--- title: Urban Geography description: This subject investigates the development, structure, and functions of cities and urban areas. Learners will analyze urban planning, economic development, social segregation, and the challenges of infrastructure and sustainability in modern cities. category: humanities subcategory: geography difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/urban-geography --- # Urban Geography This subject investigates the development, structure, and functions of cities and urban areas. Learners will analyze urban planning, economic development, social segregation, and the challenges of infrastructure and sustainability in modern cities. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 2 Courses • 3 Websites ## Courses ### 1. CitiesX: The Past, Present and Future of Urban Life Explore what makes cities energizing, amazing, challenging, and perhaps humanity’s greatest invention. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/urban-planning/harvard-university-citiesx-the-past-present-and-future-of-urban-life **Tags:** urban-economics, cities, urban-history, housing, urban-planning ### 2. Sustainable Cities **Author:** Aromar Revi SDG Academy course, curated by Aromar Revi with faculty from UN-Habitat, universities and city governments, on urban development under the Sustainable Development Goals. Covers urbanization trends, informal settlements, infrastructure, climate resilience, urban governance and finance, explaining how public and private actors shape sustainable cities. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/sustainability/sdg-academy-sustainable-cities **Tags:** sustainable-cities, urban-development, urbanization, urban-governance, sustainable-development-goals ## Books ### 1. Cities and the Wealth of Nations **Author:** Jane Jacobs Jacobs argues that city regions, not nations, are the real units of economic life, and that import-replacing cities drive growth. Explains why national currencies and subsidies can mask stagnation in regions dependent on distant cities. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/014022677X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, geography ### 2. The Urban Revolution **Author:** Henri Lefebvre Lefebvre's 1970 argument that industrial society is giving way to complete urbanization, introducing the urban as its own analytic field. Dense Marxist and structuralist theory; expect to work through concepts like urban society and centrality. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0816641609?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, geography ### 3. Happy City **Author:** Charles Montgomery Montgomery combines happiness research with reporting from Bogota, Copenhagen, and American suburbs to show how commute length, density, and street design affect wellbeing. Gives concrete criteria for judging whether a neighbourhood is built for people. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0141047542?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, geography ## Websites ### 1. citylab.com CityLab is a publication devoted to urban life and city policy, exploring how cities are planned, governed, and transformed. It offers news, features, and data-driven stories on housing, transportation, zoning, design, and urban equity, often accompanied by visuals and interactive maps. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://citylab.com **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, geography ### 2. aag.org/topics/urban-geography An AAG resource page focused on urban geography, covering core topics like city form, urbanization, and spatial processes, with related research, teaching materials, and links for students and scholars. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://aag.org/topics/urban-geography **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, geography ### 3. unhabitat.org The UN-Habitat site is the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, focused on sustainable urban development and housing. It offers reports, data, policy guidance, and news on urban planning, housing, slum upgrading, and urban resilience worldwide. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://unhabitat.org **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, geography --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/urban-geography