Urbanization and Development
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this seminar on the causes and effects of rapid urbanization in the developing world. Case studies span Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Managua, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Kabul, Beirut, Cairo, Kinshasa, Cape Town and Johannesburg, tracing the local and transnational economic and political forces behind contemporary urban growth. Topics include income inequality, socio-economic exclusion, environmental strain, and rising urban violence in fast-growing cities. Sessions are discussion-based, built around critical analysis of assigned readings rather than lectures, and the course materials include the full syllabus, readings list, and session-by-session discussion questions. Free to access through MIT's OpenCourseWare platform, with no certificate offered, this is a graduate-level course drawing on comparative case material from four major developing regions.