Answer two out of the following three questions !!
Each answer should contain up to 300 words (not including tables, bibliography, footnotes or appendices).
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All assignments must be written in English. Other languages will not be accepted.
Make sure to use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Your submission will be graded anonymously – there is no need to write your name on your paper.
Use at least two academic sources (academic journals and books) and two general sources (websites, newspapers, magazines etc.) for each question.
Make sure to use resources that are as up-to-date as possible.
You are also encouraged to use data from official government and municipal sources, as well as from international organizations (UN, World Bank, etc.).
Remember to cite the sources for all data, and any images, graphs or other visual materials.
You must follow formal academic reference guidelines! (Make sure to read the academic references guidelines on the courses Moodle website)
Do not copy-paste, plagiarize, or use materials from other students or previous versions of this course. We will immediately disqualify papers on such grounds.
How will you be graded for this assignment?
Accuracy and clarity of information presented: 30%
Coherent and logical analysis and narrative: 50%
Use of sufficient, up-to-date, relevant sources (academic & general): 10%
Clear and accurate references (in-text citations and bibliography): 10%
Choose ONE megacity from the following list:
Tokyo
Beijing
Mumbai
Kinshasa
Buenos Aires
Los Angeles
Choose TWO out of the following three questions:
1. Urbanization Trends (refers to Unit 1)
Explore how the megacity that you selected has urbanized over time.
A. Present key data on urbanization processes in your megacity in a concise table (not counted as part of the 300 word limit). Your table should include the following information:
Trace the population growth of the urban agglomeration over the past several decades
Include projections for its future growth through 2050
Compare your megacity to at least one additional city in the country or region, and to the country as a whole.
Resources:
Use World Urbanization Prospects 2018: https://population.un.org/wup/DataQuery/
You may also use official government websites.
B. Based on an analysis of the data in the table above, construct a coherent narrative about the citys growth over time. Consult and refer to additional sources to briefly answer these questions:
Has the city experienced periods of particularly rapid or stagnant growth? What might be the historical reasons for these?
Is the citys growth expected to accelerate or slow down in the future? What are the reasons for this?
2. Urban Pasts and Futures (refers to Unit 2)
Describe some of the most important milestones in the urban development of your megacity, which have left a significant and lasting mark over the past 100 years. These may include master plans, large-scale construction projects, urban infrastructure projects, iconic neighborhoods or buildings, etc.
Relate these plans and projects to the various historical approaches to urbanism that we discussed in Unit 2: the ideal city, industrial city, garden city, and modernist city. You might not find evidence of all of these approaches in your city focus on those which seem most important or typical of the city.
Use visual evidence and historical documentation in your analysis (e.g. historical and contemporary photographs, artistic representations, screenshots from Google Maps/Street View). Be selective with images (up to 5 maximum) and present them clearly in an appendix to your written answer, with captions and sources noted.
Supplemental resources:
We encourage you to read more on the historical approaches to urbanism that you discuss in your answer. Good sources include:
Cities of Tomorrow by Peter Hall available online through the IDC library website.
Chapters from The City Reader – available in the Additional Materials folder on the course website.
3. Global City Characteristics (refers to Unit 3)
A. Explore the main features which connect your megacity to the global economy. Present the data in a table (not counted as part of the 300 word limit). Your table should include the following information:
Key economic data on the city (e.g. size of local economy, annual growth rate, etc.)
Provide a few specific examples of the main global firms and advanced service industries clustered in the city
Provide key data on other important global features (e.g. migration, tourism, media, cultural products, other services)
B. Explain whether your megacity should (or should not) be considered a global city?
Your answer should build on Saskia Sassens definition of a global city.
Evaluate Sassens main hypotheses in relation to the data you presented.
Address who are the winners and losers of globalization in your city.
For example, has globalization impacted socioeconomic inequality in your city?
Supplemental resources:
The Global City: Introducing a Concept, Saskia Sassen: http://www.saskiasassen.com/pdfs/publications/the-global-city-brown.pdf
Kearney 2019 Global Cities report: https://www.kearney.com/global-cities/2019
Globalization and World Cities Research Network: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/