Seminar on the history of selected features of the physical environment of urban America. Among the features considered are parks, cemeteries, tenements, suburbs, zoos, skyscrapers, department stores, supermarkets, and amusement parks. Focuses on readings and discussions.

Seminar on downtown in US cities from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth. Emphasis on downtown as an idea, place, and cluster of interests, on the changing character of downtown, and on recent efforts to rebuild it. Subjects considered include subways, skyscrapers, highways, urban renewal, and retail centers. Focus on readings, discussions, and individual research projects. Meets with graduate subject 11.339, but assignments differ.

David Boeri reports that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) held a press conference in Roxbury to unveil plans for a new housing and commercial development to be built on a vacant lot in Douglass Square. Boeri notes that the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) cleared the land in the 1960s and never rebuilt on the lot. Boeri adds that the owners and developers of the new project are African American. Boeri's report includes footage from the press conference. Flynn and Bruce Bolling (Boston City Council) talk about the new development. Flynn says that all neighborhoods and all residents must share in the growth of the city. Bolling says that the proposal for the creation of Mandela, Massachusetts is a 'dead issue.' Boeri reports that Flynn held a unity breakfast with Roxbury community leaders today. He adds that Bolling and other Mandela opponents believe that the new development signifies a renewed commitment to the Roxbury neighborhood by the city of Boston.

This course examines the economic, political, social, and spatial dynamics of urban growth and decline in cities and their key component areas (downtown, suburbs, etc.). Topics include impacts of industrialization, technology, politics, and social practices on cities. Students will examine the role of public and private sector activities, ranging from zoning and subsidies to infrastructure development and real estate investment, in affecting urban growth and decline. Readings are both theoretical and empirical, with considerable thought paid to comparative and historical differences.

Examines the evolving structure of cities and the way that cities, suburbs, and metropolitan areas can be designed and developed. Guest speakers present cases, involving current projects, which illustrate the scope and methods of urban design practice. This is a class about how cities, suburbs, and metropolitan areas change. It is an introductory subject for undergraduates that examines both the evolving structure of the American metropolis and the ways that it can be designed and developed. Topics range from grand ideas proposed by single individuals to smaller more incremental processes carried out through collaboration by a variety of contending parties. You will see how cities and suburbs have been changed in the past and how you and others may help change them in the future.

Examines the role that courts and grassroots groups play in shaping public policy, at the global level and in selected countries. Primary focus on the impact of the relationship between courts and grassroots activism, on current issues like trade, environmental regulation, and human rights enforcement. In addition to recent international public policy institutional processes including the World Trade Organization and the World Bank, case studies from key countries like the US and India are examined. Introduction to theoretical frameworks from legal and social movement theories applied to court opinions, legislation, treaties, law-related articles, and policy-oriented materials.

The course draws on faculty members from the Center for Real Estate, the City Design and Development Group (Department of Urban Studies and Planning), and the Media Lab to explore extraordinary projects that challenge conventional approaches to real estate development, urban design, and advanced digital technology.

This landscape and environmental planning workshop investigates and propose a framework for the enhancement, development and preservation of the natural and cultural landscape of the Cardener River Corridor in Catalunya Spain. The workshop is carried out in conjunction with the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, and the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona).

The Springfield Studio is a practicum design course that focuses on the economic, programmatic and social renewal of an urban community in Springfield, Massachusetts by combining classroom work with an applied class project. The course content covers the areas of neighborhood economic development and the related analysis and planning tools used to understand and assess urban conditions from an economic and community development perspective. Urban design issues are investigated in the context of social and economic challenges within the community.

The Springfield Studio is a practicum design course that focuses on the physical, programmatic, and social renewal of an urban community in Springfield, Massachusetts by combining classroom work with an applied class project. The course content covers the areas of physical design/urban design and the related analysis and planning tools used to understand and assess urban conditions from a design and development perspective. Urban design issues are investigated in the context of social and economic challenges within the community. Thus, the course has dual goals: Analyze physical conditions in the community, assess community need, propose physical design interventions; and Assess community capacity and programmatic needs. The ultimate goal is to explore the integration of social, programmatic and physical development interventions in ways that reinforce community revitalization efforts, and to apply this knowledge through the development of a formal neighborhood revitalization plan that addresses community needs.