Seminar 4: Planning the Future of New York

Instructor: Logan McBride
Tuesdays, 12:00 PM – 2:40 PM
Course Code: MHC 240
Modality: Online Synchronous

Having examined a variety of important aspects of the past and present of New York City in the previous seminars, in this fourth and final seminar students analyze the interplay of social, economic, and political forces that shape the physical form and social dynamics of New York City. Students learn to conduct in-depth study of important urban policy and planning issues facing the city, such as homelessness, gentrification, race and racism, education, public health, approaches to criminal justice, mass transit and vehicular congestion, urban ecological preservation and sustainability, environmental justice, and economic development. By studying agents of change – federal, state, and city governments, public authorities, private sector interests, community boards, nonprofit organizations, community activists, and others – students come to appreciate the roles people take or are given in decision-making processes and the ways these roles are affected by historical and contemporary patterns of access, inequality, and the mechanisms of power. Culminating projects of this seminar are presented in a cross-campus conference setting, with small groups of students explaining their investigations of crucial issues affecting the future of New York City, and proposals for addressing them.

In this section, we will use the criminal legal system as a lens through which to analyze the workings and dynamics of power in the Big Apple (and the Empire State). Through scholarly works, city and state public documents and proceedings, organizational studies, first-hand experiences and memoir, and journalistic reports, we will deepen our understanding of the many and diverse ways in which these issues have shaped and continue to shape our lives. Together we will examine issues of crime and questions of reform, and consider policies and future planning that will yield greater safety, equity, and justice for all New Yorkers.


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