OGLM 3050 - Chinese Cities

According to the UN, about 950 million people live in China’s urban areas today. The urbanization rate went from 14% in 1955 to a planned 86% by 2050. How were these cities planned and how are they managed ? How do these people live ? What is the relevance of these cities globally ? The Chinese Cities course will provide an overview of the main drivers and consequences of urbanization in China during the last decades. To approach such a complex phenomenon, we will split our time and attention between 1) the study of spatial, socio-economic and political features of Chinese cities and 2) a more cultural and sensible approach to the experience of urbanity there. The reality of urban China is very diversified, firstly from the variety of geographic locations but also from the vast arrays of historical and socio-economic background of the places and their inhabitants. Apart from scientific literature, we will try to do justice to this richness and variety by tapping into popular culture, art, cinema and literature. We will also delve into the many creative “labs”, methodological and fieldwork experiments from fields like media, design and architecture that were imagined to explore Chinese urbanity. More importantly, we will endeavor to consider how cities in China exist as part of larger regional, national and international networks and the relevance of the urbanization of China to other regions of the world.

The course will be organized as follows:

30min : presentation and discussions

by the students based on assigned readings / watching introducing the thematic of the week

45 min: theory / teachings

about the topic of the week

45 min: case study / workshop

we will dive into one specific case study or example that exemplifies the topic of the week. During the last sessions, this time can also be allocated to work on the final project.

mid term

20% (individual)

Due week 5 or 6 ?

Pick a “Made in China” object and track it down. Could be a physical good, infrastructure, but also cultural good, financial bound, etc

Deliverable

1-2 page paper presenting the object and its spatial / territorial trajectory within and outside China

Group work

50% (groups of 2-3)

« urban design fiction »

create a document (newspaper, travel brochure, etc) or physical artefact that will exist by 2050 in a specific geographical area. Explicit the prospective scenario and design process that lead to that

Deliverables

oral presentation

1 blog post (2000 words) with pics / maps / vids due on the last session

Readings presentation / discussion

20% (individual / in couples grade)

Every week, the students will introduce the assigned readings to the class then will be asked to launch a discussion or question reflecting on the implications of what they read.

Active participation in class discussions

10% (individual grade)