Critical Urban Studies

E2022

Geography * / Plan, Town and Process * / Spatial Designs and Society * / Nordic Urban Planning Studies

Course

English

Read about the Master Programme and find the Study Regulations at ruc.dk

Sign up for study activities at STADS Online Student Service within the announced registration period, as you can see on the Study administration homepage. When signing up for study activities, please be aware of potential conflicts between study activities or exam dates. The planning of activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programs which do not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programs, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose.

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David Pinder (dpinder@ruc.dk)

Lasse Martin Koefoed (lmartin@ruc.dk)

IMT Studyadministration (imt-studyadministration@ruc.dk)

U60322

This course aims to provide strong foundations for critical urban studies and related debates in planning. It does so by addressing key theoretical approaches to urbanization and urban life, and by exploring their significance for understanding and intervening in contemporary urban processes. At a time of intensifying urbanisation and acute urban crises on a global scale, there is a need to understand and develop further critical perspectives on the social, economic, political and cultural processes through which urban spaces are made and hence might be remade. The course starts with an introduction to critical urban studies in a global context. This is followed by lectures that address different influential theoretical perspectives and approaches to cities and urbanization as they have developed over recent decades. The course draws out the distinctive qualities of these approaches while also considering their interconnections, not only in how they interpret and analyse urban worlds but also in how they seek to change them.

Case studies and examples are used throughout the course, and students are encouraged to relate ideas, concepts and theories to their own exploration of research questions related to urban spaces and their current project work.

This course aims to provide strong foundations for critical urban studies and related debates in planning. It does so by addressing key theoretical approaches to urbanization and urban life, and by exploring their significance for understanding and intervening in contemporary urban processes. At a time of intensifying urbanisation and acute urban crises on a global scale, there is a need to understand and develop further critical perspectives on the social, economic, political and cultural processes through which urban spaces are made and hence might be remade.

The course starts with an introduction to critical urban studies in a global context. This is followed by lectures that address different influential theoretical perspectives and approaches to cities and urbanization as they have developed over recent decades. The course draws out the distinctive qualities of these approaches while also considering their interconnections, not only in how they interpret and analyse urban worlds but also in how they seek to change them. Case studies and examples are used throughout the course, and students are encouraged to relate ideas, concepts and theories to their own exploration of research questions related to urban spaces and their current project work.

The introduction to the course outlines the importance of urban theory for planning studies and practice, and for developing reflexive and informed positions in the field. The following sessions introduce and discuss prominent critical approaches to urban theory from the last five decades that include those rooted in Marxism, feminism and postcolonialism as well as around theories of practice and materiality. In the process, participants explore the implications of these different perspectives for addressing urban processes and problems, and for planning efforts to make urbanisation and urban life more just, equitable and democratic.

Readings for each session are provided on Moodle before the start of the course. The following texts are relevant to the course as a whole:

Brenner, N., Marcuse, P. and Mayer, M. (eds) (2012) Cities for People, Not for Profit. London, Routledge.

Koch, R. and Lathan, A. (eds) (2017) Key Thinkers on Cities. London, Sage.

Jonas, A. McCann, E., and Thomas, M. (eds) (2015) Urban Geography: A Critical Introduction. Oxford, Wiley.

Study intensity

The proposed study intensity for a student in this activity: 135 hours The proposed distribution of hours on teaching and learning activities Lectures (include discussions, student presentations): 24 Preparation for lectures and discussions: 66 Course essay: 45

Teaching and learning activities

There are eight course sessions. These combine lectures with class discussions based around readings and lecture materials. Further details will be discussed with participants at the start of the course and uploaded to Moodle.

Sessions are on campus.

Evaluation is via an anonymous online survey distributed to all participants. The course will also be discussed with participants in the final session and reviewed at the NUPS Education Committee with input from student representatives.

Dates for eight sessions to be added. Also date of course work submission (c. two weeks after the last lecture).

On completing the course, students should be able to:

• Understand how economic, political, social and cultural processes create urban spaces and places

• Understand how space and place matter for the constitution and planning of urban space and life

• Identify, discuss, apply and work with advanced urban theories and concepts in relation to specific urban questions and cases

• Understand and reflect on the implications of different approaches and theories for analysing urban issues, and for developing potential planning interventions and/or solutions

• Formulate relevant problem statements and research questions, and to develop appropriate interdisciplinary ways of analysing and communicating them.

Individual or group-written take-home assignment
Assignments written by a group must be individualised.

Permitted group size: 2-5 students.

The character limits of the assignment:
For 1 student: 16,800-24,000 characters, including spaces.
For 2 students: 28,800-36,000 characters, including spaces.
For 3 students: 38,400-43,200 characters, including spaces.
For 4 students: 43,200-48,000 characters, including spaces.
For 5 students: 48,000-60,000 characters, including spaces.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.

The duration of the take-home assignment is 28 days and may include weekends and public holidays.




Assessment: 7-point grading scale

Samme som ordinær eksamen / same form as ordinary exam

Type of exam (details) The assignment is to write an essay that engages with themes and literature from the course. The essay must be focused on a specific urban problem, question or case of the student’s choosing – whether empirical or theoretical - and it should consider the implications of researching and analysing this subject using theoretical approaches addressed during the course. The focus may relate to a group semester project, or to any other devised problem or question. The essay should clearly explain the specific focus and which course approaches are being considered. It may bring together or contrast different approaches and perspectives for this essay, or alternatively focus in more depth on debates within one or two of these approaches. The important issue is to explain and discuss the choices and consider their implications. The following points can be beneficial to include within the essay: • Motivation for choosing specific theory/theories, concepts and approaches, and their relevance for the chosen problem or question. • A review and critical evaluation of theories and concepts in terms of their implications for addressing the subject, including their analytical usefulness, strengths and weaknesses, and relationships with other theories. • A consideration of how to work with the theories and concepts for addressing the chosen problem or case, for instance in terms of their implications for research. (There is no need to conduct empirical research for this essay, but this is rather about considering how to do so through these approaches and perspectives).

Assessment criteria – essays will be evaluated according to the ability to: • Identify, discuss and apply relevant advanced urban theories and concepts in relation to a specific self-defined urban question or case. • Reflect on the implications of different theoretical approaches for analysing urban issues, including (if relevant) developing potential planning interventions/solutions. • Evaluate critically theoretical perspectives, including in terms of their relative strengths and weaknesses for addressing a defined question or case. • Show understanding of how economic, political, social and cultural processes create urban spaces and places, and of how these processes and conditions matter for urban planning. • Construct coherent and structured arguments, based on relevant theoretical source materials and appropriate academic language.