Ten Years of Global Metropolitan Studies at Berkeley: A Symposium

Global Metropolitan Studies sprang to life during a decade of major transformations not only in cities around the world but also in how we study cities. The implications of global urbanization are widespread: from environmental challenges to entrenched patterns of segregation to new configurations of politics and social movements. UC Berkeley created GMS in 2004 as a New Initiative Center to promote multidisciplinary doctoral-level education and research on global urbanization. In 2009, the program became a Designated Emphasis, or Ph.D. minor. Since its inception, 61 doctoral students have enrolled in the Designated Emphasis and 34 have graduated. We celebrate these accomplishments in this two-day symposium where we bring together GMS alumni, current and former directors, affiliated faculty, and current students to discuss and debate what has emerged in the field and to anticipate new directions in the field.