本課程的兩個教學目標:
- 提供理論與實際的工具，學生藉以了解城市如何以及為何受文化、宗教、種族、民族主義者、或其他認同的形式所破壞，進而導致衝突、暴力、不公平、與社會的不正義；
- 利用此方面的知識與領悟來尋求解決方式。
為此課程作準備，學生將需要熟悉城市、國家兩者在社會與政治上的理論、及兩者間的關係。學生將同時把注意力集中在城市或其他地方上的（包括區域性的或跨國的）種族、文化、宗教、民族主義者、或其他認同的形式之成長與彰顯。尋求解決方式時，我們鼓勵學生在做決策或設計的著眼點上有多樣性的考量，從政治制度上（例如：民主參與公民的形式）到空間、基礎建設、與技術上各方面的干預。
This course's aims are two-fold:
- to offer students the theoretical and practical tools to understand how and why cities become torn by ethnic, religious, racial, nationalist, and/or other forms of identity that end up leading to conflict, violence, inequality, and social injustice; and
- to use this knowledge and insight in the search for solutions
As preparation, students will be required to become familiar with social and political theories of the city and the nation and their relationship to each other. They also will focus on the ways that racial, ethnic, religious, nationalist or other identities grow and manifest themselves in cities or other territorial levels of determination (including the regional or transnational). In the search for remedies, students will be encouraged to consider a variety of policymaking or design points of entry, ranging from the political- institutional (e.g. forms of democratic participation and citizenship) to spatial, infrastructural, and technological interventions.
