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

- Multi-Country

  Brazil

• Sao Paulo: 
Sao Paulo
• Southern Brazil: 
Curitiba

  South Africa

• Cape Town: 
Cape Town (Kaapstad)

  Vietnam

• Hanoi: 
Hanoi

Term: Spring 
Dates: January-May 2010

Description: The hallmark of IHP's Cities in the 21st Century program is a unique comparative approach in which participants study a thematic topic in several different countries over one semester. Experiential activities such as site visits and case studies complement interdisciplinary team teaching led by in-country and traveling faculty. Students also step out of the classroom to interact with activists, public figures, government and organizational leaders, as well as citizens from all walks of life who are directly involved in the themes explored. Homestays give students the opportunity to get to know local families and to become immersed in the culture and traditions of each country, creating lasting connections and memorable insights.

IHP's Cities in the 21st Century program examines the intentional and natural forces that guide the development of the world's cities. It combines an innovative urban studies academic curriculum with fieldwork involving public agencies, planners, elected officials, NGOs and grassroots groups in important world cities where exciting changes are taking place.

Students learn how to read a city - an iterative process that hones the ability to observe, question, document, research and communicate - leading to a better understanding of the interconnected social, physical, economic, environmental and political systems that affect urban environments.

From Brazil to Vietnam, students examine how the structure of a city enhances or impedes growth. They learn who exercises power in cities and where power comes from. And they examine the role of state and local government in formulating development policies in a changing world economy, and the challenges public policymakers face in light of increasing inequity.

IHP's comparative approach enables students to analyze and contrast major issues across cities, and track how concerns manifest themselves in the planning process, and ultimately, in a course of action.

KEY QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE ON THE PROGRAM:
--Though human needs may be similar around the globe, why does a city's ability to satisfy those needs vary?
--How do people create a sense of place, of community, of urban identity? What historical and socio-cultural contexts frame the opportunities, constraints and uncertainties of urban life?
--What must be done - and by whom - to move toward ecologically sustainable cities?
--What are the opportunities for political action by individuals, community organizations, social movements or even local government to shape city life?

IHP encourages interested students speak with alumni to learn first hand about the value of the program. There is no better way to hear candidly about the quality of the program. Please contact IHP to obtain a full list of alumni contacts, sorted by program.

Highlights: Students spend 1.5 weeks in New York City; 5 weeks in Sao Paulo and Curitiba, Brazil; 5 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa; and 5 weeks in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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

Below is a country program overview:

USA: NEW YORK
Starting in the most prominent world city in the United States, meet classmates and faculty and be introduced to the field experiences of IHP by exploring neighborhoods, visiting NGOs and hearing from public officials. The world journey commences with a discussion at the United Nations, and an acknowledgement that every city is local, yet also a piece of the global puzzle.

BRAZIL: SAO PAULO, CURITIBA
Brazil provides an excellent opportunity to see how participation, democracy and a mobilized citizenry effect change. In multi-ethnic Sao Paulo, the largest urban area in South America, public infrastructure takes aggressive steps forward, but never seems to catch up to the expanding citys growing needs. Land and water are plentiful, but how much is available to the secluded rich, the hard-working middle class or the tenuous poor remains a question. Curitiba provides a laboratory to study exemplary urban planning, especially in transportation and land use, but also in the creative re-use of most everything from buildings to buses to garbage.

SOUTH AFRICA: CAPE TOWN
The legacy of apartheid pervades, but what does it actually mean for how people conduct their lives? Experience the divides by living in different communities and observing the underlying uncertainty and suspicion among different races. Meanwhile, examine attempts to create a new, equitable social and political model.

VIETNAM: HANOI
Rising from poverty and isolation, Hanoi offers examples of rapid human adaptation and resilience. With decades of war all but vanished, a new paradigm of local identity and international connectivity is being tested. Tension grows between the use of public resources for community and environmental benefit or commercial development and private profit. Meanwhile, the basic form of the traditional city dense, narrow and vertical invites examination of the use, purpose and expectations of public space.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: USD23,650

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 30

Scholarships are Available. Each semester, IHP offers a limited number of grants to eligible students. These grants are awarded based on financial need. The grant funds are administered and made possible by IHP. Unfortunately, IHP is unable to provide full financial support to students. IHP grants, which generally range from USD500 to USD10,000, with average awards at USD2,000, are meant to help defray the costs of international study and to assist students for whom a small amount of aid may mean the difference between studying abroad and staying home. For more information visit www.ihp.edu/aid

Application Process Involves:

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

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network

International Honors Program's Mission Statement: The International Honors Program is in its 50th year of providing an unequaled opportunity for college students to examine the most significant social, political and environmental issues confronting countries and cultures around the world. The hallmark of IHP's programs is a unique comparative approach in which participants study a thematic topic in several different countries over one semester or full academic year. This multinational perspective allows students to analyze and contrast today's global conditions, evaluate issues and challenges, and compare solutions. The IHP experience engenders new questions and ideas, and prompts students to consider their lifelong roles in the global community. Themes such as public health, the environment, globalization, urban planning, governance, social justice and human rights are studied within the framework of the program. Offered in affiliation with SIT, the accredited higher education program of World Learning, IHP offers a rigorous curriculum enhanced by a diversity of learning methods and settings. Experiential activities such as site visits and case studies complement interdisciplinary team teaching led by in-country and traveling faculty. Students also step out of the classroom to interact with activists, public figures, government and organizational leaders, as well as citizens from all walks of life who are directly involved in the themes explored. Homestays give students the opportunity to get to know local families and to become immersed in the culture and traditions of each country, creating lasting connections and memorable insights. IHP participants are as broadly diverse as the places they visit and the people they meet. Personal backgrounds and areas of study vary widely among students, who come from all academic levels at colleges and universities across the USA, Canada and beyond.

Year Founded: 1958