Race, Inequality, and Cities

This course explores the ways that understandings of race have shaped the modern American built environment, with attention to the impact of race on the spatialization of inequality and the responses of planners, activists, and policymakers to racial inequality. Bridging past and present, readings and lectures explore patterns of segregation and residence, the history and geography of racial difference, and the political economy of race, as well as civil rights battles over educational and housing segregation, urban redevelopment, gentrification, community control, and suburban sprawl. The course will consider the experience of a wide range of racialized groups and a variety of different built environments, including central cities, suburbs, \”ghettos,\” and reservations.