Cities and Epidemics
UrbDP 498 H / 598 L
3 credits, Summer full-term
Time TBD (remote)
Instructor: Peter Dunn (ptdunn@uw.edu)
This class takes the present Covid-19 pandemic as a starting point for exploring the relationship between disease and cities. By bringing together historical perspectives and contemporary experiences through a wide range of materials, we will learn how issues of health are drivers of urban change and how cities shape the experience of epidemics. We will examine questions of resilience, social infrastructure, urban form, the role of the state, and disparities in social impacts, among others. The class format includes lectures and seminar discussions, and students will have an opportunity to create their own histories of the coronavirus pandemic.