URBAN POLITICS

PSIR545

Course Code: PSIR545
Semester: -
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 10

Course Type

Elective Course

Course Level

Master's Degree With Thesis

Year of Study

Semester

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Professor Saime Özçürümez

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

kentsel siyaset teorilerini ve kavramlarını ileri düzeyde öğrenir.
devlet, piyasa ve sivil toplumun kentsel mekanları ve etkileşimleri şekillendirişini inceler.
kentsel yönetişim, planlama, toplumsal hareketler ve kentsel siyasetin geleceği arasındaki etki-leşimleri inceler.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

No recommended optional programme components.

Course Description

This graduate seminar examines the political, social and economic dimensions of urban life. The course aims to accomplish three tasks. First, it aims to advance knowledge on the theore-tical and conceptual frameworks explaining urban politics. Second, it aims to discuss the the-mes of urban governance, development, inequality, urban planning, public services, security and civil society activism wthin the city in comparative perspective. Third, it aims to advance questions on how urbanization impacts human mobility and societal interactions toward the future globally.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Introduction to Urban Politics
2^nd Week	Theories of the City
3^rd Week	Urbanism
4^th Week	Urban Governance
5^th Week	Urban Inequality
6^th Week	The Right to the City
7^th Week	Gentrification and Development
8^th Week	Surveillance and the City
9^th Week	Urban Citizenship and Belonging
10^th Week	Urban Social Movements
11^th Week	Globalization and Cities
12^th Week	Infrastructure and the Politics of Urban Space
13^th Week	Climate Sustainability and Urban Resilience
14^th Week	Migration, Diversity and Urban Inclusion

Recommended or Required Reading

Trounstine, Jessica. 2009. ?All Politics is Local: The Reemergence of the Study of City Poli-tics,? Perspectives, 7, 611-619.
Kotkin, Joel.2016. The Human City: Urbanism for the Rest of Us. Agate.Chp1, Chp2, Chp3, Chp5.
Dreier, Peter, John Mollenkopf and Todd Swanstrom. 2014. Place Matters (third edition). University Press of Kansas.Chp1.
Fainstein, Susan, and Scott Campbell. 2011. Readings in Urban Theory. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Limited. Chp1, Chp3, Chp11, Chp12, Chp14, Chp20, Chp22, Chp26.
Jonathan S. Davies and David L. Imbroscio, eds. 2008. Theories of Urban Politics (2nd edi-tion). Sage, Chp1, Chp6, Chp10, Chp11, Chp15, Chp16.
Trounstine, Jessica. 2010. ?Representation and Accountability in Cities.? Annual Review of Political Science 13: 407-423.
Hyra, Derek. 2012. ?Conceptualizing the new urban renewal: Comparing the past to the pre-sent.? Urban Affairs Review, 48(4), 498-527.
Sellers, Jefferey, Anders Lidstrom and Yooil Bae. 2020. Multilevel Democracy: How Local Institutions and Civil Society Shape the Modern State, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chp. 1.
Sassen, Saskia. (2005). ?The Global City: Introducing a Concept?. Brown Journal of World Affairs, 11: 27-43.
Wellman, Barry. 2018. Networks in the Global Village: Life in Contemporary Communities. New York: Routledge. Chp1, Chp4, Chp5, Chp8, Chp10.
Joy, Meghan, and Ronald K. Vogel. 2015. ?Toronto?s Governance Crisis: A Global City un-der Pressure.? Cities 49: 35?52.
Siemiatycki, Myer. 2011. ?Governing Immigrant City.? American Behavioral Scientist 55(9): 1214?34.
Cannon, C., Chu, E., Natekal, A. et al. 2023. Translating and embedding equity-thinking into climate adaptation: an analysis of US cities. Reg Environ Change 23, 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02025-2.
Tiwari, A. 2025. Conceptualising the emergence of Agentic Urban AI: from automation to agency. Urban Info 4, 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44212-025-00079-7.
Seijas, A. 2025. Embracing a 24-hour cycle in urban governance. Nat Cities 2, 472?473 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00253-7.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Presentation

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Assignment	3	25
Project	1	50
Oral Exam	15	25
Total(%)		100
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		100
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		0
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	5	70
Preparation for Final exam
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
Homework	3	45	135
Project	1	55	55
Total Work Load			302
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			10.06
ECTS Credit of the Course			10

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6
K7
K8