Knowledges and skills acquired during the course are tools of investigation in order to understand and design the urban realm in its materiality, intertwining the physical dimensions of settlements with socio-economical and political processes. At the end of the course, students will acquired knowledges and theoretical and methodological tools in order to understand the contemporary city and the dynamics of urbanization processes at different scales. Such knowledges will be applied to the interpretation of the contemporary urban phenomenon and its change, stimulating a critical stance through various teaching activities: lessons, discussions around different interpretations of the same phenomenon and detailed bibliographical references to specific topics. A seminar activity is especially devoted to the following skills: (i) reading and understanding articles published in international multidisciplinary journals (urban studies, city, international journal of urban and regional research etc.) and (ii) writing a scientific text in the field of urban studies (writing style, argumentation mode, use of bibliographic sources etc.). Knowledges and skills provided by the course are of particular relevance for students who intend to complete the Master degree with a thesis related to the urban question or, more generally, who intend to focus on urban issues at the international level.

Basic training in architecture studies, with particular reference to the evolution of the city and its changes.

The course covers the city and the urban studies international debate, with particular regard to the various paths that make up the framework of a so-called “critical urban theory". Therefore, particular attention is devoted to the main theoretical and methodological approaches aimed at investigating the multiple dimensions of the contemporary city and its changes, with particular reference to: economic dynamics; urban politics and urban policies issues; social and living innovations; spatial dimensions of inequalities. The course is divided into 3 main parts: - The evolution of urban knowledge: concepts and theories of urban studies (10 h); - Issues of the Contemporary City: Urban Practices; Places, flows, scales; Urban economies; Social justice and spatial justice; Cities, urban politics and democracy (30 h); - Universalism and particularity: planetary urbanization and post-colonial urban theory (15h) In addition, a reading and writing workshop (5 hours) will be conducted. For the preparation of the exam, students can organized an oral presentation (with a ppt) on one of the issues discussed during the lessons based on the references for the exam (reading materials) and articles published in well known international journals made available on the “POrtale della didattica”. This activity, carried on autonomously by the students, will be presented and discussed in a seminar activity scheduled in the last part of the course.

Having a theoretical character, the course is organized in frontal lectures. However, a workshop on sources, bibliographical references and writing methods and arguments for the elaboration of a scientific text in urban studies is planned.

Amin e N. Thrift (2002), Cities, reimagining the urban, Polity Press, Cambridge. Amin e Thrift (2017), Seeing like a city, Polity Press, Cambridge. Brenner N. and Schmidt C. (2015) , Towards a new epistemology of the urban?, City, 19, 2015, n. 2-3 pp. 151-182. Brenner N. (2018) Brenner N (2018) Debating Planetary Urbanization: For an Engaged Pluralism, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 36(3): 570–590. Scott A. and Storper M. (2015), The Nature of Cities: The Scope and Limits of Urban Theory, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39 (1): 1-15.

Lecture slides;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual essay;

The exam takes place in oral form and includes 3 questions for each student (1 for each thematic part in which the course is divided) in order to assess the knowledge of various interpretative paths of the international debate on urban studies and the acquisition of a critical approach to the understanding of the contemporary city. In order to strengthen their abilities, attending students can organized a ppt presentation on one of the topics discussed during the lessons working with the references of the courses and other articles of international journals (in English and / or French) made available on the “Portale della didattica”. The presentation accounts for the 30% of the final grade and is used as the starting point for the interview. Honours require active participation in the course and an outstanding critical knowledge of the topics covered

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.