Segregation and Public Policy in the American City

The intertwined public health, economic, social and political crises facing cities have brought renewed attention to entrenched racial inequality and oppression in the United States, particularly anti-Black racism. Students in this course will develop a critical understanding of causes and consequences of racial inequality in America with a focus on spatial inequality, racial segregation, and concentrated poverty in cities. We will start by contextualizing the current political moment with an exploration of the role public policy played in creating and perpetuating urban inequality. We will then focus on the continued consequences of spatial inequality and racial segregation on individual and community well-being and the significance for contemporary policy issues, spanning political representation and voting rights, to gentrification and displacement, policing, and inequality in access to quality education, healthy neighborhoods, and employment. We conclude with the visions for a more just and equitable future articulated by activists, scholars, and front-line community groups. This course will draw on classic academic materials on American urban history, contemporary research, multimedia such as podcasts and music, and investigative and data journalism.