Teaching code

4S01967

Teacher

Angela Alaimo

Coordinator

Angela Alaimo

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-GGR/01 - GEOGRAPHY

Period

First half of Semester 1 , Second half of Semester 1

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning outcomes

The Urban Geography course aims at teaching students new points of view for the analyses of the city. This approach aims at understanding not just the facts, but also the interpretations provided by the residents, according to the hermeneutical paradigm of knowledge. To that end, the course stimulates the students to develop a scientific curiosity towards the geographical areas and the social actors they study (starting from the city and its inhabitants).

Teaching methods
Lectures, Classroom Exercises, Seminars, Surveys & Inspections.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION ABILITIES

The students shall acquire those tools that can help them understand the most recent evolutions of urban history (globalization, de-urbanization, etc.) and the implications of the use of maps and models. This knowledge will help the students navigate through urban studies, by adopting the peculiar approach of social sciences.
This goal is achieved by attending lectures and seminars, participating in on-the- spot inspections, and library researches.
The educational tools used for this goal are Power Point presentations, along with geography handbooks and manuals.
2. ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION

The students will apply the theoretical concepts they have learnt during the lectures and their individual study in a series of practical activities in classroom. The following activities will help the students apply their knowledge: classroom exercises, seminars, inspections, individual or group researches.

3. JUDGEMENT AUTONOMY


Each student is invited, both individually and in group, to express his/her own personal opinions on the area he/she has studied and the people he/she has met.
The students will be invited to study and acquire the best practices of social participation achieved through qualitative techniques of analysis, as well as developing teamworking skills and the ability to act as facilitators in participation processes.

4. COMMUNICATION ABILITIES

Teamworking and seminars allow the students to acquire communication abilities by using diverse media, like oral presentations, graphical representations (e.g. mental maps), written texts and Power Point presentations. The final goal is to understand and master the diverse languages used by residents, city users, politicians, etc.
The students will discuss these topics through oral presentations, graphical representations and written texts.
The educational tools used for these goals include thematic maps, ideograms, photographic and hypertextual presentations.

Program

SUGGESTED BBLIOGRAPHY
For attending students:
1) DEMATTEIS G., LANZA C., Le città del mondo. Una geografia urbana, Torino, UTET, 2014 (seconda edizione; I capitoli indicati a lezione da integrare con i materiali forniti durante il corso);
2) DALL’Ò G., Smart city, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014.
For non-attending students:
1) DEMATTEIS G., LANZA C., Le città del mondo. Una geografia urbana, Torino, UTET, 2014 (seconda edizione);
2) ROSSI U., VANOLO A., Geografia politica urbana, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2010;
3) One chosen from this two options:
- DALL’Ò G., Smart city, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014;
- VIANELLO M., Smart Cities. Gestire la complessità urbana nell’era di Internet, Santarcangelo di Romagna (RN), Maggioli editore, 2013.



PROGRAMM
Lesson 1
The key words of urban geography
Lesson 2
Geographical representations
Lesson 3
The geographer in the city: methods of analysis
Lesson 4
Definitions of town and city. Cities of trade, of power, of production, of knowledge and culture, of tourism.
Lesson 5
From the country to the city; the urbanization of the world. Counter-urbanization and de-urbanization. Urban life cycle.
Lesson 6
From the city to the country: urban growth and dispersion. Metropolitan areas.
Lesson 7
Urban functions and urban growth. Tertiary and quaternary sectors.
Lesson 8
Urban populations. Ghettos and gentrification.
Lesson 9
Urban systems and urban networks. Global cities.
Lesson 10
Smart cities: sostainable, smart and creative
Lesson 11
Politics as representation. Images and representations in the strategies of urban development.
Lesson 12
Politics as government. Urban neoliberalism: from the triumph to the crisis.
Lesson 13
Politics as protest. Urban justice: struggles and reclaiming. Conclusions and assessment of the experiences done so far.

Examination Methods

Oral Exam and (for attending students) participation in teamworking in class.

Evaluation criteria

The student will have to answer at least three oral questions, on all of the topics described in the list below (see 'Suggested Bibliography'), as studied in the suggested readings list provided below. There will be at least one question for each suggested book.
The final evaluation aims at appraising whether the student possesses a good knowledge and comprehension of the topics, and whether he/she has acquired the ability to interpret and the autonomously judge actual cases (i.e. the geographical areas he/she studied or analyzed).
The lowest evaluation grade will be achieved if the student proves his/her knowledge and comprehension of the main subjects, at least within a general framework, and can apply that knowledge. The student shall also be able to present to the examiner, while competently discussing, the topics related to Urban Geography in a successful way. Below that threshold, the student will not be able to pass the examination. On the contrary, the more the student will be able to interact with the examiner and discuss the topics, and the more he/she will prove to have acquired the basics of Urban Geography and of the techniques of qualitative research, the higher will the evaluation grade be.
The evaluation grades range is comprised between 18 and 30, according to the following criteria:

Excellent (30 – 30 e lode): Excellent knowledge of the subjects studied in the course, excellent language skills, good analytical and interpretative capacity; the student is fully able to apply qualitative social techniques to interpret geographic phenomena.
Very good (26-29): Good mastery of the subjects studied in the course, very good language skills; the student is able to apply qualitative social research techniques to interpret geographic phenomena.
Good (24-25): Knowledge of the main subjects studied in the course, good language skills; the student shows a limited ability to apply qualitative techniques to interpret geographic phenomena.
Average (21-23): Basic knowledge of some subjects studied in the course, adequate language skills; poor ability to autonomously apply qualitative techniques to interpret geographic phenomena.
Pass (18-20): Minimal knowledge of some geographic subjects and of the technical language; very poor or inexistent ability to autonomously apply qualitative techniques to interpret geographic phenomena.
Fail: The student does not have an acceptable knowledge of the subjects studied in the Urban Geography course.

ERASMUS students are requested to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on the teaching and examination methods together.