Urban Studies

URBS V2200x or y Introduction to GIS 3 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. This course does not fulfill the C requirement for Urban Studies majors. Due to the high demand for our limited-enrollment spatial analysis course (URBS V3200) the Urban Studies program is offering an introductory course to the fundamentals of GIS (Geographic Informational Systems), specifically for non-majors.Students create maps using ArcGIS software, analyze the physical and social processes presented in the digital model, and use the data to solve specific spatial analysis problems. Note: this course does not fulfill the C requirement in Urban Studies.

URBS V3200x or y Spatial Analysis: GIS Methods and Urban Case Studies 3 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference to Urban Studies majors. Only 24 admitted. Introduction to spatial analysis using state of-the-art GIS (Geographic Information Systems) mapping and analysis software to apply quantitative analytical methods to real-world urban issues. Will include basic coverage of applied statistics. Case studies will focus on subjects like environmental justice, voting patterns, transportation systems, segregation, public health, redevelopment trends, and socio-economic geography.

URBS V3308y Introduction to Urban Ethnographies 3 pts. Prerequisites: Students must attend first class. This course explores how scholars from different social science disciplines have used ethnography to understand how immigrants and rural migrants experience as well as affect cities. Community, work, and health, in cities within and outside the US, are used as lenses. Students will also perform their own ethnographic research.

URBS V3310x Science and Technology in Urban Environments 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Students must have declared their concentration/major. Examines the role of science and technology in urban settings, using examples from modern cities. Explores how technology shapes towns and cities, and how urban environments - including politics, economics, culture, and the natural environment - have influenced the development, acceptance, and application of technology. An essential part of the coursework is participation in a community-based learning project, working with local non-profit organizations.

URBS V3315y Metropolitics of Race and Place 3 pts. Prerequisites: Students must attend first class. Course explores how the central cities and suburbs that make up American metropolitan areas are increasingly shaped by race/ethnicity. Class discussion and readings will trace the role of social scientists, foundations, urban planners, government actors, and private economic interests in this transformation of metropolitan American. The current consequences of the conflation of race/ethnicity and space on the regional landscape, such as gentrification, suburban sprawl, the mortgage foreclosure crisis, etc. will be the focus of student research and class projects.

URBS V3420y Introduction to Urban Sociology 3 pts. Prerequisites: Students must attend first class. Examines the diverse ways in which sociology has defined and studied cities, focusing on the people who live and work in the city, and the transformations U.S. cities are undergoing today. Sociological methods, including ethnography, survey research, quantitative studies, and participant observation will provide perspectives on key urban questions such as street life, race, immigration, globalization, conflict, and redevelopment.

URBS V3530x or y Urban Development: A Rubik's Cube of Policy Choices 4 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference to Urban Studies majors. Only 16 admitted. Using case studies, examines the rationale for urban development, the players involved and how decisions are made about the distribution of public and private resources. Studies the specific components of the development process and the myriad policy questions that large-scale development is meant to address. Examines the disconnect among stakeholders' objectives - the developer, the financial institution that pays for the project, the government and the community.

URBS V3545x Junior Colloquium: The Shaping of the Modern City 4 pts. Prerequisites: Non-majors admitted by permission of instructor. Students must attend first class. Enrollment limited to 16 students per section. General Education Requirement: Historical Studies. Introduction to the historical process and social consequences of urban growth, from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present.

URBS V3546x or y Junior Colloquium: Contemporary Urban Issues 4 pts. Prerequisites: Non-majors admitted by permission of instructor. Students must attend first class. Enrollment limited to 16 students per section. Evaluation of current political, economic, social, cultural and physical forces that are shaping urban areas.

URBS V3550x or y Community Building and Economic Development 4 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference to Urban Studies majors. Community building has emerged as an important approach to creating an economic base, reducing poverty and improving the quality of life in urban neighborhoods. In this course, students examine the methods, strategies, and impact of community building on the economic, social, and political development of urban neighborhoods.

URBS V3562x The City in Beta: Public Participation in the Design Process 4 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference is given to Urban Studies majors. Only 20 admitted. Examines local urban planning issues through the use of new technologies to facilitate multi-user, participatory planning and design. Examines the history and theory of the planning process and uses learned techniques to evaluate a live case scenario for which the students prepare recommendations using the Betaville software package.

URBS V3565y Cities in Developing Countries: Problems and Prospects 4 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference to Urban Studies majors. Examination of cities in developing countries, with a focus on environment, employment, and housing. Four cases will be studied: Sao Paulo, Brazil; Johannesburg, South Africa; Bombay, India; and Shanghai, China. We will consider urbanization patterns and the attendant issues, the impact of global economic trends, and governmental and non-governmental responses.

URBS BC3590x or y Theorizing Civic Engagement 4 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference to Urban Studies majors. Through a combination of community-based internship, directed reflection, and theoretical readings, students explore the complexities of civic engagement. Issues include: community empowerment; public policy at the grassroots; the relationship between funding and social change; communication and coalition-building across differences of race, gender, class; and leadership development.

URBS V3830y Eminent Domain and Neighborhood Change 4 pts. Prerequisites: Intro to Urban Sociology or equivalent or permission of the instructor. Students must attend first class for instructor permission. An examination of how the politics of eminent domain, as a government strategy for neighborhood change, plays out in the courts, city councils, administrative agencies, media, and the street. Readings drawn from law, history, planning, politics, economics, sociology, and primary sources. Emphasis on the U.S., with some international comparisons. This course will count toward Requirement A of the Urban Studies curriculum as a Sociology course.

URBS V3920x or y Social Entrepreneurship 4 pts. Prerequisites: Must attend first class for instructor permission. Preference to Urban Studies majors. General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC). Only 16 admitted. Introduction to the main concepts and processes associated with the creation of new social enterprises, policies, programs, and organizations; criteria for assessing business ventures sponsored by non-profits and socially responsible initiatives undertaken by corporations; specific case studies using New York City as a laboratory. To be offered Fall 2011.

URBS V3992x-V3993y Senior Seminar: The Built Environment 8 pts. (year-long course, 4 points per term) Prerequisites: Senior standing. Admission by application only (available at http://urban.barnard.edu/forms-and-resources). Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates. Readings, class presentations, and written work culminate in major individual projects, under the supervision of faculty trained in architecture, urban design, or urban planning.

URBS V3994x-V3995y Senior Seminar: New York Field Research 8 pts. (year-long course, 4 points per term) Prerequisites: Senior standing. Admission by application only (available at http://urban.barnard.edu/forms-and-resources). Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. Using New York City as a research laboratory, under the guidance of the faculty coordinator, students clarify basic theoretical issues related to their chosen research problem; find ways of making a series of empirical questions operational; collect evidence to test hypotheses; analyze the data using a variety of social science techniques; and produce reports of basic findings.

URBS V3996x-V3997y Senior Seminar: International Topics in Urban Studies 8 pts. (year-long course, 4 points per term) Prerequisites: Senior standing. Admission by application only (available at http://urban.barnard.edu/forms-and-resources). Year-long course; participation is for two consecutive terms. No new students admitted for spring. A year-long research seminar for students who wish to conduct a senior thesis project that focuses on cities outside of the United States. Topics relating to the rapid urbanization of Latin America, Africa, and Asia are particularly welcome. Seminar meetings will include discussion of relevant readings, as well as occasional class presentations and peer-editing assignments.