Courses

The microeconomics of U.S. urban development patterns from the industrial revolution to the present. Decentralization of economic activity and population; the resulting urban problems and possible solutions to these problems.

This course will deal with infectious diseases in American cities over time. Severe epidemics of contagious disease are a creation of civilization, requiring as they do the large population that crowded cities provide. The course will deal with a number of devastating diseases (among them tuberculosis, cholera, syphilis, hepatitis, polio, and AIDS) and their effect on city life. The social construction of disease and the changing cultural meanings of different diseases will be dealt with.

Examination of the ways that rapid urbanization in the world today produces unequal food systems, impacting the ways we eat, access, grow, ship, and sell food. The course covers the unequal environmental and health consequences of our industrial food system, designed to feed large urban populations.

A review of health problems affecting the urban population. Emphasis on overpopulation, pollution, housing, and accidents. 1235 / 1272 Queens College

Selected topics from among the following: industrial capitalism, the transformation of agriculture, urbanization and its effects, the labor movement, African-American Movements, the Progressive Movement, the Spanish-American War, and World War I.

Introduction to the field of urban studies investigating why cities are places of economic and political opportunity for some and of deprivation, discrimination, violence, and impoverishment for others. Exploration of different theories of urban poverty and inequality and examination of the impact of immigration, racial segregation, suburbanization, public policies, and social movements on U.S. cities and their inhabitants.

Changing job structures and labor force patterns and trends are considered in relation to employment and unemployment, education, discrimination, government programs, labor unions, business policy, and economic and social change. Human Resource development and policy are studied in the urban setting.

Introduction to the nature of work and work organization in contemporary urban settings. Topics include the social organization of work, changes in the composition of the work force, the impact of technology on work and workers, and the organization of workers through labor unions and other forms of worker organization. The evolution of work and worker organization from the beginning of industrialization through the shift to a service-oriented economy will be central focus of the course.

Introduction to the nature of work and work organization in contemporary urban settings. Topics include the social organization of work, changes in the composition of the work force, the impact of technology on work and workers, and the organization of workers through labor unions and other forms of worker organization. The evolution of work and worker organization from the beginning of industrialization through the shift to a service-oriented economy will be central focus of the course.

How Americans designed and built towns and cities; an examination of the city- building process, emphasizing landmark urban plans.