The course aims to provide students with the latest methodological and theoretical tools
for understanding the politics of urbanisation and urbanism. The course takes the politics
of urbanism as a trans-disciplinary arena. It will encourage students to think across
disciplinary boundaries to address the environmental and social challenges of the present.
The question of how cities act politically on the global scale is widely discussed and
receive diverse answers from researchers. This class suggests that the study of the
political agency shall be grounded in urban studies and empirically tested on different
layers of policymaking, allowing for hybrid combinations. Cities are governed, and local
politics matters: sometimes, however, informal regulation and illicit behaviour prevail. An
urban studies approach addresses the spatial and temporal specificity of urban processes,
in contrast with the "methodological nationalism" of large parts of the social sciences. It
focuses critically on spatialised social processes and socio-material assemblages,
combinations of objects and agencies that affect how cities are organised and (sometimes,
to some extent) governed. Expected learning outcomes:
1. Thorough knowledge of the main issues and schools of thought on the political
governance of urbanisation processes and urban policies
2. A fair familiarity with the methods employed in these approaches
3. An improved ability to critically analyse scientific texts and other types of sources
4. In-depth knowledge of the ecological transition debate with a focus on the role of
cities
5. The ability to design and execute a micro-project/action
Marco CREMASCHI
Cours magistral seul
English
Autumn 2023-2024
You will be required to write two critical response papers throughout the term (you should use 12-point font, double-space your text, and use a consistent and established citation style):
- first, a policy brief describing a neighbourhood in a city of your choice and the process of change ( 4 pages – 2000 words, plus photos, maps, graphs and annexes). The policy brief is directed to a policy actor, either an elected official pr body, or a NGO etc. It describes: a) the place, b) the political processes that shape the place, c) the resistance place's actors and actants oppose change; d) your proposition of local policies. You can draw on both scholarly and non-scholarly sources as necessary. Scholarly sources include journal articles and academic books; non-scholarly sources include newspaper and magazine articles, websites, and non-academic books (30%; before session 5); the policy brief must make use of the literature discussed in class, and must position your approach to the policy issue according to the options suggested.
- second, one group presentation on a topic imposed/validated by the teacher, presented in the second half of the class on one of the topics of the last 6 sessions (20%);
- third, a localised scenario for a neighborhood in a city of your choice on one of the topics dealt with in the second half of the class, possibly the same as the first paper. The scenario also is written for a 'client' in the public domain, either a public body or a Ngo. The scenario can draw on the previous paper. It must provide a working hypothesis on: a) what is stable and what will change; b) an introduction to the actors of change; c) the drivers of change that may profit or jeopardise your 'client'. You can work in pairs (4 pages – 2-4000 words, plus photos, maps, graphs and annexes): (40%; by Dec 9th at 24:00 am);
- participation in class sessions and exercises (10%).
All paper must be submitted to : marco.cremaschi.scpo@analyse.urkund.com