Call for readings: Psychology, Policy, and Lives of the Global Urban Experience

[Isabel Cuervo]

Hello,

I'm developing a course I'm calling: Psychology, Policy, and Lives of the Global Urban Experience and am wondering if any of you can recommend any readings (or other media).  The course description is below. I'm particularly interested in  studies, or cases, etc., with one to several people where any aspect of city life in the global South resonates. Pieces about policy and qualitative research are welcome too.

Thanks for your help!

Isabel 

Isabel Cuervo, Ph.D.

Environmental Psychology

It is estimated that 60% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2030, making it critical that we learn how to improve or create appropriate housing and public spaces for the rising number of urban dwellers, most of whom live in poverty. What does this have to do with psychology? We will explore how it can inform a domain usually reserved for planners, designers, and policymakers. Based on the notion that individual lives can speak to the human experience, this course utilizes a narrative psychology approach to examine the global urban experience. We will cover themes about living in cities, their development, and other processes of transformation. We will examine how people experience these issues through the meanings and values people communicate through stories in urban settings, which can be used to inform policy. Our attention will focus on people living in cities of the Global South, with a particular

focus on Latin America. Readings and other media are culled from psychology, other social sciences, as well as humanities to provide a brief overview of the contemporary urban landscape and then focus on lives in varying urban contexts. Students will engage in a collective biographical data analysis project whose goal is to generate urban policy recommendations in addition to conference work that will cover related topics and research methodologies.