Urban Studies
The vast majority of people in the industrial world, and now a majority of the world's peoples altogether, live in or near large cities. Some are mega-cities, caused by crises and a source of suffering. Under any rational order, they would not exist . Others are treasures, centers of culture and learning. Most are somewhere in between. In any case, they are the locus of politics and the struggle for change. All matter relation to them, from urban design to community organizing, will be the focus of this department.
Film: The Interrupters
The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three 'Violence Interrupters' who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz, this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn, persistence of violence in our cities. Shot over the course of a year out of Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities. 115 Minutes.
Access HereTipping Points in Urban Change: A Symposium
This symposium considered the similarities and differences in the histories of urban modernization in cities during the late 19th through the early 21st century—with a look at global cities now under construction or in the planning stages. The particular focus was on the composition of elites, local versus international economic and political agendas, and the science and technologies involved. Papers assessed contemporary developments in Seoul and the urban-centered and industrial-based City of Detroit in the 1920s-1960s. Three 45-minute videos.
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The Future of Smart Cities
Saskia Sassen, a leading researcher on globalization, global cities and new technologies, discusses the current hype around smart cities. She reminds us that "It is the need to design a system that puts all that technology truly at the service of the inhabitants—and not the other way around." 30 minute video.
Access HereThe Tragedy of Suburbia
In James Howard Kunstler's view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about. 20 Minute Video, one of seven in 'The Long Emergency' series
Access HereCommunity-Owned Enterprise and Civic Participation
Three hours on workshops on the tension between capitalism and democracy in urban development with presentations by Lynn Benander and Shakoor Aljawani
Access HereUrban Utopias
Sprawling From Grace: The Consequences of Suburbanization
A documentary feature film about the unintended consequences of suburban sprawl. It illustrates the importance of altering the course of how we develop our nation's cities. It communicates the dangers of continuing to invest in the inefficient horizontal growth patterns of suburban communities, and details how they threaten to bankrupt the remaining wealth of our nation. It explores how the depletion of fossil fuels will impact this living arrangement, and investigates the viability of alternative energies that are currently available. This film sounds the alarm that the cheap fossil-fuel-dependent suburban American way of life is not just at risk. It is in peril!.
The Urbanisation of Class Struggle
One-Hour Presentation by David Harvey at the Marxism 2012 Conference in the UK.
Access HereThe New Slavery: Al-Jazeera's 'Fault Line' looks at Baltimore's Youth Crisis The election of the first black US president offered hope to millions of African Americans across the country. But have four years of an Obama presidency seen positive change for black communities in the US' inner cities? Fault Lines' Sebastian Walker spends time with those on the front lines of the failed drug war to understand some fundamental dynamics of race, poverty, incarceration and economic truths in the US in an election year. Good discussion starter. 27 minutes.
