The course is organized in three interrelated parts:
Part 1, “theorizing globalization”, deepens knowledge about definitions (e.g. economic, cultural, social), drivers (technological change, trade policies, climate change) and effects (e.g. social inequality) of globalization through the presentation and discussion of different theories and concepts. As globalization also means that different regions in the world are brought into relation in various ways, theories that grasp the relationships between different macro-regions in the world are discussed (dependence theory, postcolonial theories (‘ordinary cities’, ‘worlding’), imperial mode of living).
Part 2, "the interplay between the ‘global’ and the ‘local’”, presents conceptual and theoretical approaches about the impact of globalization on urban development. Origins and assumptions of these approaches are presented, as well as selected empirical evidence for different cities. The part starts with the discussion of two approaches which conceptualize ‘the city’ or ‘the urban’ in a global context (mobile urbanism, planetary urbanization), followed by world cities and global cities theories. After that, the impact of globalization on cities will be discussed, with a special emphasis on the associated social challenges (polarization, segregation and gentrification).
Part 3, "the ‘European City’ in a globalized world”, starts with a presentation of the European City as a planning and policy model. A focus is then laid on the role of social housing in the European City, as one key feature of the latter. Furthermore, it will be asked how globalization affects the European City, respectively how it is transformed in this changing context. The final session is an open discussion that wraps up the discussed approaches and critically reflects on how European cities are transforming under conditions of accelerating globalization.
