Place, market and inequality

Objective

Places are unique kind of commodity emerged within the larger process of urban industrialization and the rise modern capitalism. From housing to industrial and commercial sites, places are actively produced and consumed in the market. Through this course, you will learn how places are commodified and serve as key sites of stratification. We will tackle questions like the following: What drives urban inequalities and segregation? How do people make locational choices? What is the role of regulation in shaping real estate market and hierarchy?

This is a survey course. Each week, we will discuss key readings on a topic. Class will be a mix of lecture and discussion. We will meet once per week and requires active participation based on reading materials.

Planning

*Specific topics may be subject to change. The weekly plan will be updated closer to the beginning of the second semester.

Week 1. Introduction: Places as commodities

Week 2. Theoretical perspectives

Week 3. Inequalities in housing and segregation I

• The patterns of segregation
• Housing (e)valuation
• Regulation and zoning

Week 4. Inequalities in housing and segregation II

• Discrimination
• Residential choice models
• Integration and gentrification

Week 5. Urban economic structure and amenities I

• Uneven local organizational resources
• Segregation in consumption and activity spaces

Week 6. Urban economic structure and amenities II

• The “creative class” and cities
• The rise of remote work
• Global tourism and its impact on local communities

Week 7. What’s next?

• Climate change
• Emerging technologies

Week 8. Celebration of knowledge (class presentations)

References

*The following readings are a sample of materials that will be covered in class. The finalized reading list will be shared closer to the beginning of the second semester. The details about mandatory and optional readings will be indicated.

Besbris, Max, John N. Robinson, and Hillary Angelo. 2024. “A Sociology of Real Estate: Polanyi, Du Bois, and the Relational Study of Commodified Land in a Climate-Changed Future.” Annual Review of Sociology 50(1):365–83.

Sampson, Robert J. 2012. Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. Ch. 1.

Podolny, Joel M. 1993. “A Status-Based Model of Market Competition.” American Journal of Sociology 98(4):829–72.

Lens, Michael C. 2022. “Zoning, Land Use, and the Reproduction of Urban Inequality.” Annual Review of Sociology 48:421–39.

Krysan, Maria, and Kyle Crowder. 2017. Cycle of Segregation: Social Processes and

Residential Stratification. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Ch. 1-3.

Bruch, Elizabeth E., and Robert D. Mare. 2006. “Neighborhood Choice and Neighborhood Change.” American Journal of Sociology 112(3):667–709.

Faber, Jacob William. 2019. “Segregation and the Cost of Money: Race, Poverty, and the Prevalence of Alternative Financial Institutions.” Social Forces 98(2):819–48. 

Brown-Saracino, Japonica. 2017. “Explicating Divided Approaches to Gentrification and Growing Income Inequality.” Annual Review of Sociology 43(1):515–39.

Florida, Richard. 2003. “Cities and the Creative Class.” City & Community 2(1):3–19.

Crowley, Martha, and Stainback Kevin. 2019. “Retail Sector Concentration, Local Eocnomic Structure, and Community Well-Being.” Annual Review of Sociology 45:321–43.

Zukin, Sharon, Scarlett Lindeman, and Laurie Hurson. 2017. “The Omnivore’s Neighborhood? Online Restaurant Reviews, Race, and Gentrification.” Journal of Consumer Culture 17(3):459–79.