Urban Development in the Global South

MGDI20232 Urban Development in the Global South 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 2 Isis Barei-Guyot Unit coordinator Global Development Institute 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 This course explores the processes, actors, and power relations shaping urban development in the global South, with a central focus on how urban inequalities are produced, contested, and transformed. Course content will engage with both mainstream and critical urban theories to interrogate how knowledge on the urban is produced, and to support students in critically analysing pressing urban challenges and responses. Through interactive tutorial sessions, students will connect theory to practice whilst strengthening their analytical and communication skills.Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and by 2050, nearly 70% of people are projected to be urban residents. As the world becomes increasingly urban, cities in Asia and Africa will account for much of this urban growth. Cities in the global South are, therefore, critical sites where key development challenges such as poverty, inequality, gender-based violence, and climate change must be addressed.  Cities are central to the global economy, generating over 80% of global GDP. Yet this concentration of the most productive economic activities often comes alongside deepening inequalities and exclusions. As a result, urban authorities, planners, and communities face the challenge of managing rapid urbanisation whilst advancing more inclusive and sustainable forms of urban development.The course focuses primarily on cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with selective comparisons to cities in the global North. Drawing on development studies, urban studies, urban planning and policy, geography, and the knowledge produced by grassroots organisations, this course offers an interdisciplinary understanding of urban change in the global South.   This course explores the processes, actors, and power relations shaping urban development in the global South, with a central focus on how urban inequalities are produced, contested, and transformed. Course content will engage with both mainstream and critical urban theories to interrogate how knowledge on the urban is produced, and to support students in critically analysing pressing urban challenges and responses. Through interactive tutorial sessions, students will connect theory to practice whilst strengthening their analytical and communication skills.Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and by 2050, nearly 70% of people are projected to be urban residents. As the world becomes increasingly urban, cities in Asia and Africa will account for much of this urban growth. Cities in the global South are, therefore, critical sites where key development challenges such as poverty, inequality, gender-based violence, and climate change must be addressed.  Cities are central to the global economy, generating over 80% of global GDP. Yet this concentration of the most productive economic activities often comes alongside deepening inequalities and exclusions. As a result, urban authorities, planners, and communities face the challenge of managing rapid urbanisation whilst advancing more inclusive and sustainable forms of urban development.The course focuses primarily on cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with selective comparisons to cities in the global North. Drawing on development studies, urban studies, urban planning and policy, geography, and the knowledge produced by grassroots organisations, this course offers an interdisciplinary understanding of urban change in the global South.   The unit aims to:<ol><li>Examine the historical and contemporary urbanisation patterns in the Global South, with attention to political, socioeconomic, and environmental concerns </li><li>Understand key urban policy debates and challenges in the Global South, such as securing access to shelter, tackling climate change, and promoting healthy cities.</li><li>Analyse informality, poverty, and urban exclusions across several domains, while also exploring how urban inequalities can be addressed.</li><li>Critically examine the global processes shaping urban development trajectories and inequalities in the Global South.</li><li>Critically assess the potential contributions of grassroots organisations to generating knowledge and advancing development alternatives in cities of the South. </li><li>Appreciate the diversity amongst city dwellers and explore intersectional approaches to urban development. </li><li>Develop transferable skills that enhance future employability, such as sustaining a clear argument with evidence, and communicating ideas both verbally and in writing  </li></ol> The course introduces the core features of urban development in the Global South, equipping students with the analytical tools required to critically engage with global and urban challenges and preparing them for further academic study and/or employment in a range of urban- and development-related fields.Tutorials and assessments are designed to develop transferable employability skills, including critical analysis, research, digital literacy, teamwork, and written and verbal communication. These skills are developed through collaborative activities, discussions and formative and summative assessments.The course supports progression into careers in development, policy, urban planning, NGOs, the public and voluntary sectors, as well as postgraduate study. <ul><li>Describe current trends in urbanisation and the links between cities and economic development, including how urbanisation patterns vary across the Global South</li><li>Explain key challenges such as urban poverty; inadequate shelter; climate change; and a range of environmental, socioeconomic, and political exclusions in cities</li><li>Analyse the influence of global processes on urban development trajectories and inequalities in the Global South.</li><li>Explore the role of grassroots organisations (led by informal workers and residents of informal settlements) and inclusive partnerships in addressing urban challenges.  </li></ul> <ul><li>Critically assess various policy approaches to tackling inadequate housing, infrastructure, and other urban challenges</li><li>Use a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach to understand cities’ complex divides.</li><li>Explore urban inequalities by drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives and both qualitative and quantitative data.</li></ul> <ul><li>Communicating analytically to distinct and for academic audiences.</li><li>Independently gather and analyse a range of case studies from cities in the Global South.</li></ul> <ul><li>Develop a critical and analytical argument, making use of appropriate evidence on cities in the Global South</li></ul> Indicative curriculum content<ul><li>Week 1: Urbanisation and development  </li><li>Week 2: Histories of Urbanisation -Colonial and Postcolonial Perspectives <ul><li>Tutorial 1: Comparing different theoretical perspectives on urban development in the Global South </li></ul></li><li>Week 3: Urban inequalities and intersectionality </li><li>Week 4: Geopolitics and cities of the Global South </li><li>Week 5: Urban land transformations in cities of the Global South <ul><li>Tutorial 2: Dialogic presentation: Drawing on one case study city from the global South, explore how colonial legacies shape urban inequality and everyday life.</li></ul></li><li>Week 6: Politics and power in cities of the Global South  </li><li>Week 7: Urban reform coalitions<ul><li>Tutorial 3: Case study analysis of power relations in settlement upgrading</li></ul></li><li>Week 8: Urban informality </li><li>Week 9: Community-led solutions in urban infrastructure <ul><li>Tutorial 4: Role of grassroots organisations in challenging dominant models of urban development (focus on SDI)</li></ul></li><li>Week 10: Urban health and climate change <ul><li>Essay workshop & Careers workshop </li></ul></li><li>Week 11: Urban violence, safety and security</li></ul> The course is delivered through weekly lectures and tutorials, as follows:<ul><li>Weekly lectures (2 hours) that provide a critical overview of each topic and include opportunities for interaction via small group activities; and </li><li>Bi-weekly tutorials (2 hours) that will feature group-based activities based on discussion of key readings. There will also be discussion of short films, interviews, or other media (including media produced by grassroots organisations in the Global South).</li></ul>Lecture slides, reading lists and tutorial instructions will be provided on Canvas in advanceStructure of Lectures and Tutorials The course is organised into three thematic parts:The first part (Weeks 1-3) examines key debates on cities and development, tracing urban trajectories from the colonial times to present. Students are introduced to both mainstream and critical urban theories to develop the analytical tools needed to examine urban phenomena and to critically reflect on how knowledge on the urban is produced. This section also explores the nature of urban poverty and inequality, introducing a gendered and intersectional lens.The second part (Weeks 4-7) focuses on the global processes shaping contemporary urban development and inequality, drawing an urban political economy approach to understand the structural multi-scalar forces influencing urban change. The third part (Weeks 8-11) examines how urban inequalities are transformed and contested in practice, with particular attention to grassroots movements and community-led struggles for more inclusive urban futures.   0 Other 30% 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 70% <ol><li>Pre-recorded video assessment (group): Using at least one case study from the global South, examine how global finance shapes contemporary urban development, and the implications of this influence for urban inequality. (weighting 30%)</li><li>Individual essay (2500 words): Students will discuss a key theme from the course using illustrative case studies from the Global South (weighting 70%)</li></ol> Verbal feedback: Students will have the opportunity to request and receive non-evaluative, specific feedback on their ideas about their assessments during tutorials immediately prior to the submission of each assessment.Written feedback will be provided via the VLE for the two assessemnts consistent with University policy  BSc Global Development BSc (Hons) Global Development Second Year Optional Y Bhan, G., Srinivas, S. and Watson, V., eds. (2018). Routledge Companion to Planning in the Global South. RoutledgeGoodfellow, Tom and Sean Fox (2016). Cities and Development (2nd Ed.), Routledge.Miraftab, Faranak and Kudva, Neema (2015). Cities of the Global South Reader. RoutledgeUrbanisation and Development  Goldman, M. (2014). "Development and the city": Essay written for cities of the global south reader (2015). In Cities of the Global South Reader (pp. 54-65). Taylor and Francis.Levy, C., (2017). Urban development in the Global South. In The Essential Guide to Critical Development Studies. Routledge. pp. 328-337.Colonial Legacies: Urban Planning and Development  Goodfellow, T. (2022). Politics and the urban frontier: Transformation and divergence in late urbanizing East Africa. Oxford. (Chapter 3). Parnell, S., & Oldfield, S. (Eds.) (2014). The Routledge handbook on cities of the global South. Routledge. (Chapter 3, 8 & 9)   Urban Inequalities, Gender, and IntersectionalityKirk, R. (2024) Neoliberal necropolitics and the global competition for urban dominance. Geoforum, 155, 104107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.104107Chant, S., & McIlwaine, C. (2015). Cities, Slums and Gender in the Global South: Towards a feminised urban future. Routledge.Carastathis , A. (2016). Intersectionality: Origins, Contestations, Horizons. University of Nebraska Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1fzhfz8 Urban land transformationsGillespie, T. (2020). The real estate frontier. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 44(4), 599-616. Gillespie, T., & Mwau, B. (2024). Road Corridors as Real Estate Frontiers: The New Urban Geographies of Rentier Capitalism in Africa. Antipode, 56(6), 2136-2156.Geopolitics Apostolopoulou, Elia, et al. (2024). Cities on the New Silk Road: The global urban geographies of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Urban Geography, 45(6), 1095-1114.Bathla, N. (2024). Extended urbanisation and the politics of uncertainty: The contested pathways of highway corridors in India. The Geographical Journal, 190(1), e12441.Schindler, S., & Kanai, J. M. (2021). Getting the territory right: infrastructure-led development and the re-emergence of spatial planning strategies. Regional Studies, 55(1), 40-51.Urban informality  Lombard, M. and Horn, P. (2024) Urban Informality: An Introduction, Bristol University Press: Bristol - Chapter 3: ‘Living Informally’.Moser, C. (2009) Ordinary Families, Extraordinary Lives, Washington: Brookings Institution Press - Chapter 3: ‘A Home of One’s Own: Squatter Housing as a Physical Asset’.Turner, J. (1972) ‘Housing as a Verb’, in J. Turner and R. Fichter (eds), Freedom to Build: Dweller control of the housing process, New York: Collier-Macmillan, pp 148-75.Bottom-up development Satterthwaite, D. and D. Mitlin (2014). Reducing Urban Poverty in the Global South. London and New Mitlin, D. (2018). Beyond contention: urban social movements and their multiple approaches to secure transformation’ 30(2) Environment and Urbanization. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247818791012      Lectures 22 Practical classes & workshops 2 Tutorials 8 0 168