Cities in the 21st Century: People, Planning, and Politics

- Multi-Country

  Argentina

• Buenos Aires: 
Buenos Aires

  China

• Beijing: 
Beijing

  India

Bangalore

Term: Fall 
Dates: Aug.-Dec. 2008

Description: Over the last 150 years the patterns of human life have been radically transformed by the growth of cities. Throughout history cities have emerged as centers of people, power, and invention in a world chiefly constituted by farms and villages, but for the most part each numbered only a few thousand people. That world of farms and villages is rapidly being absorbed by urban growth. Today, for the first time, a majority of the worlds population live in urban areas.

Now in its eleventh year, Cities in the 21st Century was developed through the leadership of Janice Perlman of The Mega-Cities Project, based in New York City. Cities in the 21st Century combines an innovative urban studies academic curriculum with fieldwork involving public agencies, planners, elected officials, NGOs, and grassroots groups. IHP has developed programs in a group of important world cities where exciting changes are happening. We build each semester's itinerary from among these cities.

Highlights: Students will spend 1.5 weeks in New York City, 4 weeks in Beijing, China, 5 weeks in Bangalore, India and 5 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Students receive 16 credits upon completion of the program. The courses are as follows: Urban Politics and Development, Culture and Society of World Cities, Urban Planning and Sustainable Environments, and Contemporary Urban Issues: Problems and Solutions.

The vast majority of the time students will be in homestays which will provide another critical window of understanding to each of the cities.

Cost in US$: $23,650

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to World Wide Participants.

Participants Travel in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 30

Scholarships are Available. - IHP offers need-based grants, ranging from $100 to $10,000, with the typical award being around $2,000. Grant applications are available on our website.

Application Process Involves:

• In-Person Interview when Feasible
• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit DebriefingAbroad
• Job and Internship Network

International Honors Program's Mission Statement: The International Honors Program offers a unique set of theme-based, multi-country study abroad programs. Each program is designed to give students the opportunity to explore significant social, political, and environmental issues using an innovative comparative approach. The comparative approach allows students to contrast and analyze thematic issues on a global scale. It exposes students to a wide range of communities and perspectives, requiring students to question assumptions, suspend judgments, while inquiring deeply around the thematic areas. Thematic areas include the environment, globalization, urban planning, public health, indigenous issues, anthropology, social justice, and human rights. On each of IHP's study abroad programs a relatively small group of students and faculty travel together to several different countries. The group will spend between four and eight weeks in each country while they examine issues related to the program theme. The exploration of the issues will involve direct contact and interaction with local experts, activists, educators, community members, public figures, and leaders of various government and community organizations. To ensure exposure to each country's peoples and cultures, IHP arranges for students to stay in local homes and communities whenever possible. Many students stay in contact with their hosts for years afterward. For many alumni, the IHP experience directly influences their graduate school or career choice. IHP prompts students to ask lifelong questions about their role in a global community.

Year Founded: 1958