FSEM 181   The American City

Faculty Profile for Professor Meyer

Examines the geographies of the urban areas–central cities and their suburbs–in which the large majority of the American population lives. One of the central questions of geography as a discipline is “the why of where.” Why, we will ask, are certain areas of cities used in certain ways (e.g., residence, industry, recreation)? How are residential areas patterned spatially by income, race, and other factors? How have these and other patterns changed over the past several centuries, and why, and how do they affect people’s lives today? After addressing these and other questions, we’ll conclude by adding one more category and exploring how urban, suburban, and rural America differ from one another and why. Students who successfully complete this seminar will earn credit for GEOG 312 and satisfy one half of the social relations, institutions, and agents area of inquiry requirement.

William B. Meyer is Associate Professor of Geography. His research and teaching interests include urban geography and environmental history; he is the author of The Environmental Advantages of Cities (2013) and Americans and Their Weather (rev. ed., 2014).