Mexico Field Studies with Professor Fritz Wagner – fwagner@uw.edu URBDP 498C/URBDP 598C or LARCH 495A – (3-6 credits) – Summer Quarter – June 21st – June 28th, 2016
Students will visit Mexico City, San Miguel de Allande and Guanajuato
JUNE 21-June 28, 2016
COMPARATIVE
URBAN PLANNING, DESIGN AND RELATED URBAN ISSUES:
MEXICO AND THE US
The course is open to juniors and seniors as well as graduate students. Professor Fritz Wagner and Dr. Regent Cabana will lead it. We will visit three Mexican cities-Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato – where a number of professors, government officials and other urban experts will give lectures and tours.
The course will examine similarities and differences between U.S. and Mexican cities. We will look more particularly at current urban issues confronting communities in Mexico. We will study the physical layout of cities, urban design, urban growth, problems related to the environment, governmental institutions as well as historical, social and cultural factors specific to Mexico and Mexican cities. Students will write a paper on a topic related to an issue encountered in Mexico.
A FANTASTIC TRIP AND LOTS TO LEARN-YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED Our estimated cost of the trip (airfare, meals, ground travel, and accommodation) is $1200, not including tuition
Students pay own travel to and from Mexico and pay for own lodging and meals and ground transport. Suggested flight times will be offered and accommodations will be organized by instructors.
For more information including the syllabus and itinerary, click read more.
Syllabus
Comparative research in urban studies has been a major development in the last decade but little has been done to provide US students with a comprehensive knowledge of Mexican cities and how they compare with US cities. The aim of the course is to introduce US students to theoretical and methodological aspects of comparative urban research by providing on-site case studies of Mexican cities.
The course will be open to juniors and seniors as well as graduate students for three or six hours credits. The 6 credit option requires a longer paper. We will visit three Mexican cities – Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato – where a number of professors, government officials and other urban experts will give lectures and tours. The course will examine similarities and differences between U.S. and Mexican cities. We will look more particularly at current urban issues confronting communities in Mexico. We will study the physical layout of cities, urban design, urban growth, problems related to the environment, governmental institutions as well as historical, social and cultural factors specific to Mexican cities. Students will write a comparative paper on a topic related to urban issues encountered in Mexico and keep a daily journal.
The course introduces the logic of comparative research in the social sciences and applies its theory and methodology to the study of Mexican cities as compared to US cities. Its multidisciplinary and comparative character develops the ability to interpret and understand urban changes, changing demographics, and to analyze appropriate and sustainable strategies and policies to address urban problems in Mexico and the US. Students will gain an understanding of economic, political, social, and cultural differences between Mexico and the US. It will also help them better understand the diversity of the contemporary urban world in Mexico and the US and the importance of the social-cultural factors specific to each region and city in finding solutions to common urban problems. By the end of the course, students are expected to be conversant in cross-border urban issues in Mexico and the US.
For further info. contact Prof. Wagner 206-524-0979 or fwagner @uw.edu or see him in Gould 410A.
Space is Limited so get organized soon
Itinerary:
2016 MEXICO PROGRAM
June 21- June 28, 2016
TUESDAY JUNE 21
Travel to Mexico City
HOTEL JUAREZ
Address: 1a. Callejon de 5 de Mayo 17, Cuauhtémoc, Centro, 06000 Ciudad de México, D.F., Mexico
Phone:+52 55 5512 6929
WEDNESDAY JUNE 22
9hr15 Leave hotel
9hr45 – 10hr30 Group meeting (academic program, logistics and journal)
10h30 – 11hr15 Conversation with Dr. Carlos Valle, Laredo Community College
TOPIC: Insights into Mexican Culture and History as Compared to US
11hr15 – 12hr00 Talk on Mexico City Centro Histórico, Dr. Régent Cabana
12hr00 – 16hr30 Walking Tour of Centro Histórico
16hr30 – 17hr30 Reporting on Walking Tour
THURSDAY JUNE 23
9hr15 Leave hotel for Colonia Condesa
10hr15 – 12hr15 Walking Tour of Colonia Condesa
TOPICS: Architecture, Urban Design & Neighborhood Planning
14hr45 Metro to Museo Nacional de Anthropología
15hr30 – 17hr30 Visit at the Museo Nacional de Anthropología
FRIDAY JUNE 24
ETN bus to San Miguel de Allende. Departure: 10:10; Arrival: 13:15. Price: 435 pesos
HOTEL POSADA DE LAS MONJAS www.posadadelasmonjas.com Conde de La Canal #37. Tel: 011-52-415-15-20171
Price: Single: 580 pesos; Double: 900 pesos
16hr00 – 18hr00 Meeting with Dr. Sofia Ayala Rodríguez, Rector of Universidad Tecnológia de San Miguel de Allende
SATURDAY JUNE 25
10hr00 – 11hr00 Group meeting
11hr00 – 17hr00 Walking tour of old San Miguel de Allende with Professor Jesús Rodriguez Morales, Universidad Tecnológia de San Miguel de Allende. Meet at La Parroquia
SUNDAY JUNE 26
Primera Plus bus to Guanajuato. Departure: 10:10; Arrival: 11:40. Price: 110 pesos
HOTEL Casona del Visconde http://hotellacasonadelvizconde.webs.com
Cantador No.110-112 (Jardin del Cantador). Tel: 011-52-473-73-20914
Price: Single: 30 US dollars; Double: 40 US dollars
15hr00 – 17hr30: Walking Tour of Old Guanajuato with Dr. Manuel Sanchez, School of Urban Planning and Architecture, Universidad de Guanajuato
TOPIC: How Urban Growth Affects Quality of Life in Guanajuato
MONDAY JUNE 27
10hr00 – 11hr30 Talk on urban development of Guanajuato from a historical perspective
Dr. Jorge Cabreros, School of Urban Planning and Architecture, Universidad de Guanajuato
14hr00 – 15hr30 Final group meeting
16hr00 – 17hr30 Talk on tourism planning in Guanajuato Lic. Jorge Luis Cabrejos Samame, City of Guanajuato
TUESDAY JUNE 28
Departure to Seattle via Leon (BJX). 40 minutes taxi ride from downtown Guanajuato. Or bus to Mexico City (central del norte) approximately 5hrs on Primera Plus and taxi or subway to airport
