City Matters

Uitgebreide vaknaam	City Matters: Urban Inequality and Social Justice
Leerdoelen	1. Understand the changing socio-economic and institutional (welfare state) context of social problems in urban areas. 2. Explain how different configurations of the political-economy on various scales (e.g. nation states and urban regions) result in different levels of social protection. 3. Recognize different ethical positions in various theories of spatial justice. 4. Apply different perspectives on spatial justice on historic and contemporary urban developments. 5. Describe various concepts that capture urban social problems such as poverty, urban marginality, segregation, territorial stigmatization and social exclusion, and their intellectual roots. 6. Discuss the role of planners and spatial interventions in countering socio-spatial inequality and urban marginality on the basis of critical urban theory and real-life cases.
Omschrijving	European cities are in constant transformation. Some speak of the beginning of the urban era, now a majority of the world population lives in cities. The rise of (mega) cities is celebrated as their emergence increases production and economic growth. However, due to the liberalization of the world economy and the restructuring of the (European) welfare states, the economic situation of large social groups in the global North and the global South has become precarious. Cities that are well connected in the (world) city network become increasingly unaffordable places to live in for those with moderate incomes. On different spatial scales, we witness socio-spatial polarization. As socio-economic and ethnic segregation is on the rise, fears for the emergence of a social group that is excluded from mainstream society, economy and civic life, are growing. In City Matters: Social Justice and Urban Inequality, three main questions will be discussed: 1. How does the institutional context impact upon levels of socio-spatial inequality? From an international-comparative perspective, we will discuss the welfare state context in which cities are located. How is society stratified (layered) in different countries, and how is this layering justified? We pay special attention to recent changes in the welfare state such as liberalization and privatization. 2. How can levels of socio-spatial inequality be explained by critical urban theory? Socio-spatial inequality is the result of structural processes. Critical urban theory does not consider them as ‘blind’ or ‘neutral’ processes, but as expressions of a power imbalances between interest groups with different ideologies and agenda’s. 3. What is spatial justice? This ethical, normative question lays at the foundation of this course. Contemporary urban processes can only be problematized with a clear perspective on social justice in mind. Authors with different views on social and spatial justice (such as David Harvey, Henry Lefebvre, Edward Soja and Peter Marcuse) will be discussed and debated in the course. 4. How can urban planners contribute to more ‘just’ cities? Challenges that planners and politicians face while trying to create affordable housing and inclusive communities will be discussed, even as successful practices of ‘commoning’, whereby people take control of their own community and resources. This course consists of eight lectures, seven seminars and one excursion to a foreign city where we visit an urban development that can be contested and supported from different perspectives on spatial justice.
Uren per week	4
Onderwijsvorm	Excursions, Guest lectures, Lectures, Seminars
Toetsvorm	Examination with open questions, Group assignments, Oral presentation
Vaksoort	master
Coördinator	dr. B.J. Wind
Docent(en)	dr. B.J. Wind
Verplichte literatuur	Titel Auteur ISBN Prijs Articles.
Entreevoorwaarden
Opmerkingen	The maximum number of students is 40. The course is open for Master students from Spatial Sciences and related disciplines. Priority will be given to students from the Master program of Socio-Spatial Planning.
Opgenomen in	Opleiding Jaar Periode Type MSc Cultural Geography  (Optional courses Cultural Geography) 1 semester II a keuze MSc Economic Geography  (Optional courses Economic Geography) 1 semester II a keuze MSc Environmental and Infrastructure Planning  (Optional courses EIP) 1 semester II a keuze MSc Population Studies  (Optional courses Pop Studies) 1 semester II a keuze MSc Real Estate Studies  (Optional courses Real Estate Studies) 1 semester II a keuze MSc Socio-spatial Planning  (Basic programme Socio-spatial Planning) 1 semester II a verplicht MSc Spatial Sciences (research)  (Optional thematic courses (GERMTTO) year 1 and 2 Spatial Sciences) - semester II a keuze