Using stories “ripped from the headlines” (both old and new), this course will introduce you to the strange, wonderful, and incredibly relevant world of urban planning. Each week the class will explore a different aspect of city planning and urban life — from corrupt politics and local elections to transportation planning and garbage strikes, from affordable housing development to school quality and desegregation, from crime and community policing to the delivery of clean water (or the the failure to do so) — through the lens of both historical and contemporary news media, including newspapers, radio, newsreels, and television news. Coverage will often focus on news from your new home of Boston, but we’ll also compare news and issues here with those in other places and other times.