This is a course on the American city. We examine issues of suburbanization, neighborhood change, political conflict, urban poverty, economic development, and the fragmentation of cities over the last century. We encounter these issues through the prism of sports. Industrialization, urbanization and population migration, which created the great cities of the 19th century, also created organized athletics. Race, class, and gender, which have circumscribed the worlds of American urban residents, have shaped the emergence and development of sport. And the decisions of sports franchises to build ballparks and stadiums, relocate teams, and seek governmental funding all reflect forces that drive urban politics.