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
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
Informal Settlements in Kenya: new directions and opportunities
"Urban Politics in San Francisco: What Difference Does a City Make? (An Historical-Geographical View)"
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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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