UPP 520 Globalization and International Planning I: Theory and Applications
University of Illinois at Chicago
Urban Planning and Policy Program
Spring 2011
Instructor: Mufid Qassoum
Wednesday 12-2:50 p.m.
E-mail: mqasso1@uic.edu
ADH2234
Office: CUPPA 260
Office hours: T, TH 2 p.m.-3 p.m. (Please make advance appointment.)
Course Description
This course examines the main phases of modern globalization associated with the expansion of
the global capitalist system. It focuses on the current phase of globalization under neoliberalism and the ways in which it has transformed the political economies of nations and cities
since the early 1970s. It examines the main forces driving globalization, the regime of
accumulation and its main societal expressions and spatial manifestations.
In particular, the course examines the significance of these changes for cities and urban
planning. Starting with a historical review of the origins of development/underdevelopment
since the emergence of the capitalist world system in the 16th century, the course examines the
main ways in which these dynamics have shaped nations and cities.
A discussion of globalization follows, including the emerging regime of accumulation and the
discourses supporting it as well as opposing concepts about globalization and its transformative
impacts. Next, the course examines the role of cities in globalization, with a focus on the world
system of cities and new axioms of urban planning (including deregulation, privatization/publicprivate partnerships, competitiveness and governance).
Finally, the course explores particular urban challenges to policy making and planning that
emerge from globalization (including the dialectics between group polarization and geographical
segmentation, cut-throat competition and the casualization of work).
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Assignments and Grading
The course is conducted mainly as a seminar, with limited lectures and an emphasis on class
discussion. Students are expected to prepare the readings assigned for each week and refer to
them in class discussion. Typically, each three-hour class session will start with a brief lecture,
followed by discussion of weekly reports based on assigned readings. After a break there will be
further discussion, and, later in the semester, presentations of student papers and reports. The
final grade for the course comprises five elements:
Class participation
Weekly reports
International forum/agency profile and presentation
Book review and presentation
Research paper and presentation
15 percent
20 percent
20 percent
10 percent
35 percent
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Class participation (15 percent) includes attendance (required) and participation in class
discussion. Students should come to class having completed all of the week’s assigned readings
and fully prepared to engage in discussion. For each session, the instructor will assign
discussion leaders for individual readings.
Attendance and absences: One excused absence is permitted during the semester for reasons of
illness or family emergency. You must notify the instructor by e-mail in advance of such
circumstances. Further absences will reduce your participation grade.
Weekly reports (20 percent) In Weeks 2-11 of the course, each student will submit a 2-page
(double-spaced, hard copy) report based on the week’s assigned readings. The report should:
1) briefly summarize each of the assigned readings (1 paragraph for each)
2) compare the arguments of the readings
3) raise questions for discussion
Students will refer to their reports as a basis for class discussion and are strongly encouraged to
respond to each other’s ideas. Weekly reports will not be accepted outside of class unless a preexcused absence has been arranged.
International forum/agency profile (20 percent) Students will choose an international agency or
forum, research its structure and role, focus on an ongoing issue or case, and prepare a report
including background, issue or case, and analysis. A one-page outline of the profile will be due
in the 5th week of the course. The profile itself will be due in the 8th week of the course, and
students will give short presentations. Required length is 10 double-spaced pages.
Examples of international forums and agencies include the Mont Pelerin Society, the Trilateral
Commission, the World Economic Forum, the Group of Eight/Nine/20, the Club of Rome, the
Group of 77, the Soros Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, Cities Alliance, the International
Labor Organization, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World
Bank, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), USAID, NAFTA, ASEAN and the European
Union.
Book review (10 percent) Students will choose a book to review from a list of titles about
globalization, urbanization and international development distributed by the instructor. The
original review must summarize the book’s main ideas and critique the author’s methodology
(e.g., use of data and/or other sources) and strength of argument. The review will be due in
11th week of the course, and students will give short presentations. Required length is 5
double-spaced pages.
Research paper and presentation (35 percent) Students will select a research topic and turn in a
proposal for the instructor’s approval in the 3rd week of the course. A one-page outline of the
paper will be due in the 10th week of the course. The paper will be due in the 15th week of the
course; required length is 20 double-spaced pages, including bibliography and citations.
The topic should address one or two central issues addressed in the course and cite at least 5
relevant literature sources. The paper will include a literature review and a discussion of
findings that should correlate to class discussions. Examples of topics include: urban
restructuring, privatization of city assets and services, urban-development strategies and
planning under neo-liberalism, urban social movements, the new dynamics of global
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governance, the United States in the global order, the role of the region and the city under
globalization and the third-world city in the global (dis)order, the export city and the global city.
Students will make presentations on their forum/agency profiles book reviews and research
papers in class, and the presentations will be part of the grade for each assignment.
Schedule of Due Dates
Assignment
Weekly reports on readings
Research-paper topic proposal
Forum/agency profile outline
Forum/agency profile
Research-paper outline
Book review
Research paper
length
2 pages
1 page
1 page
10 pages
1-2 pages
5 pages
20 pages
Week/s of course
2-11
3
5
8
10
11
15
Due date
Jan. 19-March 30
Jan. 26
Feb. 9
March 2
March 16
March 30
April 27
Readings
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Required readings are assigned for each week and are posted on the class
Blackboard site.
An optional supplementary reading lists provides further material that may be used
for the research paper.
Readings from other works will be posted on the course Blackboard site.
Other supplementary readings may be added during the semester.
No books are required for purchase, however the following are recommended for purchase:
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Agnew, John. 2005. Hegemony: The New Shape of Global Power. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press.
Brecher, Jeremy and Costello, Tim. 1994. Global Village or Global Pillage:
Economic Reconstruction from the Bottom Up. Boston: South End.
Peet, Richard and Hartwick, Elaine. 1999. Theories of Development. New York
and London: The Guilford Press.
Taylor, Peter. 2004. World City Network: A Global Urban Analysis. London &
New York: Routledge.
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Course schedule
PART I: Origins of International Development/Underdevelopment
Week 1 Jan. 12
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Course overview and introduction
Concepts of development
Reviews of the origins of international development/underdevelopment
Week 2 Jan. 19
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Historical roots of development planning
The role of colonization and industrialization in development/underdevelopment
Required Reading
Richard Peet. 1991. "The Development of Global Capitalism" and "Global
Transformation through Industrialization?" Pp.114-143 and 145-170 in Global
Capitalism. Theories of Societal Development. London and New York: Rutledge.
J.J. Betancur. 1996. "Genesis of the Idea of Development." Pp. 24-47 in
Domination through Community Development. Chicago: UIC. Unpublished
Dissertation.
Clark, David. 1996. "Urban Growth and Urbanization: Historical Patterns." Pp. 40-76
in Urban World/Global City. London and New York: Rutledge.
Week 3 Jan. 26
Research-paper topic proposal due
Theories of development/underdevelopment I
 Import-substitution industrialization in Latin America
 Export-oriented industrialization in Asia
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Required Reading
Thomas Hurtienne. 1983. “The Brazilian Model of Accumulation: Its Origins,
Structure and Crisis.” The Latin American Perspective 10, 2&3: 108-27.
Susan Greenhalgh. 1988. “Supranational Process of Income Distribution.” Pp. 67-100
In Contending Approaches to the Political Economy of Taiwan edited by E.A.
Winkler and S. Greenhalgh. Armonk. NY: An east Gate Book, M.E. Sharpe.
Week 4 Feb. 2
Theories of development/underdevelopment II
 Free trade: The case of Chile
 Implications and applications to development planning
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Required Reading
Andres Velasco. 1994. The State and Economic policy: Chile 1952-1992.” Pp. 379-429,
In the Chilean Economy: Policy Lessons and Challenges. Washington: Brookings
Richard Peet with Elaine Hartwick. 1999. "Economic Theories of Growth and
Development" and “Sociological Theories of Modernization." Pp. 17-90 in Theories
of Development. New York and London: The Guilford Press.
A. Przeworski. 1992. "The Neoliberal Fallacy.” Journal of Democracy 3, 3 (July): 45-59.
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Week 5 Feb. 9
Forum/agency profile outline due
Critical theories of development/underdevelopment
 Marxism, dependency, world-systems theory
 Applications and implications for urban planning:
the metropolitan, colonial, semi-colonial and dependent cities
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Required Reading
Anthony King. “Introduction,” “Incorporating the Periphery (2)” and “Viewing the
World as One (1).” Pp. 1-12, 44-67, and 68-82 in Urbanism, Colonialism, and the
World-Economy: Cultural and Spatial Foundations of the World Urban
System. London and New York: Routledge.
Richard Peet with Elaine Hartwick. "Marxist and Neo-Marxist Theories" and
"Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism and Postdevelopmentalism." Pp. 91-162 in
Theories of Development. New York and London: The Guilford Press.
Week 6 Feb. 16
Inequality and values in the discourse and practice of development
 Theories of inequality: income and wealth
 Development as freedom
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Required Reading
Barry W. Poulson. 1994. "The Distribution of Income and Wealth" and "Poverty."
Pp. 144-190 in Economic Development: Private and Public Choice.
Minneapolis/St Paul, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco: West Publishing
Company.
Amartya Sen. 1999. "Development as Freedom" and “Individual Freedom as a
Social Commitment." Pp. 3-12 and 282-298 in Development as Freedom. Oxford
& New York: Oxford University Press.
David Dollar and Aart Kraay. 2004. “Growth is Good for the Poor. Pp.177-182 in The
Globalization Reader edited by F.J. Lechner and J. Boli. Malden, MA, Oxford, UK
and Carlton, Australia: Blackwell Publishing. 2nd Edition.
Oxfam. 2004. “Growth with Equity is Good for the Poor.” Pp. 183-189 in The
Globalization Reader edited by F.J. Lechner and J. Boli. Malden, MA, Oxford, UK
and Carlton, Australia: Blackwell Publishing. 2nd Edition.
Week 7 Feb. 23
No class: Preparation of International Forum/Agency profile
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PART II
6
International Infrastructure of Development/Underdevelopment
Before and During Globalization
Week 8 March 2 Forum/agency profile due, with class presentations
International infrastructure regulating the global order since WWII and adjustments
 Bretton Woods and the international structure
 The crisis of the 1970s
 Crisis of the state and the search for a "new world order":
from the Trilateral Commission to regional trade blocs
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Required Reading
Ranney, David. 1993. "The Evolving Supranational Policy Arena." Chicago:
University of Illinois, Center for Urban Economic Development.
Holly. Sklar. 1980. "Trilateralism, Managing Dependence and Democracy--An
Overview." Pp. 1-57 in Trilateralism, the Trilateral Commission and the Elite
Planning or World Management. Boston: South End Press.
PART III Globalization:
Contending explanations, impacts, and planning and policy agendas
Week 9 March 9
Defining globalization in the new economic order I
 A new regime of accumulation?
 From a manufacturing-based to a financial-service dominated economy and society
 Multinational corporations, the new international agenda and world order
 Globalization and the neo-liberal discourse
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Required Reading
John Agnew. 2005. Chapters 1 through 3. Pp. 1-70 in Hegemony, the New Shape
of Global Power. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Castells, M. 1993. "The Informational Economy and the New International Division of
Labor." Pp 15-43 in The Global Economy and the Information Age edited by
Martin Carnoy et al. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Sassen, Saskia. 2000. “Place and Production in the Global Economy” and The New
Urban Economy: The Intersection of Global Processes and Place.” Pp. 1-9 in Cities in
a World Economy. Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi: Pine Forge Press.
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Week 10 March 16
Research-paper outline due
Defining globalization and the new economic order II
 Changes in the international division of labor and the casualization of labor
 Labor mobility/migration
 The Race to the Bottom
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Required Reading
Saskia Sassen. 1988. “The New Immigration.” Pp 55-93 in The Mobility of Labor
and Capital. Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press. Selected Reading.
Holly Sklar. 1995. "Breakdown of the Paycheck" and "Full of Unemployment." Pp.
17-34 and 53-68 in Chaos or Community? Seeking Solutions, not Scapegoats
for Bad Economics. Boston: South End Press.
Faruk Tabak. 1998. “The World Labor Force.” Pp. 87-116 in The Age of Transition:
Trajectory of the World-System 1945-2025. London and New Jersey: Zed Books.
March 23
Spring vacation; no class.
PART IV
Globalization and the City
Week 11 March 30 Book review due, with class presentations
The changing “Urban Order”
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Required Reading
Peter J. Taylor. 2004. Chapters 1 through 4. Pp. 7-70 in World City Network: A
Global Urban Analysis. London and New York: Routledge.
Week 12 April 6
The changing “Urban Order,” urban planning and resistance in the global economy
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Required Reading
Peter J. Taylor. 2004. Chapters 6 through 9. Pp. 149-214 in World City Network: A
Global Urban Analysis. London and New York: Routledge.
Jeremy Brecher and Tim Costello.1994. “Resistance is Global," "The Lilliputian
Strategy" and "Global Rules." Pp. 81-102, 103-118 and 119-140 in Global Village
or Global Pillage. Boston, MA: South End Press.
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Week 13 April 13
Major issues of globalizing cities
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Required Reading
John Rennie Short. 2004. Chapters 5-9. Pp. 47-122 in Global Metropolitan:
Globalizing Cities in a Capitalist World. London and New York: Routledge.
Clavel P. and N. Kleniewski. 1990. "Space for Progressive Local Policy: Examples
from the United States and the United Kingdom." Pp. 199-234 in Logan, J. and T.
Swanstrom, Eds. Beyond the City Limits. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Week 14 April 20
Concluding considerations: Is there room for democracy and social justice?
Required Reading
Ash Amin and Nigel Thrift. 2002. “The Democratic City.” Pp 131-156 in Cities:
Reimagining the Urban. Cambridge, UK, Oxford, UK, and Malden, MA/USA: Polity
Press in Association with Blackwell Publishers.
Gustavo Esteva and Madhu Suri Prakash. 2004. “From Global to Local: Beyond
Neoliberalism to the International of Hope.” Pp. 410-416 in The Globalization
Reader edited by F.J. Lechner and John Boli. Malden, MA/USA, Oxford, UK and
Carlton, Australia: Blackwell Publishers.
Week 15 April 27
Research paper presentations
Tuesday, May 3: Research paper due in CUPPA 260 by noon.
(No late or e-mailed papers will be accepted!)