Master of Science Programme
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Urban Planning & ManageMent Master of Science Programme Managing the challenge of urban planning and mobility in the global era A unique integration of engineering and social science Project-based group work An international environment for study and research www.urban.aau.dk introdUction the Master of science PrograMMe Urban development is societal develop- The Master of Science Programme in Ur- fessionalism with personal identity, offer- ment! images may be today’s winners, whereas ban Planning and Management at Aalborg ing a Master’s programme that points to cities outside the reach of such networks University was established to meet these a lifelong engagement with the fascinating Planning and managing the development are running the risk of ‘splintering’ into lay- radical urban transformations. world of urban planning and management. of contemporary cities is one of the major ers of mobili ty and living spaces mainly societal challenges all over the world regulated by economic powers. Such ur- Aim Content today. Hardly any place on the globe is ban competition leads developers, politi- The aim of the Master’s programme is to To meet such challenges the Urban Plan- left untouched by urbanisation, as the cians and planners to consider the par- teach students how to make theoretically ning and Management programme makes global spread of technology and economic ticular identity of their individual cities in a informed analyses using the newest systematic use of the project and problem activity continues to impact towns, cities global urban context. based model of learning. Students work and urban megaregions. In short we live urban planning and management. The together in groups on research questions, in an ‘urban society’. But who will decide these urban chang- students will then be capable of producing - es? Whose city is it? Who should have concrete suggestions for plans and tional environment with students of many The production of values, culture and a say when plans are made and imple- interventions in real-life urban planning different nationalities. Such a way of or- innovation is the hallmark of cities and the mented? Such crucial issues have to do situations. Reaching such a level of ganising the learning environment is in ac- outcome of urban development. However, with democracy and governance in urban problem solving synthesis is dependent cordance with the nature of the challenges so are the negative features of urban planning and management, as the imple- on the interdisciplinary approach built in urban planning and management today, density such as urban poverty, crime and mentation of various forms of participatory into the programme, taking the best from as problems do not exist within narrow pollution. organisation suggest. engineering and social sciences. boundaries of individual disciplines. Thus, the learning model is very closely related The city may be seen as a complex physi- These development trends mean that the Through focusing on the urban develop- to the real-life situation which urban plan- cal, technical and social phenomenon ’urban society’ is in need of plans, visions ment trends of today and tomorrow, the ners and managers face in their profes- linked to networks of both local anchoring and guiding principles for intervention in this Urban Planning and Management pro- sional capacities. and global spread. However, not all cities complex context. To increase the positive gramme puts emphasis not only on solid share the same fortune in terms of positive social, economic and environmental theoretical and methodological skills, but The Master’s programme fuses engi- development. In an age of global transfor- facets of the urban society, and to reduce also on integrating professional skills with neering and social science theories and the negative ones means putting forward the ability to build relationships with oth- methodologies, offering a complex and companies, employees and investment. well-informed analyses, realistic visions er people, recognising that planning and solution-oriented ‘tool box’ for dealing with Cities linked to global networks of trans- and sound interdisciplinary solutions. managing cities has as much to do with urban issues. During the programme, stu- communication and interaction as with dents will also have the option to take an technical and theoretical skills. Focus- internship, in for example a private plan- ing on a solid ability to build and sustain ning consultancy, a public planning de- personal relationships means fusing pro- partment or a NGO. 2 3 strUctUre coUrses seMester 1 seMester 2 1st semester 2nd semester Urban Development, Causes and Con- The Deliberative Practitioner (5 ECTS) The complex city Power in planning sequences (5 ECTS) This course looks into the institutional This semester takes its point of departure in the Taking its point of departure in the notion of The course focuses on the potential so- contexts and power relations which the ongoing processes of change that mark Western contemporary urban development being affected cial, economical and environmental con- professional planner is a part of in his/ cities and urban agglomerations today. This includes by increased complexity and new local-global sequences of urban development. Rel- her daily work. The course deals with the the global-local change of the ability of cities to attract transformation processes, the theme of this semester evant concepts, theories and models to different understandings of the planner’s investments and labour, but also the changes in inter- understand the complexity of spatial de- role, and the ethical questions and profes- nal as wells as external infrastructural communica- and management. Leaving aside the idealised notion velopment of cities will be presented and sional behavioural code that exist around tions of cities. It also includes cities’ material trans- of urban planning and management as something actions with nature, their contribution to greenhouse neutral or inherently consensus-based, the theme discussed, in order to provide the students the planning profession. The course gives gas emissions, and the urban strategies developed deals with real-life issues such as: Who decides? with the ability to critically analyze and the students a profound understanding of in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Who gains and loses? And by what strategy is urban evaluate different strategies of urban de- central elements of the professional plan- Internationally these tendencies are described under development performed? velopment in a sustainable perspective. ner’s practice. The students will be able headings such as ‘splintering urbanism’, ‘polycentric Students will gain insight into the power realities On this basis the students will be able to to take an independent and critical stand urban development’ and ‘urban sprawl’. At the end of of urban planning, drawing on planning theories consider alternative strategies of how to the day, the common denominator is that contempo- focusing on power and rationality. During this towards how to deal with complex plan- rary urban development is, more than ever, charac- semester, each project group conducts an in-depth manage the complex issues that are re- ning process as a planner, and be able to terised by complexity. power analysis of a topical, national or international lated to urban development projects. The semester is devoted to understanding and urban or infrastructural development project. The aim professional work. assessing the complexity of multiple forms of trans- is to understand and analyse the tension between Complexity, Interrelationships, Syner- formation of urban land use and transport infrastruc- planning intentions and realities, between visions and Planning Theory (5 ECTS) ture. Special emphasis is put on the behavioural, real life implementations. This analysis is performed welfare-related, distributional, environmental and with reference to concepts such as manipulation, This course provides insight into cities as This course introduces international plan- economic consequences of such transformational illegitimate coercion and exclusion of relevant actors complex systems, where different con- ning theory. The course provides the stu- processes. During the project-oriented group work, and stakeholders. Of special interest is the role texts, structures, alterations and condi- dent with the ability to understand the the students are asked to evaluate a particular urban played by urban planners and managers. The aim tions are constantly affecting each other. context, strategy or plan, consider the environmental, of the analysis is to prepare strategies for improved The aim of the course is to enable the upon them. The students will be able to social, welfare and economic consequences of this, practice within a topical case. - students to understand how urban de- analyse and evaluate the core values of ground of their analysis. velopment initiatives can create feasible planning theories and methods and be outcomes for one purpose or group, whilst able to apply theories. This creates an at the same time disregarding the needs understanding of the role of planning and of others. The insight into potential eco- the planner in the society, and it provides nomic, social and environmental ‘side ef- knowledge of participation and democracy seMester 3 seMester 4 fects’ of urban development provides the in planning. students with the skills to understand