CP0141: Cities

School Cardiff School of Geography and Planning
Department Code GEOPL
Module Code CP0141
External Subject Code 100666
Number of Credits 20
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Richard Gale
Semester Spring Semester
Academic Year 2015/6

Outline Description of Module

For the first time in history more than half the world’s population now live in urban areas - understanding cities has never been more important. This module serves both to introduce students to the sub-discipline of urban geography, and to examine how cities function and operate, using key tools and concepts of the field. Specifically, the module examines the following issues: conceptualising and theorising urban space and place; spatial relations and structures; issues of urban economy, power and socio-spatial inequalities; urban policy attempts at combating uneven development; inequality and regeneration strategies; and social injustice in the form of social exclusion, the underclass and polarisation. Overall, the module has strong theoretical, conceptual and empirical components that seek to develop students’ understanding of the fundamental social and spatial dynamics of contemporary cities.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

  1. Explain the factors which have been influential in shaping the spatial structure of contemporary capitalist cities
  2. Engage in debates about the significance of the social construction of place
  3. Evaluate the spatial implications of urban policy and planning initiatives

How the module will be delivered

The module will be delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, class debates, and guided independent study.

Skills that will be practised and developed

  1. Analytical skills: an ability to critique the conceptual tools and empirical arguments that characterise the paradigms and approaches prevailing within urban geography.
  2. Group discussion: an ability to participate in informed discussion of key urban geographical concepts and materials.
  3. Debating skills: an ability to engage in class debate over contending urban theories and their application in practice.
  4. Written presentation of ideas: an ability to set out key ideas of the field in a clear and coherent way, and to evaluate contending academic arguments.
  5. Responding to feedback: a capacity to take on board feed-back/-forward from the written assessment of the module and to build on these in the final examination.

How the module will be assessed

Students will be assessed through two mechanisms, a 2000-word essay, and an end-of-module unseen exam. Given that this is an introductory module, the rationale for this assessment strategy is to ensure that students cover the module material in sufficient analytical depth (to be achieved in the essay) and topical breadth (to be reflected in the exam).

 

Type of assessment

 

%

Contribution

Title

Duration
(if applicable)

Approx. date of Assessment

Essay

50%

Subject and titles to be defined within the module

2,000 words

Spring

Written examination

 

50%

 

1.5 hours

Spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The potential for reassessment in this module

 

Students are permitted to be reassessed in a module which they have failed, in line with the course regulations. The reassessment will usually take place during the summer

 

 

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 50 Essay N/A
Exam - Spring Semester 50 Cities 1.5

Syllabus content

This module begins with an introduction to the key geographical concepts of space and place that shape the way we understand cities. We then consider the different scales at which cities operate, ranging from the global, in terms of the flows of capital, information and people that shape urban lives, through to the local, in terms of the neighbourhoods and communities within which these flows take shape. Topical issues considered by the module also include the importance of individual and collective identities to urban living, the politics of people and place, processes of gentrification and the urban geography of inequalities.

Essential Reading and Resource List

Allen, J et al (eds) (1999) Unsettling Cities London : Routledge

Hall, T. (2011) Urban Geography. London: Routledge. 4th Edition.

Hall, T et al (eds) (2008) The Sage Companion to the City London: Sage

Latham, A et al (2009) Key Concepts in Human Geography London : Sage

Pacione, M. (2009) Urban Geography. A Global Perspective, London: Routledge. 3rd Edition.

Background Reading and Resource List

 

Buck, N. et al (2005) Changing Cities. Rethinking Urban Competitiveness, Cohesion and Governance. London: Palgrave.

Eade, J. and Mele, C. (Eds.) (2002) Understanding the City. Oxford: Blackwell.

Fyfe, N. and Kenny, J. (Eds.) (2005) The Urban Geography Reader. London: Routledge.

Lees, L. et al (2010) the Gentrification Reader Routledge: London

Pile, S et al (eds) (1999) Unruly Cities? London:Routledge

Savage, M, Warde, A and Ward, K (2003) Urban Sociology, Capitalism and Modernity 2nd ed Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan


Copyright Cardiff University. Registered charity no. 1136855