Planning for Open Cities (2024/2025: Periode 1)

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Cursusdoel

Let op: De cursusinformatie in de studiewijzer is bindend.
De student is in staat om:

Upon completion of the course, students are able to ….
  • identify and summarise theoretical approaches on (the relation between) the production of urban spaces, everyday urban experience, and citizenship;
  • identify and examine how media infrastructures, practices, and representations are constitutive of urban culture and how they intersect with urban policymaking and planning in different parts of the world;
  • examine how the design and planning of urban spaces produce patterns of inclusion and exclusion;
  • develop propositions to redress exclusion by using a mix of creative methods and present their ideas in (audio)visual and textual forms such as maps, audios, and/or vlogs;
  • critically reflect on the normative content of their proposition and on the process of formulating it.

Vakinhoudelijk


Content

We understand the city as a built environment shaped by planning decisions borne in specific historical-political contexts. We also understand the city as a 'discursive space', shaped by people who talk about, interpret and claim the city through verbal and non-verbal communication. While obviously local, cities are also global, constituted by socio-economic and political power relations, cultural ties and media flows that reach beyond them and connect them to other places. In a context of socio-economic inequalities, climate change and political polarisation, cities have also re-emerged as loci of utopia where a ‘better’ future can (allegedly) be envisioned and realised.

This multidisciplinary course explores the city from the perspective of the humanities and that of different social scientific traditions. Bringing together concepts and methods from human geography, spatial planning, anthropology, political theory and media and cultural studies, it asks students to unpack the complexity of urban environments and to critically engage with (policy and scholarly) discourses addressing this complexity. More specifically, the course explores and problematises the ideal of the “Open City” that was first articulated by urban activist and scholar Jane Jacobs and later adopted by the 2016 UN Charter in its famous Quito Papers as an alternative to the modernist approach to city planning. Taking this starting point, the course asks:
- What does the ‘open city’ ideal mean to cities across the Global North, South, and East and who is included, excluded or ignored by it?
- How do media practices, infrastructures, and representations contribute to and/or challenge our understanding of open cities and urban cultures?
- How has this ideal been translated into urban policies and planning strategies and with what effect for the urban environment?

The course critically interrogates dominant understandings and practices of urban planning, citizenship, cultural mediation and urban memory formation. Methodologically, the course familiarises students with a range of qualitative research and planning methods that students use and experiment with in teams as they explore the urban culture and the media representations of different areas in Utrecht. Through their portfolio assignments, student groups are encouraged to develop their own interpretation of the “open city” that centers the perspectives of marginalized and unrepresented groups.

Werkvormen

Hoorcollege

Werkcollege

Toetsing

Eindresultaat

Verplicht | Weging 1% | ECTS 7,5

Exam (40%) Group research project/portfolio (60%)

Ingangseisen en voorkennis

Ingangseisen

Er is geen informatie over verplichte ingangseisen bekend.

Voorkennis

Please note that this course has a maximum capacity of 60 students. Participation is only possible for registered students. In case of oversubscription, students will be admitted by drawing of lots.

Voertalen

  • Engels

Cursusmomenten

Gerelateerde studies

Tentamens

Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus

Verplicht materiaal

  • WNB
    More information on the course literature will be published in the course manual.

Aanbevolen materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend

Coördinator

dr. K. Varró k.varro@uu.nl

Docenten

dr. N.E.M. Elsherif n.e.m.elsherif@uu.nl

Inschrijving

Deze cursus is open voor bijvakkers. Controleer wel of er aanvullende ingangseisen gelden.

Inschrijving
Van maandag 3 juni 2024 tot en met vrijdag 21 juni 2024

Na-inschrijving
Van maandag 19 augustus 2024 tot en met dinsdag 20 augustus 2024

Inschrijving niet geopend
Permanente link naar de cursuspagina
Laat in de Cursus-Catalogus zien
Laat in MyTimetable zien