LAR-37306 Reflections on Planning and Design Practices

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English.

Assumed knowledge on:

Bachelor in Landscape Architecture, Spatial Planning or comparable.

Contents:

The central theme of this course is reflection on the roles of planners and designers from a theoretical and practical standpoint. The course aims to create critical, self-aware and adaptive students who are capable to deal with the changing contexts in which planners and designers operate. Both the Dutch context with its strong planning and design tradition and other international contexts will be discussed.
In this course students need to be able to understand that a reflexive approach towards their own planning and design practices is always in need of a theoretical lens that sharpens our observations and helps us to reflect upon practices and to propose innovative solutions.
The course teaches students specific theories and related concepts, methods and skills, which function as a toolkit, to critically observe and reflect on planning and design practices. The empirical focus of the course will be adapted regularly to changing fashions and planning and design issues. The course starts to reflect on discussions in current planning and design practices. These issues will be continued and illustrated with specific theory and examples in separate planning and design modules, in connection with planning and design courses that run parallel to this course.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- critically reflect upon recent developments in Dutch and international planning and design practices;
- evaluate problem perceptions, knowledge claims and ideologies of academics, professionals, politics, media and civilians;
- evaluate how ideologies shape plans and designs as well as planning and design practices;
- critically reflect upon professional ethical standards;
- present and defend a reflexive analysis of planning and design practices with specific attention to the international and multi-cultural context.

Activities:

- lectures on topical issues in planning and/or design practices;
- literature study;
- debate sessions/group discussions related to the content of the course;
- excursion(s);
- compose an essay (lar/lup/mue students) and a review (lup/mue students) or design critique (lar students).

Examination:

The examination of the course will be based on:
- all students: essay on a specific case, design/planning process or theme based on two interviews with actors in practice and the group's personal perspective (group work 45%) and presentation of results (group work 10%);
- LUP and MUE students: review of a book on spatial planning practice (individual work 45%);
- LAR students: design critique (individual work 45%).
In order to pass you have to receive at least a 5.5 for each part.

Literature:

Selected readings.