URBS253 - CITIES,SUBURBS,REGIONS

This course will explore the political, economic, social, and demographic forces impacting development patterns in metropolitan areas, with a particular focus on Philadelphia. We will examine the government policies, economic forces, and social attitudes that affect the way a region grows and develops. Specific topics to be discussed include the factors that make a region competitive, the city's changing role in the region, evolving regional housing markets, and the impacts of the recent global financial crisis on American markets, regions, institutions, and neighborhoods.