The Twentieth Century City: culture and governance

Urban transformations Secularization of urban identity. The collapse of most types of Christian belief and activity. New religions and new cult spaces. Impact of the new media: cinema and television. Democratization of sport: facilities, green spaces, commercialization. Urban marketing. The role of Olimpic Games and other big events.

Modern landscape Discourses on the city. Urbanism and anti-urbanism. Social housing and the idea of the Garden City. International Modern Movement : the pursuit of a new urban landscape. Destruction and reconstruction after the War. The planned city.

Post-modern landscape The end of the Modernist hegemony. Planning and its crisis. Suburbanization and private commercial developments. New life-styles. The fragmentation of the city. Urban sprawl and communication system. Architecture as urban marketing. Languages and spaces.

Municipal governance The growing size and professionalism of civic bureaucracy. Costitution of new city departments. Extension of administrative jurisdictions and improvement of municipal finances . Transport policies. Metro systems. Commuting as as a main character of the metropolitan life. Different city users.

Cities and globalization 1970s and 1980s: a watershed for the governance of European cities. Privatization policies. De-standardization of urban services. Planning processes and forms of public audit. The impact of European Union. Governing global cities.

Berlin Urban trasformations after 1990. From a divided city to a new capital. Reshaping the historical centre. The area around Brandenburg Gate. A new business and shopping center: Potsdamer Platz. The public use of urban history.