Learner Reviews & Feedback for Cities are back in town : urban sociology for a globalizing urban world by Sciences Po
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About the Course
Urbanization is reaching a new peak in the contemporary world with the rise of mega cities. Researchers try to make sense of these large urban areas using a variety of concepts. The class will review debates and present social science models of cities to analyse and compare contemporary developments.
General Overview Help Center
Urbanization is reaching a new peak in the contemporary world with the rise of mega cities. Researchers try to make sense of these large urban areas using a variety of concepts. The class will review debates and present social science models of cities to analyse and compare contemporary developments.
Globalization, Europeanization processes support the rapid developments of cities in different part of the world. Urbanization is reaching a new high in the contemporary world with the rise of mega cities (beyond 15 million inhabitants) such as Calcutta, Los Angeles, Dhaka, Cairo, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Mexico or Seoul. Beyond the modern metropolis, researchers try to make sense of these large urban areas using a variety of concepts such as the ‘postmetropolis’, ‘global cities’, and ‘global city-regions’. The class will review debates and present social science models of cities and metropolis to analyse and compare contemporary developments. How can do we study those cities when they become mega urban regions, does size matter and for what? Do we see the making of a vast urban world or by contrast beyond the apparent convergence of complex globalisation processes understood in relation to globalised capitalism, is it possible to identify masked differentiations and the strengthening of different urban worlds? How do we make sense of this urban world when cities are not independent units but have to be understood both in terms of territories, rootedness, and at the same time in terms of relations to take into account flux, mobility, circulations ? What is the relevance of social science concepts developed in the Western world to analyse the transformation of Lagos? To what extent may the systematic development of new forms of comparison between northern cities and cities from the South change social sciences and contribute to overcome the bias towards national comparison?
For the time being, given current conditions of capitalism, political, economic, cultural and social questions are increasingly becoming urban questions. In the modern conception of the world/globalcity, characterised by size, the aggregation of housing, differentiated divisions of labour, and the density of interaction, several conceptions of cities exist which have become entangled and sometimes opposed to each other. These different conceptions underline different processes of integration: the material city of walls, squares, houses, roads, light, utilities, buildings, waste, and physical infrastructure; the cultural city in terms of imaginations, differences, representations, ideas, symbols, arts, texts, senses, religion, and aesthetics; the politics and policies of the city in terms of domination, power, government, mobilisation, public policies, welfare, education; the social city of riots, ethnic, economic and gender inequalities, everyday life and social movements; and the economy of the city : the division of labour, scale, production, consumption, trade.....
Classic urban questions about inequalities, housing, government, integration, are combined with issues about the urban fabric, questions of mobility and rootedness, sustainable development and risks, the making of the cyborg cities, questions of social control and riots, urban culture, innovation and urban economic development.
All video produced by Sciences Po for this Mooc are under Creative Commons (BY / NC / SA)
Recommended Background
The course is designed for undergraduates but it also will interest graduates and professionals concerned in urban issues.
The course is organized in 8 sequences and displays multimedia contents (images, video, original documents). There will be also assignments that consist in participating to discussions related to theoretical models presented in the course based on case studies of your choice, and peer assessments on your contributions.
Syllabus :
Week #1 : Introduction, definition, urban questions and the use of models
Week #2 : European cities and the weberian model of integration
Week #3 : Colonial and post colonial cities
Week #4 : Industrial cities (and Socialist cities) and Marxist models
Week #5 : The American metropolis and the Chicago School,
Week #6 : Post metropolis, fragments and differences
Week #7 : Global cities and mega cities
Week #8 : Smart cities and the sociology of science and technology...
Top reviews
SB
Oct 18, 2017
So far the best course at coursera. The resource persons are superb. no words for the superb designing of the course.
SS
Sep 10, 2022
Very very very informative!! Loved it!! Useful to anyone and not just Urban Engineers including me ❤️
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26 - 44 of 44 Reviews for Cities are back in town : urban sociology for a globalizing urban world
By Hazel T
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May 29, 2022
thank you for this very infornative course.. :)
By Jose G
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Nov 6, 2017
Uno de los mejores cursos sobre el tema! unico!
By Edward K
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Sep 7, 2019
Informative and interesting. Nicely done!
By Fouad M
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Jun 7, 2019
Very informative and useful information.
By Emil
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Sep 11, 2018
Very nice and informative course.
By Herbaut J P M
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Jul 6, 2019
Thanks You.
Herbaut Julien
By Rasheed L
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May 13, 2017
Very Informative!
By Ahmed A K
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Jun 14, 2023
many thanks
By BINITA P
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Sep 7, 2021
Completed
By EduaGdo H C
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Jun 22, 2017
thank u
By Lucas B
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Aug 20, 2019
Good introduction, I found the exemple of Istanbul particularly interesting. However, I think the explanations about models and how the MOOC is going to be conducted could be a little faster
By Orlando S
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Jul 18, 2021
Basic enough for upcoming learners of the urban phenomena as also thorough and semantically rich for the ones who want to review and expand on this topic.
By Grace L
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Jul 19, 2022
I cannot complete the course although I have went through all the readings and course videos. There must be some technical issues with the course setup.
By pauliemora
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Jun 12, 2017
This is one of the better MOOCS in Coursera. So relevant to my work and the discussions are thought-provoking. Hoping there is a sequel. All best.
By John F
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Mar 10, 2020
Some difficult/dense concepts to take up, but a very good way to broaden one's view of what constitutes the future of this urban planet
By Paul V d E
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Jan 28, 2022
Some very interesting perspectives. Concepts were clearly explained and examples were relevant.
By Yue X
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Feb 11, 2017
Fascinating and inspiring!
By Jonathan G
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Feb 21, 2018
interesting course
By Flamur K
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Jan 8, 2017
The course was great, however I think it should be more video content.
