Semester 1: Brussels

September - February

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) + Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB): 40 ECTS

(1) European Urban Studies (VUB) - 8 ECTS
This (introductory) course is intended to set a frame for the whole curriculum. It aims at clarifying “Europe” as a unit of analysis in the globalisation-localisation process and as a significant scale to discuss urbanity and urban development.

The course analyses the urban history of Europe as constituent of the European world system and studies different modes of regulation in recent developments. It also analyses the place of cities in the European unification process and looks at the relationship between urbanity and citizenship, post-national identities and governance.

(2) Urban Social Geography (VUB) - 8 ECTS
The aim of this course is to give students an overview of and insight into the socio-spatial development of the European City and the contemporary debates within urban studies on spatial developments in and around cities.

The course combines a more general overview (to be developed in detail further in subsequent stages of the programme) with some more in depth analyses. We will focus on the social geography of Brussels, urban development and urban theory, contemporary urban issues, neighbourhood research and the sustainable city.

(3) Urban Sociology (ULB) - 8 ECTS
The objective of this course is to give the students an overview of and insight into the changing relation between space and society in the contemporary city. General themes in the sociology of space such as life style, mobility… as well as the status of space in the different theories of the city (interpretative paradigm/descriptive paradigm) will be addressed.

(4) Urban Economic Geography (ULB) - 8 ECTS
The course outlines the multi-scale approach of political economy to the position and role of cities in economic globalisation. Urban space is considered here as a social construct shaped by power struggles and political options under evolving historical circumstances. We will focus on the driving forces of contemporary urban economies, and highlight the role of the neoliberal turn in the history of capitalism on cities, delve into the geographies of metropolitanization at the regional (i.e. European) and urban (i.e. intra-metropolitan) scales, and, finally, single out the role of neoliberal urban governance in reshaping urban economic fortunes. It will also deal with issues of urban (un)employment, informal economies and immigrant entrepreneurship.

(5) Urban Analysis I & II (VUB + ULB) 4 + 4 ECTS
The logic behind this course is the following: students have to adopt practical and analytical skills allowing them to ‘analyse’ the urban.

Five fields of attention:
statistics: how to collect and analyse statistics combined with the use of some basic statistical analyses qualitative research: interview techniques, text analyses, landscape reading, historical analyses cartography: developing basic skills of mapping (land use mapping + transmitting it into simple GIS programs) special methods: social area analyses, SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) scenario techniques project management: how to set up a research agenda, reporting and presentation skills…