GV3GCC: Cities in the 21st Century

Module code: GV3GCC

Module provider: Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Nathan Salvidge , email: nathan.salvidge@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Geographers have long been interested in understanding the intricacy of cities and their significance to regional and national development. Today, more than 80% of global GDP is generated within cities, and by 2050, predictions indicate they will be home to around 70% of the world’s population. Knowing the impacts ongoing changes have and will continue to have on urban inhabitants globally remains a significant focus for both academics and policymakers. This course will unpack the challenges and opportunities of living, working and travelling within cities in the 21st Century. While urban areas can be hubs of productivity, opportunity and innovation, they can simultaneously be sites of extreme poverty, marginalisation and conflict. Integrating literature from across the discipline of geography, this course provides real-world insights into contemporary issues shaping and reshaping city spaces worldwide. It draws on a diverse range of scholarship from across the globe, focusing beyond Global North perspectives that have tended to dominate the development of urban concepts and theories.Ìý

Module aims:Ìý

• To introduce students to contemporary geographical discussions and debates around cities in the 21st Century from a global perspective;Ìý
• To explore the social, cultural, economic, political and environmental factors (re)shaping urban inhabitants’ daily lives and livelihoods in the Global North and South;Ìý
• To critically assess the impacts of local, national, and international policies and practices on the everyday lives of urban residents.Ìý

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Be able to describe the significance of understanding the intricacy of 21st Century cities from a global perspective.Ìý
2. Be able to identify and examine the social, cultural, political, economic and environmental factors continuously (re)shaping urban residents’ everyday lives and livelihoods.ÌýÌý
3. Possess the ability to critically evaluate contemporary urban policy and practice with consideration to the complex and heterogenous needs of urban residents across diverse contexts.Ìý
4. Be able to apply learning from across the module to critique key geographical debates concerning ‘global urban futures’.ÌýÌý

Module content

The module will be research-led and draw on case studies from around the world to illustrate the complex and heterogeneous realities of city life for urban residents across diverse contexts.Ìý

• Week 1 – Introduction: Cities in the 21st centuryÌýÌý
• Week 2 – Urban development: exploring key issuesÌýÌý
• Week 3 – Inclusion and exclusion in the cityÌýÌý
• Week 4 – Precarious urban livelihoodsÌýÌý
• Week 5 – Diverse urban mobilitiesÌýÌýÌý
• Week 6 - Mid-term breakÌýÌý
• Week 7 - Cities during and after the Covid-19 pandemicÌý
• Week 8 - Cities and natureÌýÌý
• Week 9 – Smart cities and sustainable developmentÌý
• Week 10 – Contemporary urban policies and practicesÌýÌý
• Week 11 – Global urban futuresÌýÌý
• Week 12 – Module recap and conclusionsÌýÌý

The first three weeks of teaching will lay the theoretical and conceptual foundations for the module. This will help students to explore and evaluate the diverse range of issues we will focus on from Week 4 onwards. From Week 10, students will consider key issues discussed throughout the module up until this point to evaluate the effectiveness of contemporary urban policy and practice, as well as consider what global urban futures might and should look like for urban inhabitants globally. The last session will summarise the key issues from the module and conclude.Ìý

Three key themes run throughout the module, connecting issues between sessions:Ìý

1. Experiences of the cityÌýÌý
2. (Re)Making the urbanÌý
3. Social justice and inequalityÌýÌý

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will be deliveredÌýthrough weekly two-hour sessions. The first hour of each session will be delivered as a lecture, incorporating interactive elements (e.g., group exercises (mind-maps, ranking, thinking from the perspective of different stakeholders), digital technologies, and short videos followed by Q&As)) to help students comprehend content. The second hour of each session will be in the format of a seminar to encourage larger-group discussions and learning through a more conversational approach. Worksheets will be set before each session (at least a week in advance). The worksheets will guide students on what reading to complete and questions to answer before sessions. Students will be expected to bring knowledge into the classroom.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will have the opportunity (during a one-week window) to submit an essay plan.ÌýÌý

Reassessment

Additional costs