Day-by-Day Class Schedule
PLDV 250m: Third World Cities
Prof. Eric J. Heikkila, Spring 2010
Urbanization and development indicators
11-January
Topic: Introduction to 3rd world cities
Discussion points:
Self introductions. Course overview. What is a Third World City?
Required readings:
Cohen, Barney (2004), “Urban Growth in Developing Countries: A Review of Current
Trends and a Caution Regarding Existing Forecasts”, World Development, vol. 32(1), 23
–51.
13-January
Topic: What is development?
Discussion points:
How has the concept of “development” evolved over the past fifty years? How are these
changes reflected in development agendas? Human beings as agents of change.
Required readings:
Sen, Amartya (2002), “What is Development About?”, in Meir and Stiglitz, Frontiers of
Development Economics. New York: Oxford University Press, 503-510.
Sen, Amartya (2001), “A Decade of Human Development”, Journal of Human
Development, vol. 1(1), 17-23.
Film:
Interview with Amartya Sen, DFID (2002)
18-January: MLK Day (no class)
20-January
Topic: Video conference from World Bank
Discussion points:
Guest lecturer: Tom Zearley, World Bank. Background on Sustainable Development
Week at World Bank. Preliminary review of student city selections.
last updated: 2/16/2016
Required readings:
World Bank (2009), Systems of Cities: Harnessing urbanization for growth and poverty
alleviation (28 pages)
25-January
Topic: Elements of an urbanization strategy
Discussion points:
Guidelines for assignment 1. Systems of cities. Linking urbanization to development
goals.
Required readings:
World Bank (2009), Systems of Cities: Harnessing urbanization for growth and poverty
alleviation (28 pages)
Film:
Five examples of development, DFID (2002)
27-January
Topic: Millenium development goals
Discussion points:
Background on MDGs. What is progress to date on MDGs? How do the MDGs pertain
to Third World cities?
Required readings:
UN (2009), Millenium Development Goals Report (60 pages)
Supplemental readings:
UN Habitat (2005), Strategy for the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goal
7, Target 11 (81 pages)
page 2
Is urbanization a good thing?
1-February
Topic: Urbanization and Third World cities
Discussion points:
How do global and local forces influence the development of Third World cities? The
development of underdevelopment.
Required readings:
Pizarro, Rafael, Liang Wei and Tridib Banerjee (2003), “Agencies of Globalization and
Third World Urban Form: A Review”, Journal of Planning Literature, vol. 18(2),
November, 111 – 130.
Supplemental readings:
Dick, H. W. and Peter J. Rimmer (1998), “Beyond the Third World City: The New Urban
Geography of Southeast Asia”, Urban Studies, vol. 35(12), 2303 – 2320.
Heikkila, Eric J. (2007), “Three Questions Regarding Urbanization in China”, Journal of
Planning Education and Research, vol. 27, 65-81.
Clark, David (1998), “Interdependent urbanization in an urban world: an historical
overview”; The Geographical Journal, March, vol. 164(1) 85-96.
3-February
Topic: Challenges posed by urbanization
Discussion points:
What are some of the key challenges and opportunities posed by urbanization? Case
studies of urbanization in Africa, India and China.
Required readings:
World Bank (2008), Africa’s Urbanization for Development: Understanding Africa’s
Urban Challenges and Opportunities (67 pages)
Varma, Keshav (2009), “Urbanization and City Management in India: Some Ideas for
Discussion”, unpublished essay.
page 3
8-February
Topic: Student presentations (assignment 1)
Discussion points:
Students presentations profiling their cities, drawing upon both quantitative and
qualitative data sources. What kind of city is your city?
10-February
Topic: Student presentations
Discussion points:
Same as above
15-February: Presidents Day (no class)
Environmental justice and the city
17-February
Topic: Urban inequality
Discussion points:
How does social and economic inequality manifest itself in Third World cities?
Required readings:
Kim, Sukkoo (2008), “Spatial Inequalities and Economic Development: Theories, Facts,
and Policies”, in Michael Spence, Patricia Clarke Annez and Robert Buckley, editors,
Urbanization and Growth, Commission on Growth and Development, World Bank,
Washington, D.C.
Supplemental readings:
UN Habitat (2008), “Why urban inequality matters”, in State of the World’s Cities
2008/2009, 50-61.
UN Habitat (2008), “Urban inequality: regional trends” in State of the World’s Cities
2008/2009, 62-81.
page 4
22-February
Topic: What are slums?
Discussion points:
Causes and consequences of slums. Duality in Third World city housing markets.
Required readings:
Peattie, Lisa R. (1994), “An Argument for Slums”, Journal of Planning Education and
Research, vol 13(2), 136-143.
Supplemental readings:
UN Habitat (2003), Slums of the World: The face of urban poverty in the new
millennium? (94 pages)
24-February
Topic: Slum upgrading
Discussion points:
How can the living conditions of slum dwellers be improved? What has been the
experience to date of slum upgrading programs?
Required readings:
UN Habitat (2004), Pro Poor Land Management: Integrating slums into city planning
approaches (42 pages)
Supplemental readings:
Cities Alliance (2008), Slum Upgrading Up Close: Experiences of Six Cities (68 pages)
1-March
Topic: Adaptation to climate change
Discussion points:
What are the impacts of cllimate change on Third World cities? What kinds of
adaptation strategies are available to these cities?
Required readings:
UN Habitat (2009), Climate Change Strategy 2010-2013 (12 pages)
page 5
Supplemental readings:
World Bank (200x), Climate Resilient Cities: A Primer on Reducing Vulnerabilities to
Disasters
3-March
Topic: Sustainable cities
Discussion points:
What is a “sustainable city”? What policy initiatives can promote sustainability?
Required readings:
UN Habitat (2007), Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Planning: A Guide for
Municipalities; vol 1 (55 pages)
Supplemental readings:
UN Habitat (2009), Planning Sustainble Cities: Policy Directions (98 pages, Abridged
edition)
8-March
Topic: Urban environmental transformation
Discussion points:
How is the relationship between an urban society and its natural environment
reflective of its historical socio-economic context?
Required readings:
Heikkila, Eric J. (2009), “The Societal Context of Urban River Transformation: A
Case Study of the Fenjiang River in Foshan, China”, under review.
Supplemental readings:
SPPD Foshan Lab (2009), Urban Transformation of the Fenjiang River Basin:
International Strategies for Achieving Sustainable Development, report prepared for
Foshan Fenjiang River Comprehensive Remediation Management Office; USC
School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
10-March
Topic: Social dimensions of Third World cities
Discussion points:
How do issues of gender, poverty, health and violence inter-relate in Third World cities?
page 6
Required readings:
World Bank (2008), Social Analysis in the Urban Sector: A Guidance Note (76 pages)
22-March
Topic: Economic development and cultural heritage
Discussion points:
How to reconcile economic development with cultural heritage preservation in Third
World cities? Sustainable tourism.
Required readings:
Heikkila, Eric J. and Philippe Peycam (2010), “Economics Development in the Shadow
of Angkor Wat: Meaning, Legitimation and Myth”, Journal of Planning Education and
Research, vol. 29(3).
24-March
Topic: Student presentations (assignment 2)
Discussion points:
Student presentations of their proposed development strategies for their respective cities.
Linking policy formulation to development goals in Third World cities.
29-March
Topic: Student presentations
Discussion points:
Same as above.
31-March
Topic: Globalization and global networks
Discussion points:
What is globalization and how does it impact Third World cities? How are nongovernmental organizations and other global networks shaping change?
Required readings:
Sharma, Shalendra D. (2008), “The Many Faces of Today’s Globalization: A Survey of
Recent Literature”, New Global Studies, vol 2(2).
page 7
Supplementary readings:
Castells, Manuel (2004), “Informationalism, networks, and the network society: a
theoretical blueprint”, in Manuel Castells, editor, The Network Society: A Cross-cultural
perspective, Edgar Elgar, UK & USA.
Robertson, Robbie (2004), “The Historical Context and Significance of Globalization”, in
Development and Change, vol. 35(3), 557-565.
Institutional context of urbanization
5-April
Topic: The World Bank: a theoretical perspective
Discussion points:
How have evolving conceptions of development shaped the agendas of the World Bank
and similar institutions?
Required readings:
Ramsamy, Edward (2006), “Theorizing the World Bank and development”, in The World
Bank and Urban Development, Routledge, London and New York.
Supplementary readings:
Woods, Ngaire (2001), “Making the IMF and the World Bank More Accountable”,
International Affairs, vol. 77(1), 83-101.
7-April
Topic: The World Bank: an historical perspective
Discussion points:
What are the origins of today’s international development agencies such as the World
Bank? How have such organizations been shaped by historical trends?
Required readings:
Stiglitz, Joseph (2002), “The promise of global institutions”, chapter 1 in Globalization
and its Discontents, W.W. Norton & Co., NY.
Stiglitz, Joseph (2002), “Broken promises”, chapter 2 in Globalization and its
Discontents, W.W. Norton & Co., NY.
page 8
Supplemental readings:
Krueger, Anne O. (1998), “Wither the World Bank and the IMF?” Journal of Economic
Literature, vol. 36(4), December, 1983-2020.
Topic: Conceptual foundations of policy interventions
Discussion points:
How do (mis)conceptions of urban development result in (mis)application of policy
responses?
Required readings:
Satterthwaite, David (2002), “The Ten and a Half Myths that May Distort the Urban
Policies of Governments and International Agencies”; discussion paper prepared for
Department for International Development, London.
Los Angeles as a Third World City
12-April
Topic: LA as a 3rd World City
Discussion points:
LA as a microcosm of the World
Required readings:
Banerjee and Verma (2002), “The Third World in Los Angeles: A Metaphor within a
Metaphor”; in Eric J. Heikkila and Rafael Pizarro, editors, Southern California and the
World, Praeger Press, 133 - 150.
Supplemental readings:
Keil (1998), Chapter 7 in Los Angeles: Globalization, Urbanization and Social Struggles;
John Wiley & Sons, New York.
14-April
Topic: Field trip: Informal sector
Discussion points:
Social and economic duality; the role of the informal sector.
page 9
19-April
Topic: Planning the just city
Discussion points:
How might philosophical conceptions of justice translate into guidelines for urban
planning practice?
Required readings:
Fainstein, Susan (2005), “Planning Theory and the City”, Journal of Planning Education
and Research, vol. 25(2), 121-130.
21-April
Topic: UN Habitat: planning perspectives
Discussion points:
How does UN Habitat seek to build social harmony in Third World cities?
Required readings:
UN Habitat (2008), “Planning for Harmonious Cities”, Part IV in State of the World’s
Cities 2008/2009.
26-April
Topic: Student presentations (assignment 3)
Discussion points:
Photo essays on LA as a 3rd World City
28-April
Topic: Student presentations
Discussion points:
Same as above
Final exam preview
page 10