Urban Futures

Course goals

• Raise provocative questions on the interdisciplinary aspects of societal issues and future urban development in discussions with experts
• Identify the main drivers of recent urban development
• Reflect on the different scenarios of future urban developments in academia in discussions with experts
• Reflect on strategic visions in urban governance and urban policy practice and challenges of implementation of such visions in discussions with experts

Content

Urban Futures is a full-time introduction course on socio-spatial and economic developments in urban areas. The ‘urban landscape’ reflects both the historical evolution and current developments. Observing and interpreting that cityscape is a good starting point for the analysis of the changing urban society and the implications for the built environment and (local) communities.

To get familiar with the social, economic and cultural challenges of cities all over the world, we read the book ‘Triumph of the City’ by Edward Glaeser. A guest lecture and tutorials will be organized to discuss this literature. Urban walks and/or a bike trip in Utrecht neighborhoods and Utrecht region are the other key part of this course.