Urban design is a comprehensive synthesis of disciplines, involving architects, civil engineers, public health specialists, economists, sociologists, anthropologists, lawyers, geographers and technicians, committed to the knowledge and understanding of layered complexity of contemporary cities, with a specific focus on public life and social interaction in the urban space
Recommended books
Jacobs, J. (1961) The death and life of great American cities. New York: Random House
Whyte, W. (1980), The social life of small urban spaces. Washington: The Conservation Foundation.
Gehl, J. (1987) Life between buildings. Using public space. Washington: Island Press.
Stout, F and Le Gates, R. (eds) (2000) The City Reader. London and New York: Routledge
Robbins, E. and El- Khoury, R. (eds) (2004) Shaping the City: Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design, NY and UK: Routledge
Ingersoll R. (2006) Sprawltown. Looking for the city in its edge. New York: Princeton Architectural Press
Carmona, M. and Tiesdell, S. (2007), Urban Design Reader, London: Routledge
Chase, J. L.; Crawford, M.; Kaliski, J. (2008) Everyday urbanism. New York: Monacelli Press.
Madanipour, A. (ed) (2010) Whose Public Space? International Case studies in Urban Design and Development. London and New York: Routledge
Shane, D. G. (2011) Urban design since 1945: a global perspective. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley
La Cecla, F. (2012). Against Architecture. Oakland: Green Arcade
Larice, M. and Macdonald, E. (2013), The Urban Design Reader, London: Routledge (second edition)
United Nations (2013), Streets as public spaces and drivers of urban prosperity, Nairobi.
International cooperation
- United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
- United Nations, New Urban Agenda: http://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/
- UN-Habitat's City Prosperity Initiative: https://unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/initiatives-programmes/city-prosperity-initiative/
- City Prosperity Index (CPI): http://cpi.unhabitat.org/
- ‘Measurement on City Prosperity’ (2016): http://cpi.unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/resources/CPI%20METADATA.2016.pdf
- Measuring perceptions and quality of life: http://www.perceptionindex.org/
- World Happiness Report: https://worldhappiness.report/
- The Journal of Public Space: www.journalpublicspace.org
Survey
Urban daily life and the pursuit of happiness - http://www.bravodesign.it/urban_survey.html
Suggested websites
- The Guardian Cities https://www.theguardian.com/cities
- Planetizen https://www.planetizen.com/
- City Lab https://www.citylab.com/
- The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/world/
- Curbed https://www.curbed.com/
- The Conversation UK https://theconversation.com/uk
- Next City https://nextcity.org/
- Pop up City https://popupcity.net/
- Copenhagenize https://copenhagenize.eu/
- Places https://placesjournal.org/
- Place http://www.thisisplace.org/
Projects
- LSE Urban Age https://urbanage.lsecities.net/
- MIT Infinite Suburbia https://lcau.mit.edu/news/infinite-suburbia
- MIT Senseable City Lab http://senseable.mit.edu/
- UC Berkeley Global Urban Humanities Initiative https://globalurbanhumanities.berkeley.edu/
- Spin Unit http://www.spinunit.eu/
- UN Global Compact Cities Programme based at RMIT University https://citiesprogramme.org
- Stanford Urban Informatics Lab https://www.uil.stanford.edu/
- Stanford Human Cities Initiatives http://www.humancities.org/
Documentary films
- Urbanized https://www.hustwit.com/urbanized
- Human http://www.human-themovie.org/
- The human scale http://thehumanscale.dk/
Learning Objectives
Urban designers are more and more involved in a technical and political process dealing with land use, environment, infrastructure networks, social issues and policy making. Multidisciplinary analytical skills and an open-minded expertise are required to face a fast-changing urban world.
The main objective of the course is:
- to provide a comprehensive knowledge of the development of urban design as a discipline and the major tendencies and theories of urban design in the XX and XXIst century;
- to develop the students’ understanding of urban theories and principles as the basis for the development and transformation of cities through history;
- to develop the students’ research interests in urban design, by stressing the impact of urban design on the creation of livable cities and communities, and by examining successful and unsuccessful examples of cities and renovated urban districts around the world;
- to develop the students’ ability to be engaged in decision making processes leading to urban design outcomes, by applying critical thinking and urban imaginary;
- to develop students’ ability to understand urban complexity and to address long-term strategies related to urban transformations with a specific focus on public space.
Students will work in a collaborative environment, sharing reflections on individual assignments, putting into dialogue urban design with multiple layers, figures and myths that lay beyond the physical environment, in order to stimulate an interdisciplinary approach to critical issues related to cities, societies and living communities.
The Course will be the opportunity for students to creatively explore new ideas, theories and techniques and to integrate their personal research and background into comprehensive urban design knowledge.
During the course, urban design will be approached and studied from the following perspectives:
a. urban and historical study [history of the city, morphological and typological study and compactness of the built environment]
b. zoning and economic analysis [zoning, land use, local economy, privatization trends, real estate development, negotiation/struggle with citizens and communities, approved projects and future developments]
c. sociological study [demographics, social dynamics, neighborhoods and zones, patterns of growth, gentrification]
d. infrastructure and large projects [traffic study, infrastructure projects, public transportation, parking spaces, shopping malls]
e. urban elements from the walking experience at eye level [landmarks, sidewalks, monuments, green spots, public areas, city-users]
f. perception and senses [cars, cabs, shops, scents, sounds, views, light and shadow, urban taste]
g. public space and everyday life [cultural and intangible meanings, literature, memories, images, lifestyles, fashion, trends, food, tourism, social practices of appropriation and transformation, people and human scale]
Course keywords
Complexity, multiplicity, multidisciplinary, critical thinking, strategic urban design
Public space, quality of life, urban well-being, human scale
Intergenerational society, identities, gender
Mobility, economy, heritage, infrastructure, universal accessibility
Urbanism, urban design, urbanity, urbanization
Process, context, design principles, challenges and priorities
Urban future, imaginaries, common ground
Public-private-people partnership
Prerequisites
A prior academic bachelor degree, in any field related to urban studies.
Teaching Methods
This course will be divided into lectures and seminars on specific topics and case studies, and will involve student in peer-to-peer learning activities and action research workshops, in order to encourage face-to-face interaction, group processing, and individual and group accountability. The course will be the opportunity to integrate theoretical studies in urban design into contemporary strategic thinking addressing social change and innovation.
Type of Assessment
I. Individual work:
Individual assignment #1: news of the day on urban design (to be published on the private Facebook group dedicated to the course)
Individual assignment #2: successful/unsuccessful urban design projects with details regarding the name of the project and its location (name of city and country) and the date
Individual assignment #3: role play in a public hearing simulation;
Individual assignment #4: final essay ‘My city, Urbanism and me’
Individual assignment #5: readings from a list of selected books for the final exam.
II. Peer learning/Teamwork and workshops
Students will work together in brainstorming sessions and peer-to-peer discussions on several topics related to urban design
WORKSHOP #1: How to develop an urban design proposal
III. Action research for public hearing simulation (mid-term review)
Students will be required to approach and study successful examples of cities and renovation of urban districts and also some notorious urban failures, in a worldwide perspective. A specific focus will be developed on analyzing top down actions from governance, administration, local authorities, supporting NGO or private stakeholders and bottom up processes and approaches addressing the common good, from community leaders and members of the society.
WORKSHOP #2: Public hearing simulation
Students will be engaged in brainstorming sessions and group discussions, and in a public hearing simulation. A public hearing is a special type of public meeting for the purpose of the governing body accepting public comment and testimony on local legislation and urban development projects. A public hearing is an opportunity for interested individuals (stakeholders) to present their views and to participate in an exchange of views with other stakeholders.
WORKSHOP #3: Future City Co-Design: Learning from what has worked in Europe and beyond
This workshop will set out some leading ideas in contemporary city development in Europe and globally, focusing on aspects of urban design, city structure, livable neighborhoods, and public space. Some of these ideas are:
1. Strategic visioning / short term projects and actions
2. Public space as a social infrastructure / urban core city facilities
3. Urban density and compactness / safe, livable neighborhoods for all
4. Resilient, green, low carbon places / economically efficient places
5. Lifestyle urbanism / access to basic housing and public facilities
IV. Individual assignment: essay ‘My city, Urbanism and me’.
Each student will pick a city. The essay is intended to be a up to three-pages description of three different perspectives of the city (only text, no images):
- the official city as it is known (urban description of the built environment, addressing complexity of public space in terms of design, use and management, referring to three main keywords)
- urbanism (social groups, identity, cultural values, meanings)
- me (how you place yourself in the pubic space, your subjective experience)
Recommended reading: Bravo, L. (2017), “#Beirut, Urbanism and me: framing the city through space, identity and conflict”, in Luger J., Ren J. (eds.), Art and the City: Worlding the Discussion through a Critical Artscape, Routledge, London, pp. 207-228, ISBN 978-1138236219.
V. Final Exam
The final exam is an oral exam. Students are asked to present and discuss two topics selected from a list of topics (provided by the instructor) after reading articles, book chapters and/or books included in the References or from any other relevant and appropriate source.
Students’ evaluation
Students will be evaluated on:
- attendance and participation in group discussions (20%)
- participation in the public hearing simulation (15%)
- one-page document as statement from the public hearing simulation (15%)
- essay ‘My city, Urbanism and me’ (20%)
- oral final exam to discuss the essay and two of the topics discussed in the class (30%).
Students could be also engaged in some group exercises in the class.