Urban Studies

Students will develop skills to design solutions, based on scientific knowledge and innovation opportunities, that contribute to building sustainable future societies and environments, while safeguarding the integrity of the biosphere and ensuring equitable and dignified well-being.

This course is designed as an introduction to the sociological study of lifestyles and social relations in urban spaces. It comprises two parts. The first focuses on the history of this theme in sociology and on the evolution of approaches and paradigms in relation to the social issues of different periods. It both traces how sociology has approached the morphology of urban spaces and the lifestyles associated with them, and follows the social issues related to the distribution/cohabitation/segregation of different social and ethnic groups over time. The general idea is to shed light on contemporary debates about the city related to population dynamics and relations between groups and individuals. The course goes back to the origins of this trend in urban sociology, with the work of the Chicago School, in order to better put more contemporary work into perspective. The second part, which is more methodological in nature, consists of an introduction to urban ethnographic methods through a mini-survey conducted in three contrasting types of urban spaces.

The course analyzes the concepts and models of urban systems from the perspectives of geography, sociology, architecture, spatial economics, and location theory. It then delves into the current dynamics of urban problems and the potential solutions proposed for these processes. Furthermore, readings will be offered on the relationship between the city and the regional, global, and local contexts. The course concludes with the study of advanced contemporary topics such as territory and power, and the social construction of the city.

This course is designed to help students get to know and better understand the capital of Paris. Much has been said, written, and heard about Paris, yet the capital remains a place of mystery. In fact, Paris is three cities in one: an international city, a national city, and the city where Parisians live their daily lives. We know what happens there, but do we know what is at stake behind the cultural representations of Paris, its social change, the public action that takes place there, and its electoral geography? Who are the Parisians during the 2026 municipal elections? These questions are all mysteries to be solved. This course draws on a variety of approaches (culture, cinema, history, geography, sociology) and relies on the curiosity and sagacity of students to solve these puzzles, as they write and present their electoral program as candidates in the 2026 Paris municipal elections.