URBST 732 Researching New York City Professor Rafael De Balanzo Spring 2019 Thursdays, 6:30pm-8:30pm Through the analysis of urban planning policies in cities such as Barcelona (Spain), San Juan (Puerto-Rico) and New York, this course deepens our understanding of urban dynamics and how cities change and re-invent themselves after a crisis. We will begin the course identifying the different short- and long-term stressesthese three cities have experienced over the last half century. These stresses include (but are not limited to) natural disasters, government austerity programs, gentrification processes. Then, we will explore how these different crises generate a window of opportunity for change, in which different actors (grass-root movements, activists, neighborhood association, intellectuals) unify forces to create change-also known as creative destruction process. Through this analysis, students will be introduced to different theoretical concepts that will enable them to understand how (and whether) cities become resilient and adapt and transform themselves to meet the needs and aspiration of their citizens, or if, instead, they return to their pre-crisis form. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with concepts such as resilience thinking approach and creative destruction process. This course will draw from Queens College research project: Art and Urban Actions Against Austerity/Memories of Disinvestment. This project is a collaboration between Art Department/Social Practice Queens, QC Urban Studies and Urban Studies department from University of Puerto-Rico.?