11.S945 | Fall 2013 | Graduate

Urbanizing China: A Reflective Dialogue

Projects

Students will pair themselves and deliver a project as a team. Each pair will choose one of the candidate topics or may propose a different topic, which is equally encouraged. The deliverables include:

  • Project idea (600 words) and presentation (5 minutes)
  • Project proposal (3000 words) and presentation (15 minutes)
  • Project draft report (6000 words)
  • Project final report (6000 words) and presentation (20 minutes)

The following table details the required components for the project proposal and reports.

PROJECT PROPOSAL PROJECT REPORT (DRAFT AND FINAL)
Project title Project title
Highlights Highlights
Abstract (250 words) Abstract (250 words)
Keywords Keywords
1. Introduction

  • Context / significance
  • Objectives / research questions

1. Introduction

  • Context / significance
  • Objectives / research questions
2. Literature Review

2. Literature Review
3. Methodology

  • Data
  • Models / theories / methods

 3. Methodology

  • Data
  • Models / theories / methods
4. Expected results 4. Analysis of results and interpretation
5. Expected impact and policy implications 5. Discussion

  • Summary of research findings
  • Impact and policy implications
  • Limitations and future research
6. References 6. References

Please use Mendeley or Zotero for references, and follow the APA Style® .

Both draft and final reports should be a complete documentation of your term projects. The difference is that the draft is the best you can do before the instructor’s comments, and the final is the best you can do after the instructor’s comments.

Below is a list of the candidate topics that can be used for the team project and / or the literature synthesis.

  • The quiet disappearance of “green GDP” in China
  • Urban environment challenges and responses
  • Are Chinese governments more sincere about energy policy than environmental policy?
  • Clean energy and energy innovation in China
  • Public attitude toward sustainable development: History, evolution and prospects
  • China’s 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th five-year plans: Impacts on urban development and urban mobility
  • Car ownership, motorization and urban policy responses
  • Promoting of electric vehicles: National and municipal policies
  • Measuring urban equity: Mobility needs of the urban poor and migrant workers
  • High-speed rail and urban-regional development
  • Openness of Chinese cities: Significance, measurement, variation and trend
  • Law, rule of law and respect of law: Cases in urban development and planning
  • Property rights and its connections in urban arena: Urban villages, migrant workers, semi-public spaces, etc.
  • Public education: Primary and second schools, gaokao, locals vs. migrants
  • Aging society: Who’s responsible for caring for the elderly? Can we regulate “love?”
  • National urban policies and their interaction with local municipalities
  • Comparative studies between Chinese cities and OECD or other developing countries: To what degree are Chinese urban issues unique?
  • Public healthcare reforms: Variations among cities in their experiments
  • An update on “Urban Planning in China: Continuity and Change”—what has happened since Abramson’s 2006 paper?
  • Building institutions for sustainable urban development

Course Info

Instructor
Departments
As Taught In
Fall 2013
Level
Graduate
Topics
Learning Resource Types
Projects
Lecture Notes
Presentation Assignments
Written Assignments
Download Course
MIT Open Learning
Over 2,500 courses & materials
Freely sharing knowledge with learners and educators around the world. Learn more
© 2001–2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Accessibility
Creative Commons License
Terms and Conditions
Proud member of:
© 2001–2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology