Cities and Urban Society – Local and Global Challenges
In the course, you will learn how cities emerge, are influenced, and change—from local neighborhoods to global cities. The course addresses urban conditions in both the Global North and the Global South.
Cities and Urban Society – Local and Global Challenges, 7.5 credits, is part of the Human Geography I – Course Package, 30 credits, and is also included in the first term of the Bachelor's Programme in Human Geography – Society, Environment, and Global Processes, 180 credits, as well as the Urban and Regional Planning Programme, 180 credits.
More than half of the world's population now lives in cities. In this course, you will learn how cities have developed over time and how important contemporary processes influence and change cities—from local neighborhoods to world cities. We explore challenges such as urban densification, competition for space, political claims on development and growth, and the impact of migration on urban development.
Cities offer many opportunities, but development also leads to increasing segregation, affecting access to resources, influence, and housing. The course focuses on urban conditions in both the Global North and the Global South.
To illustrate the course themes, we conduct a field exercise in Stockholm.
Teaching Format
Mandatory instruction includes introductions, lectures, seminars, and exercises.
Detailed information, including grading criteria, is provided during the course introduction and via the learning platform Athena.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, you are expected to be able to:
- Describe and discuss key concepts within the field of urban geography.
- Explain the changes in cities globally and locally—historically and in the present.
- Identify challenges within urban geography and relate them to local and global processes.
- Distinguish between different perspectives on cities and urban environments.
Assessment
Assessment is conducted through written exams, submission assignments, and oral presentations in seminars and exercises.
Examiner
Several teachers evaluate and assign grades within the course.
Examiner: Lowe Börjeson
