Dr. Jeffrey Carroll
Congratulations! You have just landed a position at the United Nations as Special Advisor on Urban Affairs!
Leaving Philadelphia for the hustle and bustle of New York City is somewhat bittersweet. You will miss your friends and family terribly, but you are excited about embarking on your new career. You have secured your new apartment just over the East River in Queens, figured out how to navigate the MTA to Midtown East to get to your new job, and have found a coffee shop with the absolute best pour-over coffee in the City.
As your first assignment at the U.N., you’ve been charged with the responsibility of providing a profile of a “Global City.” In doing so, you must detail how globalization has impacted that global city and provide some comments for its future prospects. You will do this by creating a Canvas page that will allow you to integrate your research about the city with other visual and auditory content.
You want to do well because you want to make a great impression on your new boss and colleagues. Also, you know that there is tremendous room for growth in your new role as issues surrounding urbanization are very much in demand. You are a few steps away from realizing your dream as a resident expert on global urban issues at the U.N. First, though, you must get through this first assignment. The Director has provided a set of explicit instructions.
Successful completion of the Global City Profile must include the following parts.
PART I: Provide a brief history of the city. What are its demographics and how have they changed over time? Please also address the city’s physical and social geography. Include a discussion of economic inequality here – is inequality present? (Minimum: 600 words)
Things to Consider for Part I:
- How the city has changed, particularly within the 20th century
- The city’s demographic by ethnicity – how many foreign-born?
- The city’s demographic by class – who are the “haves” and the “have-nots”?
- The city’s physical and social geography. What groups of people live where?
PART II: How has the city been affected by globalization? Please provide the city’s economic and cultural contributions at the minimum. If applicable, you may also apply the city’s political contributions. Feel free to use a Global City Index as a foundation for answering this question. (Minimum: 600 words)
Things to Consider for Part II:
- Recent immigration trends
- Tourism (who visits the city?)
- The city’s role in spreading some cultural awareness around the world
- Industries that dominate the city’s economy
- The presence of multinational corporations (MNCs)
- International political presence
PART III: What does the future hold for this city? In other words, how do the globalizing trends that you have described in Part II affect the prospects for your city? (Minimum: 600 words)
Things to Consider for Part III:
- Signs that the economic fabric of the city is changing. Are there significant changes in the industry?
- Signs that the cultural fabric of the city is changing. Are there significant changes in demography?
- How is the city planning for the future? Is there a strategic plan?
Research: Please feel free to utilize both electronic and traditional resources as a foundation for researching your profile. A library course guide has been set up here to assist you. to help guide your research for your Global City Profile.
The Library Course Guide is divided into 4 distinct steps: 1) Get Started, 2) Create a Plan, 3) Gather and Assess Information, and 4) Write and Cite.
Format: Be careful to avoid plagiarism by citing all sources, whether written or electronic. You are encouraged to add visual content to your page. Unless you are creating original content, you MUST provide credit to the source! Please use either MLA, APA, or Chicago Citation style. You may single space your profile, but you must separate into three distinct sections (Part I, Part II, and Part III). Provide a reference page at the end of your page.
Submission: A draft of your profile is to be uploaded on Canvas (instructions will be given in class) . Prof. Carroll will offer feedback after the draft submission and you will have some time to complete edits.
Global Cities List link is below. Cities are first-come first-serve, no two people can have the same city!
| Instructions for signing up on Canvas: 1) Choose from one of the cities from the list below, I have limited the choice of U.S. cities to only two (N.Y. and L.A.). These cities are drawn from the A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index Rankings (Top 100 cities excluding several U.S. cities that are not N.Y. and L.A.) 2) Post your choice on the forum by hitting “reply.” 3) Those that fail to post will be assigned a city. |