Corso di Laurea Magistrale Interateneo in Geografia e Scienze Territoriali (LM-80)

Urban political ecology

Urban political ecology

Anno accademico 2023/2024

Sommario insegnamento

• Obiettivi formativi
• Risultati dell'apprendimento attesi
• Programma
• Modalità di insegnamento
• Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
• Testi consigliati e bibliografia
• Strumenti didattici
• Scheda del corso

Obiettivi formativi

The course offers theoretical and methodological approaches considered by political ecologists to critically understand power struggles, crises and inequality in urban and city environments, and socio-ecological systems in general, across the globe. During the course students are expected to centre on conflict, power and the uneven distribution of environmental costs and benefits, especially in a climate change perspective, and critically understand how and why struggles over the environment and struggles for social justice and equity intersect and have a specific urban/spatial/environmentaldimension.

Theories and approaches developed in (urban) political ecology will help students to acquire autonomy of judgement in interpreting contemporary spatial transformation phenomena. Communication and debate skills will be developed through the analysis and discussion of case studies and examples that are also meant to stimulate the choice of appropriate analytical methodologies to study urban political ecology issues.

Risultati dell'apprendimento attesi

The main objective of the course is to train students to critically understand phenomena related to urban political ecology and, at the same time, expand their methodological capacity in social sciences, increasing their skills in case study analysis. Attending this course, the student is thus expected to understand the relationship between nature, economy, and politics/policy in the development and transformation of urban areas. For the purpose of this course cities and urban areas are not considered as opposite to nature but rather part of it and the dominant form of living/settling of humans in the contemporary age.

Cities and urban areas are also considered as crucial for the transition in climate change, so attention will be paid to understand key socio-ecological challenges for urban environments, as well as to the uneven distribution of environmental costs and benefits. Socio-ecological challenges will be understood and analysed using concepts and methodologies of social sciences that are applied in a spatial perspective. Furthermore, the student will acquire the ability to define a specific theoretical framework for the analysis of a certain phenomenon, so to potentially draft an essay.

Programma

This course focuses on key issues of political ecology and, in specific, or urban political ecology (60% of the total duration of the course):

• the urbanization of nature;
• critical approaches to/radical imaginaries emerging from urban environmental risks and crises;
• environmental (climate) change and spatial/environmental justice issues;
• postcolonial urban political ecologies;
• intersectional and embodied urban political ecologies.

The course mixes frontal lectures with common discussion of contemporary ecological challenges at different territorial scales. Once the first part of the course has been developed, students will be asked to actively take part to thematic lessons, built on the above mentioned topics (40% of the remaining duration of the course). External experts could also be called to bring in specific points of view, and the ability of students to understand and discuss contemporary socio-economic phenomena will be tested and strengthened.

Modalità di insegnamento

The first part of the course, 2/3 more or less, is of ex cathedra lessons to introduce main concepts and first methodological skills that will be useful for the second part. The remaining lessons will see both ex cathedra lessons and collective debate on specific issues, experts seminars, and the discussion of the different essays potentially written by the students.

Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento

Exams will be different for students that will regularly follow lessons (i.e. take part to at least 80% of the lessons) and for those that will, or can, not attend.

Regular students can choose between an oral exam or one made of two parts.

The oral exam will consists of three questions, equally important to determine the final mark and for a time span of up to 40 minutes. Each question will include a short discussion with the professor (thus is will not be a question requiring a short answer, as in the case of a definition or a specific norm). Questions are related to the key concepts presented in the course syllabus:

• the urbanization of nature;
• critical approaches to/radical imaginaries emerging from urban environmental risks and crises;
• environmental (climate) change and spatial/environmental justice issues;
• postcolonial urban political ecologies;
• intersectional and embodied urban political ecologies.

The oral exam divided in two parts will consist in: (1) a short essay (written in English), whose topic - related to one of the three key concepts as described in the course syllabus - will be discussed with the professor in advance; (2) one question on one of the other two key concepts as described in the course syllabus (same rules about questions apply as in the case of the fully oral exam). The final mark will be based on the work for the essay and the answers to the question.

There are no key textbooks for the course. Reading lists for each lesson or topic will consist of academic articles and book chapters that will be made available to the students during the term and before the topic is dealt with. Further referenceswill be made available to those students that will choose to prepare a short essay for the exam. Being the choice of the topic of the essay a student prerogative within the framework of the course topics, references will be provided accordingly.

Students that have not attended classes will prepare for an oral exam that will evaluate knowledge of, and competences on, the course topics. This oral exam will consist of five questions, for a time span of up to 50 minutes, equally important to determine the final mark. Each question will include a short discussion with the professor (thus is will not be a question requiring a short answer, as in the case of a definition or a specific norm). The questions will cover the key concepts described in the course syllabus and, specifically for these students, they will study on academic articles and the book that are listed in the bibliography.

There are no key textbooks for the course. Reading lists for each lesson or topic will consist of academic articles and book chapters that will be made available to the students during the term and before the topic is dealt with. Further referenceswill be made available to those students that will choose to prepare a short essay for the exam. Being the choice of the topic of the essay a student prerogative within the framework of the course topics, references will be provided accordingly.

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