URBS 303 - Advanced Debates in Urban Studies

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

This seminar focuses on selected issues of importance in Urban Studies. Topics vary according to the instructor. The course is required of all majors and may be taken during the junior or senior years; it can be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.

Topic for 2015/16b: Detroit: The Rise and Fall and Rise of the American City. What was once the crown jewel of US industrial capitalism has become an icon of its collapse. The birthplace of the American car, the Motown Sound, and Techno music is now the site of a bankrupt municipality, dilapidated buidlings, abandoned lands, racial strife, stray dogs, and gun violence. This seminar aspires to take 360 degree look at the city of Detroit, tracking a history full of acccomplishment( Ford’s “Model T”) and conflagration (race riots in the 40s and 60s). We will alook quite closely at signs of its most recent attempts at redemption and recovery, namely a vibrant urban farming movement and the rightsizing initiatives that seek to improve the city’s population density. Students who enroll in the course must commit to a ten day site visit during spring break. Non-seniors and non- majors must gain the instructor’s permission to take the course. Mr. Simpson.

Prerequisite: URBS 100 and URBS 200 or equivalent.

Note: Enrollment by special permission.

One 3-hour period.