- “My most interesting course”
-- Student comment
Welcome to AAF/PSC 466!
This course is about the geographic study of urbanization. From this description, you might think it is about specific, fixed places: Providence, Boston, Chicago, Paris, or Tokyo. It is about such things, but it is much more than that. Cities are dynamic processes, and the geographic study of urbanization is about these processes as spatial processes. Cities are extraordinarily complex, and this course will introduce you to some of the ways social scientists deal with such complexity. Cities are also sites of some of humanity's most noble hopes and most terrifying fears. Unlike some other fields in the social sciences, the field of urban studies has a strong tradition of engagement with the world in order to change it for the better. This course will also engage you with some of the debates concerning such practical action and ask you to think about your own role within it. Finally, since the places we live are part of ourselves, this course will give you deeper insights into your own life, who you are, and who you may become.
We will go into this in more depth once the course starts, but for now you may have some questions about the course. The links below will take you to them and hopefully answer your questions. If they do not answer your questions, please contact the instructor via email by clicking (note: Your browser must have JavaScript enabled to use this).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- I have never taken a course online before. What do I need to know?
- How does an online course work?
- Does this course qualify for General Education credit?
- Why should I study this subject?
- What does this course cover?
- What is the textbook for the course?
- What else will I need for this course?
- How will grades be determined?
- Who is the instructor?
- How do I log on to WebCT?
- OK, sign me up. How do I register for the course?
I have never taken a course online before. What do I need to know?
Many of these characteristics are useful for succeeding in life as well as in online courses. Therefore, even if you believe you are not particularly well suited for online courses, you still may want to take this or another one in order to develop these characteristics in yourself. Just be aware that to develop these characteristics you will probably have to put in extra time and effort because online courses require them.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
How does an online course work?
To answer your question, some background will be helpful. In How to be a Successful Online Student (McGraw-Hill, 2000), Sarah Gilbert lists four types of online learning:
-
Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in which the computer acts as a teaching machine, with interactive tools for practice, learning new concepts, and so on.
-
Computer-managed instruction (CMI) in which the computer keeps track of student activities and progress.
-
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) uses such things as email, instant messaging, and electronic whiteboards.
-
Computer-based multimedia (CBM) use a variety of electronic tools to integrate multimedia, such as video or audio, into a systematic learning environment.
Online courses at URI generally use WebCT (which stands for “Web Course Tools”), a web-based “virtual learning environment” which has tools for CMI and CMC and provides an interface for instructor-developed CAI and CBM. Because WebCT allows a fair amount of flexibility, it is difficult to generalize much more.
In the case of this course, all instruction will be online. Once you register for the course and classes begin, you will be able to log on to WebCT and access the course web site. There you will find four categories of course-related materials and tools: course information, communication tools, assessment, and resources. Under “course information” you will find instructions for getting started in the course and the syllabus. You will then be responsible for following the instructions, communicating with the instructor and other students via the communication tools (such as chat rooms, discussion boards, and email), taking scheduled assessments (such as graded quizzes and ungraded surveys) and submitting assignments, and using the resources as appropriate.
Practically all handouts, assignments, and other instructor-distributed materials will be available on WebCT via download. The instructor's lectures will be viewable as web-based presentations, with downloadable lecture notes. The only times you may have to come into URI are to pick up materials that cannot be distributed via the Internet (such as a CD), to use the library, to use computers if you do not have one at home, or to get technical help using the computer software when help at a distance just does not work. Your grades and instructor feedback will all be available online, as will one-on-one help from the instructor.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
Does this course qualify for General Education credit?
Unfortunately not. Because this is a 400-level course, it is not considered to provide general knowledge upon which other courses can build.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I study this subject?
Here are a few reasons
-
Most of the world's population will be “urban” by 2007. As of 2005, 83% of the US population lives in metropolitan areas, 10% in micropolitan areas. Urban geography helps us understand their living environments.
-
Relations between metropolitan regions are very important in today’s world.
-
Cities are seedbeds of civilization. By studying cities we study society; we study ourselves.
-
Our places define who we are. By studying cities we understand ourselves better.
-
It helps us deal with pressing environmental, social, and economic issues.
-
It is excellent background for a wide variety of disciplines, jobs, and professions. Here are a few: advocacy, architect, artist, banking, cartographer, case manager, chamber of commerce director, coastal zone management, community development, community health, community organizer, cultural resource management, demographer, economic development specialist, economist, emergency management, environmental law, environmental management, GIS specialist, historian, human services, marketing and market research, historic preservation specialist, housing, housing law, international business, law enforcement, location analyst, medical geographer, museum curator, novelist, policy analysis, politics, program development, public administration, public health, real estate, real estate law, sales manager, social research, social work, sociologist, spatial data analyst, teaching, transportation management, urban anthropologist, urban designer, urban planning, urban renewal, zoning administrator/official
-
Cities combine all aspects of societies; studying urbanization is a GREAT introduction to social science.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
The course is organized around four “units,” each dealing with a different general theme. Although the course covers some topics pertaining to urban geography around the world, its main focus is on the US. Here is an outline:
-
Introduction to Urbanization
-
Introduction and Overview
-
Basic Concepts
-
-
Urbanization and Urban Systems
-
Origins and Growth of Urban Systems
-
The Origins of the US Urban System
-
The US Urban System Since WW II
-
-
Physical Form of the City
-
Early Evolution of North American Urban Form
-
North American Urban Form in the Mid- to Late-Twentieth Century
-
The City as Text: Architecture and Urban Design
-
Production of the Built Environment
-
-
Urbanism and Urban Life
-
Residential Differentiation and Segregation
-
Neighborhood Change
-
Urbanism and Urban Life
-
Urban Problems
-
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
What is the
textbook for the course?
The textbook is Urbanization: An Introduction to Urban Geography by Paul L. Knox and Linda McCarthy (2nd edition, Prentice Hall 2005, ISBN-13 9780131424500). Click here to go to the publisher's web page, where you can view the book's table of contents, see its main features, and read its preface. In addition, please see the syllabus (which will be available on WebCT) for recommended texts.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
What else will I need for this course?
Besides the textbook, you may want to have a computer. Since you can use computers at your local library or in one of URI's student computing facilities (either in Kingston or Providence) to access WebCT, having access to your own computer is optional.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
How will grades be determined?
Grading will be based on a series of online exams, three team posters, and class participation. Approximately every week you will have a very brief, ungraded quiz of 3-5 questions. You will also have two exams. One will consist of approximately thirty multiple choice questions and cover the first half of the course; the final will consist of approximately ninety multiple-choice questions and cover the entire course but emphasize material covered since the midterm. All exams and quizzes will be “open book,” and in total they will count for 55% of your grade. Another 20% will be based on your posters, and the remaining 25% will be based on class participation which will involve substantive contributions to the discussions on WebCT and doing a few homework assignments.
Please note that these requirements are tentative. Sometimes technical or other difficulties may require us to revise the course requirements. Also, I have a policy of inviting students to help design the courses I offer. During the first two weeks of the semester I will entertain any reasonable suggestions for changing the course and will do so if the class agrees. This implies that you and your fellow students may revise this grading scheme.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
My name is Marshall Feldman, although I go by “Marsh.” I received my PhD from UCLA in Urban Planning and Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees from Cornell University. My areas of specialization are urban and regional economic development, labor geography, urban geography, and urban theory. I am also the Director of Research and Academic Affairs for URI's Center for Urban Studies and Research and a member of the Charles T. Schmidt. Jr. Labor Research Center. I have been teaching at URI since 1987, and before that I taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Cleveland State University, San Francisco State University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the University of Texas at Austin while I was growing up. I like sunsets, puppies, and long walks on the beach.
To reach me by email, press . (Note: Your browser must have JavaScript enabled to use this. I use this method because spammers "harvest" unprotected email addresses from web pages.)
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
How do I log on to WebCT?
-
First, you have to register for this course. If you do not, you will not be able to access the course web site on WebCT.
-
Next, go to the URI web page for WebCT, which is at http://www.uri.edu/webct/. On the left you will see several links under “Important Information.”
-
Read the latest information under “What do I need.”
-
Then select the link to Browser Tune-Up, and follow the instructions to make sure your browser is properly set up to access WebCT. If you are working at a student computer facility, the computer should already be set up properly, although smart alecs sometimes think it is funny to screw up the settings. If you are working at a library or other public setting, you may need to ask someone to do the Browser Tune-Up for you.
-
Finally, press “Log In to WebCT” and follow the instructions. (As of this writing, you will have to repeat this on the next screen.) Your login ID is the same spelling as your e-Campus ID in lowercase. This is your chosen e-Campus ID, not the nine-digit ID number. Your password is the same as your email password on mail.uri.edu. If you have not yet changed your password, the default is your birth date in mmddyyyy format. (E.g., if you were born on July 4, 1776, your password would be 07041776.)
-
Once you log in, you may see more than one course. Select this one, and you are good to go.
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
OK, sign me up. How do I register for the course?
You can sign up for either AAF 466 or PSC 466 on e-Campus. If you are new to URI, here is a brief summary of what you need to know. You use e-Campus to register for your courses. For instructions on how to do this, click here. (You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view this document. Click on this button :
to get the Adobe Acrobat reader.)
If you sign up for this course, I will contact you shortly before the start of the semester using your “preferred email address” listed on e-Campus. Check to make sure your email address on e-Campus is correct. Otherwise, you may never get the mailing. You can change your “preferred email address” by logging on to e-Campus and choosing this sequence of menu items:
SA self service >
Personal portfolio >
Tasks >
Update email address
Return to Frequently Asked Questions
\