Course teacher(s)
Mathieu VAN CRIEKINGEN (Coordinator)ECTS credits
5
Language(s) of instruction
english
Course content
The course is divided up in 8 lectures
- Introduction - the city as social product
- The production of urban space under capitalism
- The neoliberal city
- New urban policies: urban governance and the entrepreneurial city
- Culture as urban regenerator?
- (Non-)Gentrification
- Ordinary urbanizations
- On urban alternatives (with W. Keblowski, VUB)
Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)
The course explores (some of) the social forces that produce contemporary urban space. It aims at challenging mainstream representations reducing urban issues to management problems (how to?) by bringing to the forefront the deeply political nature of urban issues (for/against whom? who decides?). To this end, the contours of the now-dominant configuration of capitalism (i.e. neoliberalism) and the role of major drivers of urban change (i.a. rent-seeking investors, property developers, governments and related state agencies) are brought here centre-stage. Eventually, the course makes the case for re-politicization of some pressing contemporary urban issues such as metropolitan developement, urban policies, socio-spatial inequalities, gentrification and urban alternatives.
Teaching methods and learning activities
ex cathedra lectures, with room for interactions
References, bibliography, and recommended reading
see reader on UV
Course notes
- Université virtuelle
Other information
Contacts
mathieu.van.criekingen@ulb.ac.be
Campus
Plaine
Evaluation
Method(s) of evaluation
- Personal work
- written examination
Personal work
written examination
Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)
50% exam, 50% assignement (essay)
Language(s) of evaluation
- english