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(Fall 2011 Lexington Urban Geography Field Trip-- with Rich Schein) Eastern Kentucky University Department of Geography & Geology  **GEO 321: Urban Geography CRN14770** Fall 2012

Mondays & Wednesdays 09:05 am-10:50 am    Dr. Alice Jones   alice.jones@eku.edu [|www.ekeri@eku.edu] office: Roark 110 OR Case Annex 113 859/622-1424 Office Hours: Roark: M-W ½ hour before and ½ hour after class; other times in Case Annex by appointment // Because of administrative responsibilities, I am frequently out of the office. Please call or e-mail me before stopping by. //   Director, Environmental Sustainability & Stewardship []

Legates, Richard T., Frederic Stout, eds. 2007. __The City Reader Volume 2; Fourth Ed.__ Routledge Urban Reader Series.
Additional materials will be shared and posted on the class wiki page, including the text of the 2011 Scientific American Issue on cities, which [] Cities blend the physical and human/cultural realms of geography. Using a variety of geographic tools and models, we will explore cities as both physical ecological landscapes, and as places of social, economic, and cultural convergence. Among the topics we will visit are transportation, housing, city services, industrial and retail activity, social justice, and ecological function. We will also examine how and why cities have changed throughout human history and what possible changes may be in store for the future. The basic geographic themes of location, place, human/environment interactions, movement, and regions will be emphasized.
 * Course Description **

** Methods of Instruction **
Course material will be presented substantially through readings and class discussions of classic writing in urban geography, urban sociology, and urban studies. These discussions will besupplemented by lectures and a class WIKI page. In addition, we will take a field trip to Columbus, Indiana (tentative date October 15th to be confirmed)—and pursue an independent research paper on a topic of their choice related to the course content. At the conclusion of the course, students will: (a) //understand// (1) the evolution of cities; the (2) social and symbolic uses of urban space; and (3) how geographers and urban theorists have interpreted and modeled city functions; (b) demonstrate the ability to //apply// this understanding through analyzing a local community using geographic and urban theory and readily available census data; (c) demonstrate the ability to //relate// this understanding with everyday experience in cities and towns of different sizes and scales; (d) recognize and articulate the //personal and social implications// of how choices in such areas as housing, transportation, food, education, recreation, careers are affected by—and affect—the urban and suburban landscape; (e) //value// the geographic perspective on understandingcities (f) //learn how to learn// about trends in urban form and function in U.S. communities.
 * Course Objectives and Goals **
 * Grading and Assessment **

Grades will be assigned as follows: A 90-100; B 80-89.9; C 70-79.9; D 60-69.9 F Below 60 EXAMS 35% as follows 35% Mid-term Exam 15% Final Exam 20% *Readings Summaries and in-class discussion 25% *Field Trip- Lexington, KY (Tent Monday Oct 3rd or 24th) 10% *Urban Analysis Project 25% 25% In-class Exercises __10%__
 * TOTAL 105%) **