ENVSCI 298 Pacific Rim Geography

3 Credit(s)

This course takes an interpretive look at China and other East Asia countries such as Japan, and Korea in terms of changing attitudes toward urban life. City and suburbs are experienced as the product of planning and development decisions informed by cultural and economic forces, and in relationship to utopian and pragmatic efforts to reinterpret urban traditions in search of American alternatives. Topics include: persistent ideals such as housing forms attitudes toward public and private space; the rise of suburbs and suburban sprawl; cycles of disinvestment and renewed interest in urban centers; and impacts of mobility and technology on settlement patterns.