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Recent Submissions
Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the south
(AESOP, 2016) Randolph, Rainer
We are publishing here the extended abstracts presented at the IV WPSC. Those which were discussed in the Track Sessions, as well as a considerable number of contributions in Plenary and Special Sessions and Roundtables. Farnak Miraftab´s Opening Keynote “Insurgency, planning and the prospect of a humane urbanism” was published (in portuguese) in ANPUR´s journal Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais (Brazilian Journal of Urban and Regional Studies), v.18, n. 3 (2016), p. 363-377 (http://rbeur.anpur.org.br/rbeur/article/view/5499).
It is our conviction that these texts reflect an important panorama of ideas, thoughts, experiences and practices of the nearly 600 researchers, scientists, students and practioneers who attended the congress in Rio de Janeiro with the aim to have an unique opportunity to discuss the matter of planning with colleagues from all over the world.
As it puts our colleague Carlos Balsas in the conclusions he wrote about his experiences by participating the discussions at the congress: “Attention was directed at the need to look forward to more planning not less, more planning research not less, and more educational opportunities to strengthen urban and regional planning. … Alternative paradigms based on the radical deconstruction of prevailing knowledge sets and philosophies by some of those living in southern and northern hemispheres are making positive strides and can be confidently further developed”
Master's Programme in Urban Planning and Management (Faculty of Planning, Environment and Urban Management Polis University)
(AESOP, 2024) Dabović, Tijana; Cotella, Giancarlo; Di Marino, Mina; Fikfak, Alenka
The MSc in urban planning and management delivered at Polis University is the only 5-year study programme (300 credits) in Albania in the field. It brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education:
Programme Curriculum and Identity
• A strong structure of compulsory and elective courses focused on people’s quality of life with an orientation in Sustainable Development Goals. An excellent balance of theoretical, methodological and policybased courses in relation to the interdisciplinary character of the programme.
• An effective exposure to contemporary political, economic and sociospatial challenges, but strongly preserving the core of planning issues on spatial, territorial, and strategic level, across the modules of the curriculum.
• Awareness about local and global changes is reflected through the teaching and learning process, which is accompanied, through different courses, by integrative and practical formative activities.
Principles of Pedagogy
• Gradual increase of autonomy and independency of students within the study programme (transition from theoretical to practical courses and studios in which the students can work more independently)
• Arranging interdisciplinary courses in which the audience consists of students in planning, architecture, environment and/or engineering, and business/administration. The students work on concrete planning tasks through interdisciplinary approaches.
• Group learning: students work in small and large groups in seminars, studios and practical works, from the regional to micro-level projects.
• Individual learning: which seeks to emphasize the role of an individual within a group. Interactions between students and all those involved in the learning process (teachers/stakeholders/professional experts) to mastering presentation skills and communicating visions and scenarios to a large audience.
Master of Science in Urban Regeneration and Planning (Department of City and Regional Planning Faculty of Architecture, Yıldız Technical University)
(AESOP, 2024) Dabović, Tijana; Cotella, Giancarlo; Fikfak, Alenka; Scaffidi, Federica
The MSc in Urban Regeneration and Planning delivered at Yildiz Technical University is distinctive in its focus on courses in urban regeneration and planning with a specific focus on the socio-spatial, economic and political issues for urban transformation. It brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education:
Programme Curriculum and Identity
- An effective blend of compulsory and elective courses focused on contemporary research areas in urban regeneration and planning. An excellent balance of theoretical, methodological and policy-based courses delivered by a highly-qualified teaching team in relation to the interdisciplinary character of the programme.
- An effective exposure to contemporary political, economic and socio-spatial challenges across the modules of the curriculum.
- Fostering awareness about global change, its relevance and implications at the regional scale and beyond.
Principles of Pedagogy
- Providing students with theoretical and practical knowledge whilst enabling them with opportunities to develop analytical, critical and interpretive thinking through methodological and studio-based courses.
- Excellent level of student’s/employer's engagement in facilitating research-oriented and proactive curriculum appraisal, and bridging the gap between planning education and reallife practices through real-world projects, field trips, site visits, and guest lectures.
- Encouragement of active, independent and peer-learning in theoretical and studio-based courses through reflective learning, project-based learning (PBL), work in teams, workshops, and presentations.
Best Practices
- Providing lectures promoting practical reasoning, fostering interactive and engaging reflection on court cases, and addressing contemporary social and spatial challenges.
- Offering course such as the "Planning, Urban Transformation, Implementation Studio (SBP 5201)" that involve the municipalities, focusing on problems, and finding innovative solutions. It also shows how the gap is bridged.
Master's Programme in Urban and Regional Planning (Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Politecnico di Torino)
(AESOP, 2024) Dabović, Tijana; Cotella, Giancarlo; Di Marino, Mina; Silva, Paulo
The MSc in Urban and Regional Planning delivered at the Politecnico di Torino stands out for its two tracks: i) Pianificare la città e il territorio per la transizione ecologica (PCT) - Urban and Regional Planning for Ecological Transition - and ii) Planning for the Global Urban Agenda (PGUA); which are provided in Italian and English, respectively. The PCT track focuses on training professionals who mainly operate within the Italian regulatory framework but who are aware of international changes and policies, while the PGUA focuses on training practitioners able to operate within the world planning market, by focusing on current global challenges, which are identified by the UN 2030 Agenda.
Programme Curriculum and Identity
- The master program is recognized for its high degree of interdisciplinarity (ensured by the teaching staff from several disciplines) and offers a range of studios as multi-disciplinary modules. the following: i) an extensive use of GIS in several courses such as transportation systems and mobility, and ii) a geographical lens to
interpret socio-spatial phenomena.
- Several environmental and social issues are addressed in several courses and studios. In addition, the contribution of public officers and stakeholders in the classes is relevant for framing and discussing about real cases.
Principles of Pedagogy
• Learning by doing is predominant in the program. Students are exposed to ethical dilemmas in close to real-life contexts. There is also a strong stimulus to independent and group learning, and to reflexive praxis in their pedagogical practices.
• Learning from and with diversity inspires students to group learning. Students are also stimulated to explore research and inquiry taking advantage of their background and of cross-disciplinarity.
• Apprehending from different perspectives occurs through students’ exposure to spatial foci, through regional and urban scales, and in an inter-scalar approach; global contexts, providing in both tracks environments that stimulate global comprehension of spatial planning phenomena; contemporary socio-spatial challenges related to ecological transition and UN 2030 Agenda; transition from theory to practice stimulating practical reasoning and judgement.
Master of Science in Spatial Planning Department of Spatial Planning and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology)
(2024) Dabović, Tijana; Cotella, Giancarlo; Maidment, Christopher; Perić, Ana
Warsaw University of Technology is distinctive amongst spatial planning programmes in Poland for being located in the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography, reflected in the programme’s distinctive emphasis on geospatial technologies, environmental issues, spatial design, land management and revitalisation. Further strengths lie in the programme’s incorporation of inputs from key stakeholders, from understanding the views of communities to setting assessment briefs that respond to the needs of Polish cities.
This reflects the challenges faced by contemporary Poland in addressing the environmental degradation caused by decades of prioritising intense industrialisation and urbanisation. The programme also addresses the ongoing reforms of Polish planning, as well as other challenges, such as a shortage of housing. Within this context, the programme brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education.
Programme Curriculum and Identity
The programme is organised around two coherent tracks, each building on a common first trimester with a mix of common and specialist modules in the second trimester and specialist modules in the third trimester. The overall mix is three-quarters common modules between the two tracks and one-quarter module modules specific to the track:
- Environmental conditions of spatial planning – focused on land management, as well as the use of advanced geospatial technologies in decision-making process.
- Urban design in spatial planning – focused on the preparation and development of planning processes and documents, including formulating land use plans, technologically supported by Geographical Information Systems, Computer Aided Design and Building Information Modelling.