Geog 324: Urban Geography
Course Syllabus Spring 2016
Instructor: Dr. Heike C. Alberts
Office: Sage 4471
Phone: 424 7109
Email: alberts@uwosh.edu
Office Hours: MWF 9:00-10:00, TTh 1:00-2:00
Credit Hours: 3
Classroom: Sage 3215
Meeting Times: TTh 11:30-1:00
Course Description
What do you associate with the term ‘city’? A place full of old and densely packed half-timbered
houses or shining skyscrapers? Managers in business suits rushing to the next meeting or a
homeless person sleeping on a bench in the park? An area of exciting entertainment or
concentrated crime? Uniform suburbs or creative architectural styles? The contemporary city is a
place of contradictions and great diversity, and there are many interesting topics to explore. How
did cities develop? How do cities function? How can we explain and maybe solve some of the
problems in contemporary cities?
These are just some of the questions we will explore in this class. The primary goal of this class
is to provide you with a historical and theoretical framework for understanding processes that
have shaped and continue to shape cities around the world. In the first part of the class, we will
trace the history of cities from the earliest urban settlements in Mesopotamia to modern cities.
We will then turn our attention to the characteristics of contemporary cities in the developing
world. Our next emphasis will be on social processes such as the increasing polarization of urban
populations, segregation according to race, ethnicity and social class, and migration movements
within cities. We will also look at some of the environmental problems cities face around the
world. I hope that you will enjoy the material as much as I do!
Teaching Philosophy
For me learning is an interactive process, with both teachers and students learning from one
another. I do not see you as containers into which I pour knowledge, and I also do not see you as
sponges that readily absorb whatever is presented to you. Rather I see you as individuals with
different backgrounds and histories, strengths and weaknesses, and styles of acquiring and
processing information. Therefore I will present my material in a variety of forms (lectures, film
clips, activities, discussions, etc.), and provide you with opportunities to contribute to class both
in oral and written form. I look forward to working with you!
How to contact me
You are welcome to come to office hours. I am happy to talk about any concerns you might have
with the class, clarify class material, or just chat about issues that are important to you. You can
also ask me a quick question before class. I check my email regularly and respond to polite
emails as soon as I can.
Readings
Reading materials for this class are available on D2L (a complete list of the readings is attached
to this syllabus). Please complete the assigned readings before the class for which they are
assigned and be prepared to discuss them. Exams may include questions based on the readings.
Class Policies
- Attendance and participation in class are crucial to your learning. If you have to miss a
class due to illness or a family emergency, make sure to find out from other students what we
covered that day. If you miss more than three classes unexcused, I will deduct points from
your final grade. If you miss more than a quarter of the class sessions, you will fail the class.
- Please do not miss any due dates. You will lose a point for each day that your assignment is
late. I do not accept assignments more than a week late unless you provide documentation of
an emergency that prevented you from completing the assignment.
- If you are ill or have a family emergency on the day of the exam, you have to notify me of
your absence before the exam and provide proper documentation. Missed exams should be
made up within one week of the original exam date.
- Academic honesty and integrity is expected at all times. Plagiarism, cheating, and other
forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated and will be handled according to
university guidelines.
- Incomplete (I) will only be given in documented cases of illness or family emergencies.
- All assignments and exams must be attempted to earn a passing grade for this class.
- Please be respectful at all times towards your fellow students and the instructor. Be critical
of ideas, not people; listen to and respect everyone’s ideas even if you don’t agree. Diversity
of opinions is an asset in class discussions.
Assignments and Grading
- Your course grade will be based on the following components:
Exams (2@20 points)
40 points
Response Papers (2@10 points)
20 points
Olympic Cities Project
40 points
Total
100 points
- The exams largely consist of short-answer questions, but you may also be asked to write a
short essay, or describe and interpret a map, city plan, theoretical model, or data table.
- You will write two response papers. Please submit your papers to the D2L drop box so that
they can be checked by plagiarism-detection software.
- You will work on a major group project: You will select a city to host the Olympic Games
and prepare the application materials for the International Olympic Committee. This project
will be carried out in several steps throughout the semester. More detailed information about
this project will be provided in class and made available on D2L.
Course grades will be based on the following table:
A
≥ 95
B≥ 81
A≥ 91.5
C+
≥ 77.5
B+
≥ 88
C
≥ 74
B
≥ 84.5
C≥ 70.5
D+
D
DF
≥ 67
≥ 63.5
≥ 60
Below 60
Class Schedule and Assigned Readings
Date
T 2/2
Th 2/4
Topic
Introduction
Origins of Civilization and the First Cities
Readings
T 2/9
Origin and Development of Cities
(- p. 43)
Rome and the Empire
T 2/23
Origin and Development of Cities
(p. 43 - end)
The Great Towns
Author’s Introduction and A
Contemporary City
US Urban History
Cities in Ancient Greece and the Roman
Empire
Th 2/11 European Cities from the Dark Ages to
the Baroque
T 2/16 The 19th Century European City
Th 2/18 The Contemporary European City
Urban Development in North America
Th 2/25 The Contemporary North American City
T 3/1
Th 3/3
T 3/8
Characteristics of Cities in Developing
Countries
Olympic Cities Project I: City Selection
The Latin American and Islamic City
Th 3/10 Cities around the World
Response Paper I due
T 3/15 Exam I
Th 3/17 Housing
3/19-27 Spring Break
T 3/29 Olympic Cities Project II: Getting to
know your Olympic City
Th 3/31 Olympic Cities Project III: Planning the
Olympic Village
T 4/5 Immigrant Neighborhoods
Th 4/7 Poverty in the City
T 4/12 Segregation
Th 4/14 Urban Transportation
Olympic Cities Project IV: Planning
Sports Infrastructure and Transportation
Th 4/21 Cities and Environment
Response Paper II due
T 4/26 Natural Hazards and the City
Th 4/28 The Internal Structure of the City
T 5/3 Urbanization, Urban Systems
Fortress L.A.
Cities of the Periphery
Cities of South America
Internal Structure of Third World
Cities
Urban Housing Markets
Changing Geography of
Toronto’s Chinese Economy
Poverty and Deprivation
The Missing Link
Traffic and Transport in the Third
World City
T 4/19
Cities and Pollution
Urban Systems
Th 5/5
T 5/10
Exam II
Olympic Cities Project V: Environment /
Sustainability, Legacy
Th 5/12 Olympic Cities Project VI: IOC Meeting
Readings (in order of appearance)
Kaplan, David, James Wheeler, and Steven Holloway. 2009. The Origin and Development of
Cities. In: Urban Geography, John Wiley and Sons, 26-60
Morris, AEJ. 1994. Rome and the Empire. In: History of Urban Form, Prentice Hall, London,
55-73
Engels, Friedrich. 1996 [1845]. The Great Towns. In: LeGates, Richard and Frederic Stout, eds.
The City Reader, Routledge, London and New York, 46-55
Howard, Ebenezer. 1996 [1898]. Author’s Introduction and The Town-Country Magnet. In:
LeGates, Richard and Frederic Stout, eds. The City Reader, Routledge, London and New York,
321-329
Le Corbusier. 1996 [1929]. A Contemporary City. In: LeGates, Richard and Frederic Stout, eds.
The City Reader, Routledge, London and New York, 336-343
Lewis, Robert. 2014. An Urban History in: Benton-Short, Lisa, ed. 2014. Cities of North
America. Contemporary Challenges in U.S. and Canadian Cities. Rowman & Littlefield,
Lanham, MD, 59-83
Davis, Mike. 1990. Fortress L.A. In: City of Quartz. Vintage Books, New York, 221-263
Knox, Paul and Sallie Marston. 2007. City Spaces [excerpts]. In: Human Geography. Prentice
Hall, Upper Saddle River, 444-453
Hays-Mitchell, Maureen and Brian Godfrey. 2003. Cities of South America. In: Brunn. Stanley,
Jack Williams and Donald Zeigler, eds. Cities of the World, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham,
125-167
Pacione, Michael. 2005. Internal Structure of Third World Cities. In: Urban Geography,
Routledge, London and New York, 468-484
Kaplan, David, James Wheeler, and Steven Holloway. 2009. Urban Housing Markets: Sprawl,
Blight, and Regeneration. In: Urban Geography, John Wiley and Sons, 220-255
Lo, Lucia. 2006. Changing Geography of Toronto’s Chinese Ethnic Economy. In: Kaplan, David
and Weil Li, eds. Landscapes of the Ethnic Economy, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, 83-95
Pacione, Michael. 2005. Poverty and Deprivation in the Western City. In: Urban Geography,
Routledge, London and New York, 308-329
Massey, Douglas and Nancy Denton. 1993. The Missing Link. In: American Apartheid. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, 1-16
Pacione, Michael. 2005. Traffic and Transport in the Third World City. In: Urban Geography,
Routledge, London and New York, 577-585
Benton-Short, Lisa and Christopher DeSousa. 2014. Cities and Pollution. In: Benton-Short, Lisa,
ed. 2014. Cities of North America. Contemporary Challenges in U.S. and Canadian Cities.
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 299-334
Knox, Paul and Sallie Marston. 2007. Urbanization [excerpts]. In: Human Geography. Prentice
Hall, Upper Saddle River, 405-420
Students with Special Needs
It is university policy to provide reasonable accommodations to students who have documented
disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meet course
requirements. Please contact me as soon as possible during my office hours to discuss any
accommodations you might need and provide appropriate documentation
E-Portfolio for Geography Majors
Geography majors are required to assemble an e-portfolio. An e-portfolio is essentially an
electronic archive of your accomplishments. You will submit your e-portfolio in the Geography
Senior Seminar (Geog 490), a course you are required to take in your senior year.
Throughout your university career, you have to upload a number of different assignments and
accompanying reflections from your upper level courses to your e-portfolio to demonstrate that
you have met certain learning goals or acquired certain skills. For example, you may choose to
upload a response paper or a part of the project from this course to demonstrate your skills. Each
assignment that is uploaded should be accompanied by a reflection. You do not receive any
points for your reflection in this course, but I highly recommend that you write the reflection this
semester when the information is still fresh in your mind rather than wait until your senior year
when the e-portfolio is due. The more you do now, the more impressive your e-portfolio will be
by the time you need it.