If this class sounds interesting, you should take it, but if you are just taking it for credit, then you will be so bored.
The content of the class follows the sociological transformations of cities from pre-modern, medieval cities to modern cities. I actually found the content really interesting, but it will feel really boring if it isn't something you are remotely interested in. Professor Makarova is very nice, but she also tends to repeat herself a lot and talk slowly. It is helpful to be kind to her and get her trust because I think it made her a nicer grader and more relaxed about having to miss class.
The grade is split up between weekly journals (a total of 6 I believe, so you don't have to do one every week), 5 pre-class discussion posts (not a lot)+ 1 presentation to the class (which is a little awkward), two photo-essays (don't be fooled they aren't essays made of photos but instead normal length essays with a couple of photos that require you to walk around Charlottesville to take), the midterm, and the final. The midterm and the final are a series of "essays" (around 2-3 paragraphs) about the readings.
There are readings before every class that vary from being manageable to a sort of long, but overall, they were fairly doable. If you read most of the readings and go to class, and pay attention, the midterm and final should be no problem.

Prof Makarova is a super nice person, and the class's content is generally relatively interesting.

We began with a bit on Medieval Cities. Then, we moved into Paris and the beginning of Industrialization. Afterwards, the colonialization and power dynamics of centralized planning in the late 19th and early 20th century. Lastly, we ended with more modern examples with China in the late 20th century and Dubai in the 21st century.

The main themes and central questions are: What are cities for? For whom are cities built? What are the paradoxes in the social relationships between people and space? How does space embody dynamics?

For the class format, the Professor gives relatively interesting lectures. Her points are written on the board, but she tends to ramble a bit on the points that she is trying to get people to synthesize. Every student does a presentation on the discussion once a semester. And usually it involved summarizing one of the readings and asking some questions to the class for discussion. The discussions usually flow alright. People do feel shy sometimes to begin talking. Prof Makarova has specific ideas on where the conversation should flow, so she guides the discussion quite a bit, especially at the beginning of the semester.

My main gripe with the class is that we do not learn enough vocabularly or theories to systematically discuss these social and cultural issues or observations of the city. We can talk about and observe paradoxes, but what is the knowledge we are extracting from our comparisons? This may be a personal failure of mine as a student, or the class itself might just be problematic in this way. Either way, not a bad class, especially if you really engage with the reading and discussion intentionally.

Super fun course. Prof. Makarova made it very interesting, and the curriculum is awesome, learned a ton. Worth it for sure, but there is a ton of work, and you have to keep up throughout the whole semester. Writing assignments are tough and frequent, with 6 weekly journals, 3 or 4 essays, a mid-term, and a final on paper. Discussion posts are also required, and be ready to read. In-class is a bit more dull, and you definitely get more out of the course on your own. But, it's still worthwhile if you're looking for a challenge.

Overall a nice course! Professor Makarova is truly super sweet and cares about her students. One day i was late to class because I was at a training for a new job and instead of being upset she simply was super curious into what my new job was. The class consists of 10 discussion posts, 6 reading journals, 4 in class reading checks, 2 photo essays, a midterm, and final. The fact there was a final for the class was ridiculous, and felt not needed. The readings can be long and dense, but you can get by if you skim and grab 1 to 2 good points. Makarova can tend to ramble, and sometimes will shut you down when participating in class, but it’s not her being rude by any means. The course truly opened my perspective on the world and I really enjoyed it! (Coming from someone with no background in Urban Planning or Sociology). Overall the course is a very manageable A/A- and i would reccomend if you are interested!!

I would definitely recommend this class! Professor Makarova is the sweetest and it's not difficult at all. Not only is it pretty much an easy A, but the content is super interesting. While you do have to put in some effort walking around Charlottesville for photo-essays, it is super rewarding and changed how I experience public space.
The class is made up of two exams (directly based off discussion questions reviewed in class), six journals based on the readings for the week (fairly simple), pre-discussion class posts (graded for completion), two photo-essays (more in-depth but still only 2 or 3 pages), and in-class quizzes checking you read the readings. I will say that Professor Makarova is looking for specific points in participation but it doesn't really take away from class experience. Overall, I would recommend this course even if you don't know anything about urban planning, and as a sociology major, I learned a ton!

I would not recommend this class if you have a background in urban planning or need structure in your class agenda. Professor Makarova is not good at answering questions in class and often meets those who are brave enough to raise their hand with immediate shut downs. I don't think I managed to get a single response out without her interrupting and refuting what I was saying.... she would basically just construct a strawman out of my first few words and then try to drive her original point in.

If you are okay with quietly meeting expectations and just saying whatever she wants to hear, an A/A- is very manageable. You write two essays, take two tests, and do journals - nothing too difficult. Try to engage with the authors from the readings, as those are the real core of the class and the most interesting material. But to be honest, this isn't a great survey through cities and cultures, and I'm not sure what its takeaway was supposed to be.

Class was not too bad although if you are not a sociology major or A school person it might just be a bit boring. The readings can sometimes be long but professor is very fair. As long as you put in effort you should do fine. I would recommend also writing down what she says about the readings and studying that as she explains the main takeaways in class. The tests are super fair and she grades fair.

Prof. Makarova is the absolute sweetest! Honestly, as long as you offer any insight or just even ask a generic question, she'll really appreciate you. There were 8 journals based on the weekly readings. The material was really straightforward and the exams were fairly easy. It's a class where you can get an A for effort.

Professor Makarova is wonderful- very kind, interesting, and intelligent. She allows for a lot of time for discussion and to interact with students outside of class. Course material is interesting-- we did seem to go through topics slowly, but I certainly grasped them fully. Pretty light, interesting reading and very fair exams. Highly recommend!

Professor Makarova is the sweetest professor I've ever had at UVA. She truly cares about this topic and makes it really interesting. I'm not in the A school or sociology and I found it totally manageable as long as you do the readings and come to class.