Urban Studies

This methodological workshop imparts basic reflexes when it comes to thematic cartography. The course focuses on a limited number of skills that are systematically addressed methodologically and then put into practice in subsequent sessions. This dual approach (methodological and practical) develops critical faculties when using, researching, making, and ordering maps, while considering the feasibility and practical difficulties underlying the construction of these images.

In this course students explore a variety of representations of modern urban United States, focusing specifically on New York and Los Angeles. Students are looking at a number of different genres of writing - fiction, poetry, travel narrative, and screenplay to consider the ways in which the city has been depicted in American literary culture. The relationship between aesthetics and urban geography is also examined through reading a number of key theorists alongside the primary texts. The course encourages both close critical engagement and conceptual thinking about the ways in which city spaces function as part of modern culture.

Cities are very important spaces within which complex economic, political, cultural, and environmental processes are produced and experienced. This course introduces students to urbanization from a global perspective. The objective is to understand contemporary processes of urban change in historical perspective from both the global north and the global south. The course draws on case studies and examples from South America, North America, Europe, South Africa, and Asia to exemplify key themes in urban studies including industrialization, suburbanization, global cities, inequality, and sustainability.

This course focuses on the ability of green infrastructures to contribute to resource management, climate adaptation, and social-cultural performance of urbanized areas. The main focus of the course is on the freshwater cycle in urban settings and there is a special focus on adaptation to more extreme weather conditions, especially stormwater management and flood control. The interdisciplinary course, relevant for urban designers and planners as well as for agronomists, geographers, and biologists, encourages a transfer of scientific knowledge into new urban designs at multiple scales to increase sustainability and climate resilience. The course contains a number of lectures in which relevant knowledge from environmental chemistry, agronomy, climatology, and biology is presented. The lectures are supported by several exercises and study tours for a better understanding. By means of innovative learning methods, the theory is transferred to design criteria and specific design proposals.

This course provides the tools and methods for conducting independent, empirical research on smart cities topics. As such, the course provides the methodological and practical infrastructure for writing a seminar paper. The course addresses issues such as data generation and collection, choosing the research methodology, finding the appropriate analytic tools, and deriving socially-relevant insights from the research. All topics are illustrated using examples from the world of smart cities. 

This course analyzes a variety of urban management and policy issues, such as urban economy, land use, environment, housing, and transportation.  The course also provides a basic understanding of the city, such as its origin, structure, and functions. 

This course examines a geographical perspective on cities and the urban process in the context of contemporary globalization. It examines how differentiated livelihood possibilities and practices in cities across the globe have been shaped by global processes, local policies and initiatives, as well as the transformative possibilities of citizen agency. In other words, it will examine the interplay between the structuring forces of (primarily) capitalist globalization, on the one hand, and the agency and every-day actions of urban residents, on the other, in order to understand and explain cities and their transformations.

This course examines forms of economic development; changing location of economic activities and functions; implications for government and politics; and local strategies for growth and equity.

The course introduces the foundational and holistic knowledge and understanding of urbanism―the study of relationships between people in urban areas with the built environment. It provides a comprehensive inquiry of urban history, key theories, topics, design principles and practices related to urban design, urban planning and landscape design. The emphasis is on developing critical and analytical skills of reading, documenting, analyzing and synthesizing complex information regarding contemporary urban issues and conditions. 

This course examines frontiers of urban environmental sciences and technologies. Course materials comprise scientific literature on urban climate, air pollution, urban acoustics, resilience and energy systems. Students are also exposed to prevailing simulation and data analytics and gain awareness of their application in environmental-conscious design at city scale.