Globalisation and Urban Development

The course deals with the implications of contemporary globalisation for urban and social development in cities world-wide and provides linkages to the most important global frameworks such as the SDGs. Economic globalisation, technological change and "deregulated" modes of governance have far reaching consequences for cities and neighbourhoods, for example through rising city networks but also through processes of socio-spatial homogenisation, fragmentation and polarisation. New types of urban fabrics are emerging, socio-economic relations are reconfigured, and new urban actors are on the rise (i.e. private sector). The course will cover both the physical and institutional dimensions of urban development and will convey a comparative perspective of change in the developed and the developing world.

Knowledge: Students will be capable to understand scholarly concepts of globalisation and their implications on urban and social development, and for planning and design professions. Moreover they will have a good knowledge of global development agendas such as the SDGs.

Skills: Students will enhance their capacities to process theoretical models and apply these to case studies on the ground. Furthermore, reflective, field research, presentation, argumentation, writing and communication skills will be strengthened.

General competence: An enhanced understanding of globalisation and its relations to social, economic, and ecological transformation and their spatial dimensions will contribute to the general proficiency and technical competence of the course participants.

The course comprises lectures, new media (movies), discussions, and a case study. There are two main deliverables: 1) an individual paper, and 2) a case study report written in group.