South Africa is an extraordinarily interesting country. It is distinctive to the point of being regarded as exceptional, even in the past an aberration. At the same time its study clarifies crucial social processes like colonialism, racialization, the politics of urbanization, tribalism and the formation of democracies. This course is designed for all those interested in these topics. The focus here is the politics of urbanization in the advanced industrial countries, with particular reference to the United States.
Urbanization is a characteristic feature of societies undergoing industrialization.
It is part of a spatial organization created as a byproduct of the competitive strategies of firms, workers and of those state agencies with a stake in economic development. As such it generates its own distinctive politics. These various lobbies intervene at various levels of the state, local and national, in order to mould the changing dynamics of the space economy in a way enhanceing to their interests. Accordingly a good deal of time is devoted to the politics of local economic development, the politics of land development, and to the politics of neighborhood. The way in which the politics of urbanization varies from one country to another and from one historic period to another is also treated in depth.