumbai is trying to relaunch the Dharavi redevelopment plan, recently stalled because of the financial crisis. Brief the Mayor on how to get the plan back on track.
2. The population of Dharavi is trying to block the redevelopment or change it enough that it won’t disrupt the neighborhood. Brief the community leaders on a plan of action.
3. Beijing is still having enormous pollution problems. Brief the Mayor on how to address the city’s environmental crisis.
4. The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro wants to regain legal control of the Favelas. Brief the mayor on the best course of action to achieve this goal.
5. The association of traders at the Toi market in Kibera, Nairobi, is determined to bring better services to the community. Brief them on the ways in which they can achieve their goals.
6. [INSERT CITY] wants to improve its public transportation by borrowing from Curitiba’s Bus Rapid Transit System. Brief the administration on the challenges of implementing such plan.
Policy brief instructions: download instructions
Week #4: Slums I
Mon. Sep. 14
Introduction
1. Neuwirth, Robert. 2005. Robert Neuwirth on our "shadow cities" | Video on TED.com. TED Talks - The Power of Cities. July. http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_neuwirth_on_our_shadow_cities.html.
2. SHADOW, Prologue
Wed. Sep. 16
Rio de Janeiro. Download Handouts
1. SHADOW, Ch. 1
2. Florencio, Daniel. 2007. The Battle For Rio // Current. Rio de Janeiro, March 7. http://current.com/items/76357502_the-battle-for-rio.htm.
Fri. Sep. 18
Nairobi. Download Handouts
1. Putzel, Christof. 2005. The Kibera Slum // Current. Nayrobi, Kenya, August 10. http://current.com/items/76337282_the-kibera-slum.htm.
2. SHADOW, Ch. 2
Week #5: Slumdog Millionaires?
Mon. Sep. 21
Mumbai and its redevelopment
1. BBC. 2008. Mumbai's slum solution? BBC, August 14, sec. South Asia. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7558102.stm.
2. Marks, Simon. 2009. In Famous Mumbai Slum, Redevelopment Plans Stir Controversy | Online NewsHour | April 7, 2009 | PBS. Streaming Video. Online NewsHour. Mumbai, April 7. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/jan-june09/mumbai_04-07.html.
3. SHADOW Ch. 3
Wed. Sep. 23
Mumbai II
1. Narain, Priyanka. 2008. Everyone wants a slice of the Dharavi pie - Economy and Politics - livemint.com. LiveMint. April 4. http://www.livemint.com/dharavi.htm.
2. Staley, Samuel. 2009. Slumdog Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship Holds Key for India’s Slums | Newgeography.com. New Geography. April 6. http://www.newgeography.com/content/00721-slumdog-entrepreneurship-entrepreneurship-holds-key-india%E2%80%99s-slums.
Fri. Sep. 25
Discussion
Week #6: Whither Citizens?
Mon. Sep. 28
Self – Government?
SHADOW Ch. 4
Wed. Sep. 30
Future I
SHADOW Ch. 7, 8
Fri. Oct. 2
Future II
1. SHADOW Ch. 9
2. de Soto, Hernando. 2001. The Mystery of Capital. Finance & Development 38, no. 1 (March). http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2001/03/desoto.htm.
Week #7: World Cities in Competition
Mon. Oct. 5
World Cities in the US and Abroad. Download Handouts
1. Gattis, Tory. 2009. America's Four Great Growth Waves and the World Cities They Produced | Newgeography.com. New Geography. April 14. http://www.newgeography.com/content/00748-americas-four-great-growth-waves-and-world-cities-they-produced.
2. Sassen, S. 2000. The Global City: Strategic Site/New Frontier. American Studies 41, no. 2: 79.
Wed. Oct. 7
World Cities & Hubs
1. Foreign Policy 2008 Global Cities Index.
2. Currid, Elizabeth. 2006. New York as a Global Creative Hub: A Competitive Analysis of Four Theories on World Cities. Economic Development Quarterly 20, no. 4 (November 1): 330-350.
Fri. Oct. 9
In-Class Exam #1
Week #8: Migration & Ethnicity in the Urban Setting
Mon. Oct. 12
High-Skilled Migrants Download Handouts
1. Beaverstock, Jonathan V., and Joanne Smith. 1996. Lending Jobs to Global Cities: Skilled International Labour Migration, Investment Banking and the City of London. Urban Studies 33, no. 8 (October 1): 1377-1394.
2. Ewers, Michael. 2007. Migrants, markets and multinationals: competition among world cities for the highly skilled. GeoJournal 68, no. 2 (February 1): 119-130.
Policy Brief Proposal due via email
Wed. Oct. 14
Immigrants, Globalization from Below Download Handouts
Benton-Short, L., M. D. Price, and S. Friedman. 2005. Globalization from below: the ranking of global immigrant cities. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 29, no. 4: 945-959.
Fri. Oct. 16
Multi-Ethnicity. Download Handouts.
TOGC Ch. 7: Invisibility and Cohabitation in Multiethnic Tokyo
Week #9: Cosmopolitanism
Mon. Oct. 19
Introduction Download Handouts
TOGC Ch. 1 (Introduction)
Wed. Oct. 21
Intelligent City Download Handouts
TOGC Ch. 4 (Intelligent City)
Fri. Oct. 23
Cosmopolitan in the Middle East
TOCG Ch. 8 (Cairo Cosmopolitan)
Week #10: The Challenges of City Governance in Developing Countries
Mon. Oct. 26
Issues of Governance Download Handouts
1. Matthew Maury et al., “Point of View: What Is the Biggest Challenge in Managing Large Cities? – Finance & Development, September 2007,” Finance & Development 44, no. 3 (September 2007),
2. “Thronged, Creaking and Filthy,” The Economist, May 3, 2007,
3. Glaeser, Edward L. 2009. Clean Water First: Economic Planning in India. Economix. June 2. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/clean-water-first-economic-planning-in-india/.
Wed. Oct. 28
Policy Solutions? Download Handouts
1. “Failures at the Top,” The Economist, May 3, 2007,
2. UN-Habitat, State of The World’s Cities 2008/2009 (PDF Download is Free), Part. 4: Planning for Harmonious Cities
Fri. Oct. 30
Discussion
Lerner, Jaime. 2007. Jaime Lerner sings of the city | Video on TED.com. TED Talks - The Power of Cities. March. .
Week #11: Environmental Challenges
Mon. Nov. 2
Environmental Problems. Download Handouts
1. Malone, Robert. 2007. Dirtiest Cities Just Get Dirtier. Forbes.com. March 21. http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/21/worlds-dirtiest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0321dirtiest.html.
2. Mexico, Zack. 2008. Beijing Brown Skies // Current. Beijing, China, August 6. http://current.com/items/89176696_beijing-brown-skies.htm.
Wed. Nov. 4
Environmental Solutions. Download Handouts
1. UN-Habitat, State of The World’s Cities 2008/2009 (PDF Download is Free), Part 3: Environmental Harmony
2. Modarres, Ali. 2009. Immigrants Are ‘Greening’ our Cities, How About Giving them a Break? New Geography. August 11. http://www.newgeography.com/content/00958-immigrants-are-%E2%80%98greening%E2%80%99-our-cities-how-about-giving-them-a-break.
Fri. Nov. 6
Discussion
Week #12: Sustainable Cities
Mon. Nov. 9
What is Sustainability? Download Handouts
1. Newman, Peter. 2008. Peter Newman: Towards the resilient city | Sustainable Cities. Web. August 2.
2. Peñalosa, Enrique. 2008. Enrique Peñalosa - City of equality | Sustainable Cities. Web Video.
Wed. Nov. 11
Divergent Views Download Handouts
1. Harvey, David. 2008. David Harvey: The right to the city | Sustainable Cities. August 6. http://sustainablecities.dk/en/actions/interviews/david-harvey-the-right-to-the-city.
2. Kotkin, Joel. 2009. The Luxury City vs. the Middle Class. The American, May 13. http://www.american.com/archive/2009/may-2009/the-luxury-city-vs-the-middle-class/.
Fri. Nov. 13
The Copenhagen Manifesto. Download Handouts
Eco-metropole, Vision for Copenhagen 2015. http://www.kk.dk/~/media/Files/PolitikOgIndflydelse/Byudvikling/Miljoe/kk_brochure_gb_09.ashx
Policy Brief due in class
Week #13: The Suburbanization of the World
Mon. Nov. 16
Whither Suburbs?
1. 2009. The Suburban Economy and its Enemies. New Geography. June 29.
2. Turok, Ivan, and Vlad Mykhnenko. 2007. The trajectories of European cities, 1960-2005. Cities 24, no. 3 (June): 165-182.
3. Kotkin, Joel. 2009. America's (Sub)Urban Future | Newgeography.com. New Geography. May 5.
Wed. Nov. 18
Suburbs or Downtowns? Download Handouts
1. Cox, Wendell. 2009. Move to Suburbs Continues in Western Europe | Newgeography.com. New Geography. April 2.
2. Cox, Wendell. 2008. Louvre Café Syndrome: Misunderstanding Amsterdam and America | Newgeography.com. New Geography. August 14.
Fri. Nov. 20
Discussion
Extra Credit deadline
Week #14: NO CLASSES – Fall Break & Thanksgiving
Week #15: Simulation
Download Instructions
Week #16: Review & Wrap-up
Mon. Dec. 7, Wed. Dec. 9
Review, Q & A
Fri. Dec. 11
In-Class Exam #2
V. Things you need to know / academic policies
Your instructor will be happy, when possible, to accommodate the students’ needs. Please note, however, that requests for special accommodations need to be presented in a timely manner: at least two weeks prior scheduled exams / assignments. Please refer to the following sections of the syllabus for further information about University policies.
Learning disabilities
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and
www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
Religious Observance
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. The above remark on timely signaling of special accommodation needs applies also to religious observance needs.
See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Class Behavior
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty members have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and theirstudents express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.
See policies at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
Academic Integrity
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
Discrimination & Harassment
The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment (http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh