Urban Social Systems.

Catalog description

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course aims to familiarize undergraduate students with health as a concern in urban studies, and facilitate essential skills in reflexive thinking about the topic. Drawing together foundational readings in public and community health, health service delivery and urban health, this course examines canonical concepts such as social determinants of health, health care financing and community health needs assessments. Broadly, the course is broken up into three distinct parts. The first part introduces students to foundational concepts in public and community health, including the social-ecological model, vulnerable populations, community engagement and health policy. The second part introduces students to key aspects of health care service delivery, such as the types and distribution of health care institutions including the health care safety net. The final part invites students to apply acquired learning to case studies in urban health and to translate their knowledge into a forward-looking view as we enter the next era of urban health.