The Study of Cities and Metropolitan America

This course serves as the introductory course analyzing the forces shaping America's cities and surrounding metropolitan areas. It examines as well strategies for dealing with many of the profound social issues affecting urban/metropolitan America. Emanating from an historical perspective, it examines the ways in which industrialization and deindustrialization shaped Northern American cities and the consequences of deindustrialization on urban citizenry. It further surveys the demographic and spatial transformation of American cities examining the consequences of urban transformation on federal, state and local politics, on society and on her institutions. Similarly, the course focuses on the origin and societal changes and emerging goals of urban development, gentrification and evolving patterns of metropolitanism and the necessity for central city as well as neighborhood reconstruction. The dynamics of racial residential segregation, crime and punishment, issues of academic achievement and under-achievement, the social cleavages of urban marginalized communities, family structure, urban homelessness, urban sprawl, and health care, among others, are viewed from the perspective of social justice by exploring social, political, economic, racial, and ethnic factors that impact on access, equity and care. Various theoretical perspectives and philosophies are introduced that have dominated the discourse on race and urban poverty. A field based component complements the coursework, and is designed to build interest, awareness and skills in preparation for outreach to urban communities. PREREQUISITE: Sophomore standing.
Course Attributes: EN S; BU BA; AS SSC; AS SD I; FA SSC; AR SSC; AS SC; FA CPSC

The Study of Cities and Metropolitan America

URBAN STUDIES 299

Section 01