Urban Social Dynamics

Course goals

1. mention and describe key elements and dimensions of urban social inequality and to make clear how these elements and dimensions are interrelated;
2. describe, combine and apply relevant theories and concepts to explain the existence and development of social and socio-spatial inequality;
3. describe, combine and apply relevant theories and concepts to describe and explain how different groups of urban residents deal with social and socio-spatial inequalities in their daily lives;
4. make a critical analysis of policies aimed at diminishing different forms of social and socio-spatial inequality;
5. report and communicate, primarily in writing, according to scientific standards, resulting in a scientific (theoretical) paper. 

Content

Cities and urban regions are inherently and increasingly (hyper-)diverse on many dimensions (including ethnic and cultural background, levels of income and education, etc), socio-spatially segregated and (consequently) often unequal settings for their residents. For example, due to a history of diverse migration waves, the composition of almost all Western cities and urban regions has changed drastically: decolonization, economies asking for additional workforce, unequal global economic opportunities, political situations in countries of origin, processes of family formation and reunion, and government policies have led to (new) concentrations of immigrants and their descendants in Western cities. And for various (un-)intended reasons and depending on policies, context, social class, etc., immigrants concentrate in specific neighborhoods of cities, leading to new or reinforced processes of spatial segregation. In this course, we will address the interplay between urban social diversity, socio-spatial segregation, and social inequality and its consequences from multiple theoretical and contextual perspectives, including the Global North, the Global South, and its interrelationships in order to open up a broader lens of enquiry that inserts the GN and GS into an overarching analytical framework.

Socio-spatial segregation, (hyper-)diversity, and inequality in income, job and housing opportunities, and access to valuable resources (e.g. in terms of mobility, social contacts and basic needs such as water and energy) are prominent for many human geographers. Especially themes and concepts like social polarization, urban socio-spatial segregation, gentrification and displacement, informal housing and jobs, translocal relationships and dynamics, the effects of living in deprived neighborhoods, urban social in- and exclusion and ‘the right to the city’, and the possibilities for and limitations of social mobility have been and are (still) high on the research agendas. This course aims to capture the complexity of these urban social dynamics and its consequences through a series of lectures, in-depth reading, class discussions, and a variety of assignments.

N.B.
Latest information about the course contents can be found in the course manual.