URST 299 - The Study of Cities and Metropolitan America

Institution:

Washington University in St Louis

Subject:

Description:

This course serves as the introductory course analyzing the forces shaping America's cities and surrounding metropolitan areas. It examines strategies for dealing with many of the profound social issues affecting urban/metropolitan America. Emanating from a historical perspective, it examines the ways in which industrialization and deindustrialization shaped Northern American cities and the consequences of deindustrialization on urban citizenry. It further surveys the demographic and spatial transformation of American cities, examining the consequences of urban transformation on federal, state, and local politics, on society and on her institutions. Similarly, the course focuses on the origin and societal changes and emerging goals of urban development, gentrification and evolving patterns of metropolitanism and the necessity for central city as well as neighborhood reconstruction. The dynamics of racial residential segregation; crime and punishment; issues of academic achievement and under-achievement; and the social cleavages of urban marginalized communities, family structure, urban homelessness, urban sprawl, and health care among others, are viewed from the perspective of social justice by exploring social, political, economic, racial, and ethnic factors that impact on access, equity, and care. Various theoretical perspectives and philosophies are introduced that have dominated the discourse on race and urban poverty. A field-based component complements the course work, and is designed to build interest, awareness, and skills in preparation for outreach to urban communities. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wustl.edu

Phone Number:

(314) 935-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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