1 - 10 of 18 results for: URBANST

Human-centered design of cities and public spaces. Explore the principles underlying vibrant spaces, utilize creative tools and techniques to strengthen the social fabric of communities and enhance benefits to the public, and find new sources of inspiration to inform the urban design process. Take part in real-world design projects in the city of San Francisco and/or other Bay Area communities, while decoding public spaces from multiple perspectives: as sites of recreation, interaction, and political contention; as physical infrastructure that municipalities or grassroots citizen efforts seek to build and maintain for the common good; as places of historical memory, identity, and personal storytelling; and as opportunities for cutting-edge civic innovation. Participants will practice ethical design, utilizing frameworks that are inclusive (for many) and participatory (by many), and that benefit human beings and their diverse communities. Limited enrollment, admission by application. Find out more and apply at dschool.stanford.edu

This course explores the theory, practice and history of grassroots community organizing as a method for developing community power to promoting social justice. We will develop skills for 1-on-1 relational meetings, media messaging, fundraising strategies, power structure analysis, and strategies organizing across racial/ethnic difference. And we will contextualize these through the theories and practices developed in the racial, gender, queer, environmental, immigrant, housing and economic justice movements to better understand how organizing has been used to engage communities in the process of social change. Through this class, students will gain the hard skills and analytical tools needed to successfully organize campaigns and movements that work to address complex systems of power, privilege, and oppression. As a Community-Engaged Learning course, students will work directly with community organizations on campaigns to address community needs, deepen their knowledge of theory and history through hands-on practice, and develop a critical analysis of inequality at the structural and interpersonal levels. Placements with community organizations are limited. Enrollment will be determined on the first day through a simple application process. Students will have the option to continue the course for a second quarter in the Winter, where they will execute a campaign either on campus or in collaboration with their community partner.

Designed for freshmen and sophomores. Introduction to the study of cities and urban civilization focusing on the utopias that have been produced over time to guide and inspire city-dwellers to improve and perfect their urban environments. History of urbanization and the urban planning theories inspired by Ebenezer Howard, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, the New Urbanists and Smart Growth advocates that address current issues such as urban community dynamics, suburbanization, sustainability, and globalization. Public policy approaches designed to address these issues and utopian visions of what cities could be, or should be, in the future. Topic of the final paper chosen by the student, with consent of instructor, and may be a historical research paper, a policy-advocacy paper, or a proposal for an urban utopia that addresses the challenges and possibilities of urban life today.

Core course for Urban Studies majors. We will study urban space both historically and cross-culturally. Urban Studies, by definition, is an interdisciplinary field, where the methodological approaches draw upon a diverse set of analytic tools. Disciplines that occupy a prominent place in this class are geography, cultural anthropology, sociology, history, media studies, and literature. In this context, we will discuss the importance of cities around the world to the economic, cultural, and political well-being of modern societies and examine how forces such as industrialization, decentralization, and globalization affect the structure and function of cities.

This multidisciplinary course combines different approaches to how GIS and spatial tools can be applied in social science research. We take a collaborative, project oriented approach to bring together technical expertise and substantive applications from several social science disciplines. The course aims to integrate tools, methods, and current debates in social science research and will enable students to engage in critical spatial research and a multidisciplinary dialogue around geographic space.

Invited lecture series. Perspectives and endeavors of entrepreneurs and thought leaders who address social needs in the U.S. and internationally through private, for-profit and nonprofit organizations or public institutions.

Interdisciplinary student teams create and develop U.S. and international social entrepreneurship initiatives. Proposed initiatives may be new entities, or innovative projects, partnerships, and/or strategies impacting existing organizations and social issues in the U.S. and internationally. Focus is on each team¿s research and on planning documents to further project development. Project development varies with the quarter and the skill set of each team, but should include: issue and needs identification; market research; design and development of an innovative and feasible solution; and drafting of planning documents. In advanced cases, solicitation of funding and implementation of a pilot project. Enrollment limited to 20. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 131 and 132, or consent of instructor.

Comparative approach to sustainable cities, with focus on international practices and applicability to China. Tradeoffs regarding land use, infrastructure, energy and water, and the need to balance economic vitality, environmental quality, cultural heritage, and social equity. Student teams collaborate with Chinese faculty and students partners to support urban sustainability projects. Limited enrollment via application; see internationalurbanization.org for details. Prerequisites: consent of the instructor(s).

Environmental, economic, and equity aspects of urban transportation in 21st-century U.S. Expanded choices in urban and regional mobility that do not diminish resources for future generations. Implications for the global environment and the livability of communities.