Urban Economics (PE 4409) with Prof. Veronika Dolar
Cities are home to half the world’s seven billion people and contribute to about three-fourths of global economic output. An additional three billion people are estimated to live in cities by 2050, increasing the urban share of the world’s population to two-thirds.
Yet, cities and urban areas across the world face major challenges: poverty, unemployment, poor housing and lack of basic services for over 1 billion slum dwellers, constraints on productivity due to lack of basic infrastructure, and a concentration risk due to natural disasters and climate change. This classical view of the city, as a site of unsolvable problems, has inhibited interest and investment in them as sites of opportunity and change.
Sustainable cities build on the extraordinary potential of urban areas to enable change due to the concentration of economic activity, innovation, and job creation; the potential for social transformation, high levels of concentration of culture, people, infrastructure and buildings and the ability to redefine the relationship between rural and urban, and thereby enable rural prosperity.
Here in the US, America’s cities are home to more than 80 percent of Americans and around 85 percent of US production. They will determine the future of sustainable development in the United States.
In this course we will look at the following issues:
Yet, cities and urban areas across the world face major challenges: poverty, unemployment, poor housing and lack of basic services for over 1 billion slum dwellers, constraints on productivity due to lack of basic infrastructure, and a concentration risk due to natural disasters and climate change. This classical view of the city, as a site of unsolvable problems, has inhibited interest and investment in them as sites of opportunity and change.
Sustainable cities build on the extraordinary potential of urban areas to enable change due to the concentration of economic activity, innovation, and job creation; the potential for social transformation, high levels of concentration of culture, people, infrastructure and buildings and the ability to redefine the relationship between rural and urban, and thereby enable rural prosperity.
Here in the US, America’s cities are home to more than 80 percent of Americans and around 85 percent of US production. They will determine the future of sustainable development in the United States.
In this course we will look at the following issues:
- An overview of governance, land management, utilities, and other entities that make up urban systems
- Understanding how poverty, health, economic opportunity, and other people-focused issues impact urban systems and development
- How technology is shaping transportation, energy, urban resilience, and more
- Case Studies featuring London, Durban, Mumbai, and of course New York!
This course content is offered under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. Content in this course can be considered under this license unless otherwise noted.
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