Brown University

Bottom-up Urbanism
URBN 1870R - Spring 2015
Monday 3:00-5:30
Urban Studies Program

Urban Studies
Stefano Bloch
stefano_bloch@brown.edu
Office Hrs: Fridays 1:30-2:30
Office: 29 Manning Street

Content
The typical structure of academic articles in the social sciences illustrates how scholars approach and
discuss a phenomenon or problem. In most articles scholars introduce a topic by placing it in a particular
social, spatial, and temporal context; provide an epistemological starting point and theoretical framework
for their study; introduce foundational texts on the topic; review the recent literature that addresses the
topic, look for holes or problems with how others have addressed the topic; provide an argument for how to
fill those holes or address those problems; and finally, conclude with an illustrative case study or argument
that, ideally, furthers our knowledge and potentially contributes to the making of a better world.
This seminar is structured using this very model. We will move through the material coming out of
the disciplines of geography, urban studies, sociology, and cultural criminology on bottom-up, do-ityourself, creative, guerilla, and tactical urbanism, focusing on and incorporating topics including spatial
justice, the right to the city, gentrification, neighborhood change, and cultural capital, anarchism,
subcultural practice, contestation and transgression, graffiti and street art, and Latino/a urbanism and
related forms of everyday cultural insurgency and vernacular placemaking.
In order to make this format work I am looking to you not just as students passively enrolled in a
seminar, but as willing research collaborators who have crucial roles to play in this semester-long research
process focusing on the topic of bottom-up urbanism. I therefore expect full participation and
engagement with the readings, discussions, outside exploration, and critical thinking about the subject.
Coursework and Grading
At the end of the term (April 6, 13, and 20) you will present your research and reflections on a form of
bottom-up urbanism during a formal critique. The final deliverable (due by May 7) will be a written
description of your research (in addition to other accompanying media and annotated bibliography), which
will be placed on an on-line repository designed for this seminar. I will base your grade on your
contribution to the research process and to the quality of your final presentation and research statement.
I expect you to always arrive on time having thoroughly completed the weeks assigned readings
and ready to contribute to a scholarly conversation. Please always come prepared with the weeks readings,
questions, and discussion points in hand for possible reference. Note: Two or more absences may result in a
no pass for the seminar. I do not allow the use of cell phone or laptops in the seminar room.

Reading Schedule (all readings are available on the course Canvas site unless otherwise indicated).

Jan. 26 Seminar Introduction

Feb. 2 The City and Spatial Justice

Harvey, D. (1973). Social Processes and Spatial Form (pages 22-36) from Social Justice and the City.
Soja, E. W. (2010). On the Production of Unjust Geographies and Building a Spatial Theory of Justice
from Seeking Spatial Justice.
Logan, J. and Molotch, H. (1987/2007). Places as Commodities from Urban Fortunes: The political
economy of place.

Feb. 9 The Right to the City

Lefebvre, H. (1968). La Droit de la Ville (The Right to the City).
Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City.
Iveson, K. (2013) Cities within the City: Do-It-Yourself urbanism and the right to the city.
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 37(3).
Also recommended:
Marcuse, P. (2009). From Critical Urban Theory to the Right to the City. City, 13.

Feb. 16 No class.

Feb. 23 Bottom-up, DiY and Tactical Urbanism

Talen, E. (2014). "Do-it-Yourself Urbanism: A history." Journal of Planning History.
Finn, D. (2014). DIY Urbanism: Implications for cities. Journal of Urbanism: International Research
on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability.
Mould, O. (2014). Tactical Urbanism: The New Vernacular of the Creative City. Geography
Compass, 8(8).
Douglas, G.C.C. (2014). Do-It-Yourself Urban Design: The social practice of informal
improvement through unauthorized alteration. City & Community 13(1).
Also recommended:
Merker, B. (2009). Taking Place: Rebars absurd tactics in generous urbanism from Hou, J. (ed.).
Insurgent Public Apace: Guerrilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities.
Karsten, L. (2009). From a Top-down to a Bottom-up Urban Discourse: (Re)constructing the city in a
family-inclusive way. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 24(3).
Deslandes, A. (2013) Exemplary Amateurism: Thoughts on DIY urbanism. Cultural Studies 19(1).
Stefano Bloch Brown University Urban Studies 1870R Spring 2015


Feb. 26 - 6-8pm, Place Making in the Creative Capital: Innovating Urban Districts panel.

Mar. 2 (The) Creative Capital

Florida, R. (2003). Cities and the Creative Class. City & Community, 2(1).
Mould, O. (2015). The Creative Class(ification) of Cities from Urban Subversion and the Creative City.
Harvey, D. (1990). Flexible Accumulation Through Urbanization: Reflections on post-modernism in
the American city. Perspecta.
Also recommended:
Ley, D. (2003) Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification. Urban studies, 40(12).
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital.

Mar. 9 Subculture
Fischer, C. S. (1995). The Subcultural Theory of Urbanism: A twentieth-year assessment. American
Journal of Sociology.
Williams, J. P. (2007). YouthSubcultural Studies: Sociological traditions and core concepts. Sociology
Compass, 1(2).
Daskalaki, M., and Mould, O. (2013). Beyond Urban Subcultures: Urban subversions as rhizomatic social
formations. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37(1).
Also recommended:
Morgan, G. (2012). Urban Renewal and the Creative Underclass: Aboriginal youth subcultures in
Sydneys Redfern-Waterloo. Journal of Urban Affairs, 34(2).
Morgan, G. and Ren, X. (2012). The Creative Underclass: Culture, subculture, and urban
renewal. Journal of Urban Affairs, 34(2).

Mar. 16 Cultural Insurgency and the Global City

From Hou, J. (ed.). Insurgent Public Space: Guerrilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities:
Rios, M. (2010). Claiming Latino Space: Cultural insurgency in the public realm.
Villagomez, E. (2010). Claiming Residual Space in the Heterogeneous City.
Rojas, J. (2010). Latino Urbanism is Los Angeles: A model for urban improvisation and
Reinvention.
Sassen, S. 2014. Complex and Incomplete: Spaces for tactical urbanism from Gadanho, P., Burdett,
R., Cruz, T., Harvey, D., Sassen, S., and Tehrani, N. Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for
Expanding Megacities.

Stefano Bloch Brown University Urban Studies 1870R Spring 2015


Mar. 23 No class.

Mar. 30 Anarchy, Cultural Criminality, and Graffiti

Sennett, R. (1970). The Uses of Disorder (*available at Brown University Bookstore).
Springer, S. (2013). Anarchism and Geography: A brief genealogy of anarchist geographies. Geography
Compass, 7(1).
Ferrell, J. (2001). Remapping the City: Public identity, cultural space, and social justice. Contemporary
Justice Review, 4(2).
Halsey, M., and Young, A. (2006). Our Desires are Ungovernable: Writing graffiti in urban space.
Theoretical criminology, 10(3).
McAuliffe, C. (2012) Graffiti or Street Art? Negotiating the moral geographies of the creative
city. Journal of Urban Affairs, 34(2).
Also recommended:
Ferrell, J. (1996). Crimes of Style from Crimes of style: Urban graffiti and the politics of criminality.
Ferrell, J. (2009). Against Method, Against Authority for Anarchy from Amster, R., DeLeon, A.,
Fernandez, L., Nocella, A. J., & Shannon, D. (eds.). Contemporary Anarchist Studies: An
introductory anthology of anarchy in the academy.

Apr. 6 Student presentation, discussion and critique.

Apr. 13 Student presentation, discussion and critique.

April 20 Student presentation, discussion and critique.

April 27 Reading period (TBD).

May 7 Final work due.

Stefano Bloch Brown University Urban Studies 1870R Spring 2015