GEOG 488: Cities of the 21st Century

In this urban studies capstone seminar students research the internal and external forces that will foster change and reinforce the status quo in American metropolitan areas during the 21st century. Course readings focus on suburbs, which are the dominant mode of metropolitan living in contemporary America. We will consider the history of suburbanization, the political economy of growth in the suburbs, the rise of smart growth strategies, and other attempts to foster change in the suburban experience (including the New Urbanism, green building and green movements, and regionalism). We will also consider how suburbs are now experiencing demographic changes and investigate the struggle for community in historic

and contemporary suburbs. This seminar will thus complicate the conventional narrative of suburbs as sprawling, inauthentic and homogeneous places. Students will further enrich their understanding of issues covered in the course by conducting original research that examines ways in which American suburbs are changing and/or remaining the same despite efforts to the contrary. Students will consider their collective findings and discuss what they portend for American cities in the 21st century.