Urban Life in the Global South

Cities in the so-called “Global South” – from Jakarta to Johannesburg, Lima to Lahore, Dakar to Delhi – are vibrant, complex, and key to the future of our rapidly urbanizing world. While undoubtedly places of challenge and conflict, these cities are also hotbeds of creativity and activism, where alternative ways of building, governing, and sustaining urban communities take shape. This course first traces the historical forces of colonialism, nationalism, and globalization that have shaped cities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, before delving into a range of social, political, and environmental issues that local city-dwellers and their leaders grapple with today.