Contemporary Cities: Challenges & Opportunities

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label Diverse autorenew 2025-09-29, 17:00 history_edu Ioana Dinescu
On the one hand, cities are economic engines and centres of innovation and culture. They attract people to live, work and study. They are where new ideas emerge, where capital accumulates and where trends in culture, lifestyle and entertainment begin. On the other hand, major cities also have concentrations of poverty, social problems, unemployment as well as pollution, congestion and issues of affordability. While the benefits of urban life are plentiful, these challenges continue to grow.

The aim of this two week course is to familiarise students with the major issues confronting European and North American cities of the 21st century and the various ways in which these challenges are being addressed. We will examine a wide variety of urban issues, including:

• Housing and different forms of gentrification

• Poverty, segregation and urban inequality

• Urban regeneration projects

• Immigration and ethnic settlement in cities

• Transport and mobility

• Planning and planning regimes

• Inter-urban competition

• The marketing and branding of cities

• (socially) sustainable cities for the Twenty-first Century



The first half of the course will focus on theoretical and conceptual understandings of these issues; the second half will use specific examples of cities in Europe and North America to illustrate how different challenges are met in different contexts. These sessions will be led by professors and lecturers from the Department of Human Geography and Planning. We will also conduct excursions to Rotterdam and Amsterdam to examine urban policies and problems in a Dutch context. The main assessment for this course will be the writing (in pairs) of a paper based on some of the main themes of the course. Students will be graded on their work in the course.

Period
08-07-2013 - 19-07-2013 (2 weeks)

Target group
Students from a variety of disciplines (not just geography), who are interested in learning about key issues in contemporary cities

Course aim
To familiarise students with the major issues confronting European and North American cities of the 21st century and the various ways in which these challenges are being addressed.

Credits
3.0 ECTS credits

Certificate of attendance

Course fee
EUR 895: Course + course materials + housing

EUR 650: Course + course materials

Course leader
dr. Brian Doucet

Scholarships
Utrecht Summer School doesn't offer scholarships for this course.

Utrecht University
Address: PO BOX 80148
Postal code: 3508 TC
City: Utrecht
Country: Netherlands
Website: http://www.utrechtsummerschool.nl
E-mail: summerschool@uu.nl
Phone: 0031302534400