GEOS2123 The Geography of Cities and Regions
Main Essay

Due Date: 5pm April 29 (Sydney-time: to be submitted via Canvas)
Word Count: 2000 words (+-10% permitted), excluding references but including in-text
citations and direct quotes. Word count should be included on the cover page
of the essay.



Background and aims

As we discussed in week 1, cities are multi-dimensional. In this Unit, we are studying how
cities are made up of relationships between places, people, processes, practices and politics.

Our first module this semester is focused on a range of important processes that shape
cities. Our second module is focused on a range of urban practices. Of course, there are
many processes and practices that we do not have time to consider in a 13 week semester!

So, in the essay assessment we invite you to conduct your own research into an urban
practice that we do not cover in our lectures. In a way, we are asking you to imagine that
you are conducting research for a new lecture in our ‘practices’ section, on a topic that is of
particular interest to you. We look forward to learning about all kinds of urban practices as
we read your essays!

Essay Question

Choose an everyday urban practice that we do NOT cover in our lectures1, and write a
geographical account of how that practice both shapes, and is shaped by, the city.

You may choose to keep your discussion quite broad, illustrating your argument by
comparing examples of your chosen practice across a range of cities. Or you may choose to
go into more depth by discussing your chosen practice in a particular city.

The best essays will analyse how the practice they have chosen relates to the other
dimensions of urban life that we are discussing this semester (urban processes, places,
peoples and politics).

What kinds of things should you write about?

People living in cities are engaged in all manner of practices, some of which we will not
discuss in our lectures this semester. We invite you to think about the kinds of urban
practices that are of most interest to you. Once you have come up with some ideas, do
some targeted searches through geography/urban geography journals to see what kinds of
academic research might be out there on your chosen practice. Geographers have such

1 In other words, you are NOT to focus on practices of policing, working, eating, remembering, or walking.
diverse interests; chances are you will find something to get you started! If you have an idea
but are worried about whether it meets the requirements, feel free to email Kurt to ask.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking.

Worshipping

A focus on the practice of religious worship would make a fascinating topic for an essay.
Cities are often made up of people with diverse religious identities, who may find
themselves together in a city as a consequence of processes like migration, who congregate
to worship in different kinds of places, and whose efforts to secure a space for worship may
bring them into conflict with urban policy-makers and with one another (politics). There’s a
large literature on this topic, but to give you a local example, you could check out:
• Connell, J., Iveson, K. (2014) An Eruv for St Ives? Religion, identity, place and conflict
on the Sydney north shore. Australian Geographer, 45(4), 429-446
• Dunn, K. (2005) Repetitive and Troubling Discourses of Nationalism in the Local
Politics of Mosque Development in Sydney, Australia, Environment and Planning D:
Society and Space, 23(1): 29-50.

Shopping

Do you like going to the shops? If yes, why not write about the urban geography of
shopping! There’s lots of interesting writing about retail, shopping and its urban
geographies. The emergence of suburban shopping malls in the twentieth century and their
consequences for city life, and for the survival of ‘high streets’ in cities, have received plenty
of attention. There’s also been a bit of a revival of thinking about those local shopping
streets, and the diversity of people and cultures they support. You could start by taking a
look at:
• Voyce, M. (2006) Shopping malls in Australia: the end of public space and the rise of
‘consumerist citizenship’?, Journal of Sociology, 42(3): 269-286.
• Watson, S. (2009) The Magic of the Marketplace: Sociality in a Neglected Public
Space, Urban Studies, 46(8): 1577-1591.
• Zukin, S., Kasinitz, P. and Chen, M. (2016) Global Cities, Local Streets: Everyday
Diversity from New York to Shanghai, Routledge.
• The Committee for Sydney has even just produced a report on Sydney’s ‘High
Streets’ and their importance for the city’s economy and social life.

Playing

While cities are often approached as sites of intense economic activity, they are also sites of
fun and play for many people – including children. There is a really interesting literature on
the ways that urban geographies of childhood play have changed over time – and a growing
movement arguing that we ought to be promoting more ‘free-range’ play in cities through
planning reforms that make our cities more ‘child-friendly’. And there’s also more recent
work on ‘play’ that considers it more broadly, not only as something that children do. You
could tackle this issue more broadly, or examine particular cities or initiatives. Here’s an
overview of how geographers think about play in different ways:
• Woodyer, T. (2012) Ludic geographies: not merely child’s play, Geography Compass,
6(6): 313-326.
There’s also a whole journal devoted to children’s geographies. And for a classic piece on
changing geographies of childhood, check out:
• Valentine, G. (1996) Angels and Devils: Moral Landscapes of Childhood, Environment
and Planning D: Society and Space, 14(5): 581-599.

Gardening

While we typically think of cities as ‘built’ environments, of course in many cities gardening
remains an everyday activity for many. But that gardening might take many forms, from
backyard gardening to rooftop gardening, market gardening and community gardening. You
could pick one or more cities, and consider the ways in which the geographies of gardening
are shaped and contested as the city changes. Here’s a fascinating example which brings
together questions of practice, people (African American women), process
(deindustrialisation), place (Detroit’s vacant land) and politics (gardening as community and
resistance!):
• White, M. W. (2011) Sisters of the Soil: Urban Gardening as Resistance in Detroit,
Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts, 5(1): 13-28.
Or for a different case with a more explicit discussion of urban colonisation, see:
• McClintock, N. (2018). Urban agriculture, racial capitalism, and resistance in the
settler‐colonial city. Geography Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12373

Protesting

City streets and public spaces are frequently the sites of protest. Those protests take a wide
variety of forms, from well-behaved marches that have the permission of authorities to
rowdy demonstrations that block traffic and long-term occupations in protest camps. And
there have been interesting changes to the geography of protest with the use of social
media platforms to organise events and choreograph protest movements in real-time. You
could write an essay on the relationship between protest and urban space, perhaps looking
at trends in protesters’ use of urban spaces and infrastructures (eg the recent wave of
transit protests around the world), or perhaps focusing in on one example of protest. Some
examples to think with:
• Iveson, K. (2017) 'Making space public' through occupation: The Aboriginal Tent
Embassy, Canberra. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 49(3), 537-
554
• Castells, M. (2015) Networks of Outrage and Hope: social movements in the internet
age. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Commuting

The daily commute is a feature of life for so many urban inhabitants – be they commuting
for work, for study, or for some other regular purpose. Commuting brings us into contact
with a range of urban infrastructures – from footpaths to cycle paths, roads, railways,
waterways, and more. And it also brings us into contact with our fellow commuters.
Geographers have written about the urban infrastructures of transport and their uneven
accessibility, but they’re also increasingly interested in the experience of commuting. A
couple of examples include:
• Wilson, H. (2011) Passing propinquities in the multicultural city: the everyday
encounters of bus passengering. Environment and Planning A, 43: 634-649.
• Bissell, D. (2018) Transit life: how commuting is transforming our cities. Cambridge:
MIT Press.

Skateboarding

There’s a fascinating geographical literature out there about skateboarding. That literature
investigates the urban spatial politics of skateboarding – considering what kind of people
skate, the ways in which skateboarding appropriates public spaces designed for other
purposes, and the policy responses to skateboarding, which range of prohibition to the
creation of skateparks and other ‘proper places’ for skateboarding. Here’s a couple of
articles on the topic to get you thinking:
• Woolley, H. & Johns, R. (2001) Skateboarding: The City as a Playground, Journal of
Urban Design, 6:2, 211-230
• Borden, I. (2001) Skateboarding, space and the city: Architecture and the body.
Oxford, UK: Berg.
• Stratford, S. (2016) Mobilizing a Spatial Politics of Street Skating: Thinking About the
Geographies of Generosity, Annals of the American Association of
Geographers, 106:2, 350-357 (note: University of Tasmania geographer Elaine
Stratford has been writing about skateboarding for ages, check out some of her
previous work too!)

Movie-going

Going to the movies emerged as a recreational activity in urban movie-houses in wealthy
cities in the early years of the twentieth century. But the urban geography of movie-going
has changed dramatically since that time – processes like suburbanisation, technological
developments like the introduction of television for domestic consumption (first broadcast,
then streaming), and the global spread of shopping malls have all resulted in significant
geographical changes to the practice of movie-going in our cities. You could pick one or
more cities, and consider the ways in which the geographies of movie-going have changed
with their cities. To get you started, you could read:
• Hubbard, P. (2002) Screen-Shifting: Consumption, ‘Riskless Risks’ and the Changing
Geographies of Cinema, Environment and Planning A, 34(7): 1239-1258.
This article is reporting on research in the UK, and is getting quite old now. How would
things look differently in Australia, and what might have changed since it was published?
• Screen Australia keeps some very handy historical data about the cinema industry,
including the location of screens and seats, here:
https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/cinema/industry-trends





Music-making

So many music scenes and styles are associated with particular cities – think of hip hop and
New York, Afrobeat and Lagos, samba and Rio, grunge and Seattle, punk and London, jazz
and New Orleans, and so on. These styles of music emerge in relation to the particular
people, places (including music venues) of cities. And of course, music styles also travel
between cities – hip hop, for example, is now a global force, and here in Sydney we see
artists like Kid Laroi and ONEFOUR expressing themselves and their experiences using hip
hop. Again, there’s great writing out there on music geographies, here’s a couple to get you
thinking:
Shabazz, R. (2021) Prince and Place: a primer on the geography of music, Places Journal,
available here.
Connell, J. & Gibson, C. (2003) Sound Tracks: Popular Music and Place, Routledge.

**
While you are welcome to write on any one of these topics, we encourage you to think of
your own ideas. The shelves of SciTech library are full of wonderful books about cities, have
a browse for some inspiration!

Assessment Criteria

The general descriptors for the different grades used in this Unit are provided in the Unit of
Study outline. Alongside those general descriptors, the following descriptors relate directly
to the essay instructions above. The following page shows the rubric that we will be using to
mark your essays.

Fail
The essay does not follow the instructions above, for example, it lacks a focus on a chosen
urban practice that we have NOT covered in the lectures. Or, where a relevant practice, the
essay does not offer a clear description of the practice or any analysis of how the practice
relates to the city and urban process. The essay may also suffer from other shortcomings,
for example, it is very short, it has significant problems with written expression and
presentation, etc.

Pass
A ‘Pass’ essay focuses on a relevant topic, but is largely descriptive – there is little or no
analysis of how the practice under consideration relates to the urban process. There is only
limited use of relevant references from the urban studies literature. There may also be
problems with the clarity of structure and/or sentence construction.

Credit.
A ‘Credit’ essay focuses on a relevant topic, and offers some good reflections on how the
practice relates to the city and the urban process. Some issues that hold this essay back
from a higher grade could include: problems with expression, structure and/or
presentation; quality of in analysis, which could have been improved through wider reading
and research; contradictions or lack of logic in arguments developed in the essay.

Distinction.
A ‘Distinction’ essay is an excellent piece of work which focuses on a relevant and original
topic, and presents a sophisticated account of how the practice relates to the urban
process. It offers a very clear analysis and a logical and clear structure, draws clear insights
from wide reading and research, and also makes use of other material (e.g. figures,
photographs, maps, etc) to illustrate some of the points made.

High Distinction
A ‘High Distinction’ essay has all the excellent qualities of a Distinction essay, but
demonstrates unusual sophistication and originality of thought.
Student Name Grade
CONTENT (60%)
Essay presents a strong and clearly stated
argument
HD DI CR PS FA Essay lacks a clear argument and/or discusses concepts
without a clear direction or purpose
Essay demonstrates a good understanding of the
multidimensional approach to urban life
Little to no evidence of having read and understood class
material
Essay is supported by appropriate evidence. At
least 8 independent, relevant, academic resources
are well integrated with the discussion
The essay does not refer to at least 5 academic sources
and/or sources are not well integrated with the
discussion
Key concepts and issues are accurately used in
relation to the essay’s argument
Key concepts and issues are inaccurately and/or poorly
discussed, and their meaning is not well demonstrated
Accurate, and independent synthesis and critical
evaluation of key points
Simple restatement of the sources with little or no
evidence of independent thinking or critical evaluation
Appropriate use of examples to illustrate key
points
Lack of examples, or incorrect application of examples
WRITING, REFERENCING and PRESENTATIONS (40%)
An inviting introduction draws the reader in, and
a satisfying conclusion leaves the reader with a
sense of closure
There is no attempt to set-up what follows or use the
conclusion to wrap things up
Essay is well organised with a logical structure
and sequence
There is no identifiable structure to the essay
Writing is clear with well-constructed sentences
and paragraphs, and conventions of spelling,
punctuation and grammar are followed
Poor word choice, rambling or choppy sentences and
paragraphs, consistent errors in spelling, punctuation and
grammar make the text difficult to read
All sources are appropriately referenced in-text
and are consistent with the references list, which is
itself accurate
Referencing does not meet academic standards
Well-presented essay according to academic
standards; appropriate use of relevant illustrations
(eg. graphs, images, photos etc.)
Formatting guidelines have not been followed;
illustrations are irrelevant or presented poorly
Length is within 10% (+/-) of assigned word limit Assignment is too long or too short