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The 21st century will be an urban century with more people around the world residing in metropolitan regions than in any other form of human settlement. This urbanization is taking place in both the global North and the global South. Its implications are widespread: from environmental challenges to entrenched patterns of segregation to new configurations of politics and social movements. The Global Metropolitan Studies Initiative is concerned with this urban condition. Bringing together numerous faculty, this multidisciplinary endeavor supports research and houses graduate and undergraduate curricula. It is one of a handful of "strategic" initiatives selected by the UC Berkeley campus to mark a new generation of scholarship and to consolidate an emerging academic field.

Launch event: working group discussion for Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Tuesday, April 16, 5-7 pm in GSPP Room 250

For this launch event, we will be examining the topics of nutrition and health outcomes, and urban food and farming.

Co-sponsored by GMA and the Center for Global Healthy Cities, which are also co-supporters of the initiative. Discussion will feature the work of Maggi Kelly, Barbara Laraia and Steve Sugarman, experts on geospatial technologies, nutrition and health outcomes, and food law and policy.

Wine, beer, and appetizers will be provided -- RSVP here

Read more about the Tuesday, April 16 launch event for Sustainable Food Systems Initiative.

Urban Planning in the 21st Century Global South

Wednesday, April 17, 3-5 pm 305 Wurster
Panel featuring Peter Ngau and Mbathi Musyimi, University of Nairobi

Informal Settlements in Kenya: new directions and opportunities

Thursday, April 18, 2-4 pm 305 Wurster Hall
Presentations by Peter Ngau and Mbathi Musyimi, University of Nairobi

"Urban Politics in San Francisco: What Difference Does a City Make? (An Historical-Geographical View)"

Thursday, May 2, time TBA. Hosted by Richard Walker, Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley Geography Department location and time TBA

This and other Spring 2013 events are posted on the website and included in the Spring 2013 GMS Announcements PDF and the News and Events Page.

FACULTY

Global Metropolitan Studies has been authorized to fill five new faculty positions to build a permanent educational enterprise. Three new faculty members have been hired to date; two additional positions will be filled in coming years.

Core faculty are:

  • Jason Corburn, School of Public Health and Department of City & Regional Planning
  • James Holston, Department of Anthropology
  • Joan Walker, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
  • Alison Post, Department of Political Science.

Global Metropolitan Studies has more than70 faculty affiliates on campus. Core faculty come from the founding Departments of City and Regional Planning, Geography, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Political Science, Sociology, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. Additional faculty affiliates are from Anthropology, Architecture, the Energy and Resources Group, Environmental Science Policy and Management, History, Public Health, and Public Policy. Faculty members with an interest in metropolitan studies are invited to participate in the initiative’s activities.

TEACHING

Global Metropolitan Studies offers a Designated Emphasis for doctoral students, to supplement their disciplinary degrees. The DE has two tracks, Comparative Urban Studies and Infrastructure & Environment, and includes two core courses and dozens of electives in all the disciplines represented by GMS faculty.

RESEARCH

The research functions of the GMS initiative are located in the Global Metropolitan Studies Center, which is part of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development in the School of Environmental Design. The Global Metropolitan Studies Center serves as a conduit for faculty research grants, offers space for visiting scholars, and hosts lectures, symposia, and conferences.

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GMS Summer Predissertation Field Grants Applications due April 19

 

Spring 2013 Faculty Showcase Dinners March 21 and April 25

Sandra Smith (Sociology): Thurs. March 21, 2013, 6:30pm. Smith, a GMS affiliate, is a scholar of urban poverty and labor markets, social capital and social networks, and trust and cooperation. Discussion will focus on her 2007 book, Lone Pursuit: Distrust and Defensive Individualism among the Black Poor.

Carolina Reid (City & Regional Planning): Thurs. April 25, 2013, 6:30pm. Reid, a recent recruit to Berkeley, conducts research on housing, community development, urban poverty and inequality, access to credit and homeownership. Discussion will focus on a paper about social embeddedness and consumer decision-making in the mortgage market and related work on the community reinvestment act.

 

The faculty showcase dinners are designed to provide an informal setting for discussion of the process by which large projects undertaken by faculty members have developed over time. In other words, the dinners are designed to provide a “glimpse behind the scenes.”

There will be no paper presentation at the dinners.

Attendees will be asked to read two papers or chapters in advance so that we can launch right into our discussion.

Discussions will be facilitated by Alison Post (Political Science and GMS). Dinners are open to faculty and students affiliated with GMS. Space at the dinners, however, is limited. If you are interested in attending, please send an email as soon as possible to Harrison Chan (harrisonchanonline@gmail.com) with the following information: the dinner you would like to attend, your role with GMS (faculty or DE student), and department. If a graduate student, please also include your year in your program and whether or not you have previously attended a GMS dinner.

GMS Student Travel Grants for Presentations at Research Conferences

GMS is pleased to announce that students in the Designated Emphasis are eligible to receive a maximum of $500 per year for the presentation of their research at a conference or workshop. Please download the pdf for instructions and more information: 30-day advance notice required.

GMS FACULTY SEED GRANTS

GMS is pleased to announced that it has awarded five Faculty Seed Grants for 2013, based on its November call for proposals. The objective of this initiative is to bring new research projects to GMS, in the form of research-themed workshops, publications, and grant-writing proposals for multi-year research.

2013 Roundtables, Lectures

Visit the news and events page for more details.

© Center for Global Metropolitan Studies at the Institute of Urban & Regional Development, UC Berkeley