This seminar offers a critical introduction to major theories of urbanism to ask how architects can help reimagine contemporary cities. We will focus on four themes and spend three weeks on each to unpack its historic contexts and counter-narratives. “Property” looks at the way land has been parceled and commodified—from the Jeffersonian Grid to what Rem Koolhaas has called the culture of congestion. “Equity” explores systems of racial and class discrimination, from red-lining to gentrification. “Ecology” assesses urbanism’s attitude towards environment across theories of the Garden City movement, sustainability and climate risk. Lastly, “Economy” examines the distribution of wealth and resources by real estate development, Neoliberal planning, labor and work. Urban Imaginaries is ½ seminar and ½ workshop. In seminar sessions, students will write short responses to medium-sized readings and contribute to class discussion. In workshop sessions, students will make one presentation on a contemporary case study related to one of the themes, and then develop their findings to create a collective book cataloging related architectural and urban design strategies. Students will develop their ability to link critical and speculative methods of analysis, honing writing and reasoning skills in relationship to graphic and spatial interpretation skills. Online course sections will be delivered with both asynchronous and synchronous components as outlined in the course syllabus. Required online synchronous meeting times are listed as the meeting pattern for this course section. 

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