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Population

Construction drawing of a social housing high-rise in La Duchère, 1960.
Teaching

Social Capital in World History: Lyon and Pittsburgh as Examples

Lyon, France, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are connected by the thread of social capital, or people power.  This essay situates social capital as an non-financial asset possessed by people who have little wealth, but who use a variety of strategies to facilitate community improvements.

Les Minguettes in Vénissieux, south of Lyon, 1969.
Source

Social Housing development in France

In addition to La Duchère, other social housing developments in greater Lyon included Les Minguettes in Vénissieux, where 9,200 units for 35,000 residents were constructed between 1966 and 1973, and the 8,300-unit Mas du Taureau, built between 1970 and 1980 (in addition to La Grappinière, with a

Plans for La Duchère, in western Lyon, c. 1960.  Lyon Municipal Archives, Lyon, France.
Source

Plans for Social Housing in France

Most of the new housing was constructed on cities’ fringes, or on adjacent farmland just outside the central city, by a quasi-public company known by its French initials SCIC (Société central immobilière de la Caisse des dépôts, or Central Real Estate Company of the Deposits and Consignments Fund

The mayor of Lyon, France, Louis Pradel, drives a bulldozer to initiate construction of social housing in La Duchère, in the city’s western edge, 1958.
Source

The mayor of Lyon, France drives a bulldozer to initiate construction of social housing

The headline reads, in English, “Aboard a bulldozer, Mr.

Clip from Pittsburgh's North Hills News Record in 1993 with the headline "“PCRG challenges financial institution lending practices."
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Pittsburgh News Coverage of the Community Reinvestment Group

"PCRG challenges financial institution lending practices,” Pittsburgh, Dec. 22, 1993.

Picture of the 1988 headline in the New Pittsburgh Courier “Bank Gives Boost to Black Areas"
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Pittsburgh Newspaper Article “Bank Gives Boost to Black Areas”

“Bank Gives Boost to Black Areas,” New Pittsburgh Courier, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1988.

Several pages taken from the Veritable Records of the Chosŏn Dynasty
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Veritable Records of the Chosŏn Dynasty

In the twenty-first century, we are used to post-Westphalian norms of inter-state equality and noninterference. These norms, however, did not apply to interstate relations between the Qing empire and its tributary states.

Photo of handwritten letter. Transcription and translation on source page.
Methods

Primer: Transnational Mobility and State Formation

Modern nation-states and transnational mobility – the movement of people, things, and ideas across borders – are two important subjects for historians to study. They are two fundamental features of the modern world and have influenced one another constantly over the last several centuries.

Close up of Manilla on Philippines map
Methods

Primer: Global Urban History

Urban history is a rich subfield of historical scholarship that examines life in urban spaces, how communities within cities interact and coexist, as well as the process of city formation and urbanization.

Map of the earth showing areas where lights can be seen from space at night
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World Light Map

In "38 maps that explain the global economy", Matthew Yglesias has captured for Vox the prominent features of our contemporary global economy and society.