Urban Inequality

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In this course we will study urban inequality and the social processes and policies that both sustain and dismantle it. Why are American cities so racially and economically segregated? What are the consequences of these divisions? What can social policy do to address urban inequality? An interrogation of the role of space, race, and policy will be central to our inquiry throughout the semester. We will examine both the historical roots as well as the contemporary causes of concentrated poverty and racial segregation in the American city, considering explanations related to macroeconomic change, policy, and social processes such as discrimination. The course will cover a range of policy domains, especially those that focus on housing and neighborhoods. We will learn how the neighborhood acts as a mechanism shaping individual outcomes. Students will develop an understanding of urban social problems such as poverty, segregation, joblessness, housing affordability, residential mobility, crime, and related policy interventions including public assistance, public housing, housing vouchers, urban redevelopment, the criminal justice system, and more. We will interrogate the changing landscape of urban inequality and consider processes such as suburbanization, gentrification, and privatization. The course relies heavily on cases studies in local contexts across the United States. Readings are arranged both chronologically and thematically, in order to highlight the interplay of historical changes in the American urban landscape with policy perspectives and practices.