The objectives of The City and its Relations are to increase knowledge and understanding of the economic, social and spatial processes of urban development in global processes, and their implications for urban development policy, planning and land dynamics, at the same time as examining the theoretical and practical aspects of change in institutional and organisational relations for a more socially just urban development and of the circumstances and actions that might lead to it.

The module explores the economic, social and spatial change of cities in the wider context of development and globalisation. To better understand the challenges facing urban development, the roles, relations, and actions of actors in civil society and the public and private sectors will be examined in theory and practice. With a focus on urban land, the institutional and organisational frameworks in which they operate will be investigated, while investigating access to and control over financial, informational, human and physical resources in the context of contemporary urban development planning practice.

This module is run across two terms comprising a mixture of lectures, seminars, group work, debates and interviews. The first term explores, from a theoretical and historical perspective, the processes of urban transformation in the context of internationalisation of the world economy. It explores the articulation of social and spatial changes in cities and the logic of globalisation of the last few decades, paying particular attention to the reflection of that in terms of changing systems of urban governance. This module uses the growing informalisation of cities and of the world economy as an entry point to reflect on the changing nature of cities and the challenges for urban policy and planning.

In the second term, the module uses urban land as an entry point from which to examine urban socio-spatial relations and dynamics in cities within the context of formulating progressive interventions. In addressing different aspects of urban land, the module will draw on contemporary theories to sharpen the debates and highlight taken-for-granted assumptions that characterise the discourses and practices of planning for urban poor people in cities in developing countries. The aim is to reframe debates in which to situate activism and advocacy to increase poor and marginalised groups of peoples.

On completion, you should have acquired knowledge and understanding of:

socio-economic and physical global and local processes in urban development, and how they relate to wider urban development policy and planning
	the roles, relations, and actions of actors in civil society and the public and private sectors in the processes of urban development
	institutional and organisational arrangements for urban development which can address social justice, and their application in the assessment of urban development practice
	financial, informational, human and physical resources, and their planning and management by various actors in urban development practice
Greater capacity to:

develop analytical and critical arguments on the basis of theory and empirical evidence in the field of urban development planning.
	produce well-supported proposals for a more socially just urban development.