ETE-33806 Planning and Design of Urban Space

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

ETE-22806 Principles of Urban Environmental Management; ETE-34306 Energy, Water and Waste Cycles in the Built Environment; LUP-23306 Planning for Urban Quality of Life.

Continuation courses:

Thesis Urban Systems Engineering (ETE) or Land Use Planning (LUP)

Contents:

This course introduces concepts, principles and methods for the planning and design of sustainable, resource efficient urban environments. The mix of concepts, case studies, tutorials and assignments offered in this course provides students with theoretical and practical understanding of the key issues that urban planners and infrastructure managers are facing when developing sustainable urban communities.
The course is built around real world planning challenges and brings together urban planning, urban design and resource management. The course is facilitated through lectures as well as interactive hands-on workshops and assignments. The analysis of real cases during the lectures, the group assignment and the individual assignment and exam are other specific features of the course.
In the individual assignment students reflect on the aspects: metabolism, stakeholders and context. These aspects are part of the urban development approach in the case that is visited during the excursion.
In the group assignment students work on a case study with a ‘Living Lab’ approach; a design will be developed that integrates the input of local stakeholders . Here students apply the methods and tools introduced in the lectures and tutorials, like development of adequate indicators, Material Flow Analysis (MFA) , and stakeholder analysis. The students will have to use the analysis of resource flows and the spatial and institutional context of the case at hand as well as stakeholder input, to motivate their design of a sustainable area. This group assignment enables students to apply concepts of integrated systems for energy, water and nutrients, whilst taking into consideration the specific circumstances and requirements of stakeholders of the case at hand.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- understand and explain how different elements of the urban form (spatial organization of urban area) and social parameters are linked with resource management, with emphasis on energy, water and nutrients;
- understand different characteristics of urban planning paradigms and evaluate how these characteristics influence processes of urban development and technology implementation;
- understand and apply methods and tools like indicator development/selection, Material Flow Analysis (MFA), stakeholder analysis to analyse resource flows and the spatial and institutional context of an urban development process, in support of planning and design decisions;
- apply co-design for sustainable urban areas in a real-life setting, using concepts of integrated systems for energy, water and nutrients, taking into consideration site specific circumstances;
- experience and reflect on the role stakeholders have on the design process for implementation of resource management strategies.

Activities:

- lectures;
- workshops and tutorials;
- excursion;
- individual assignment to train scientific writing;
- group assignment resulting in a scientifically well written report;
- self-study;
- exam.

Examination:

- individual assignment (10%);
- group work - district design poster (40%);
- written, closed book examination (50%).
To pass the course, the mark for each part needs to be at least 5.5.

Literature:

- lecture hand-outs (MyPortal);
- reader (MyPortal);
- selected papers (MyPortal).