AESOP Eprints
Institutional Repository of the Association of European Schools of Planning
Communities in AESOP Eprints
Select a community to browse its collections.
- Promoting Excellence in Planning Education and Research
- Congresses, Workshops, Meetings, Lectures and Summer School Events
- Safeguarding the development of AESOP’s Quality Recognition Programme
- Awards in Teaching, Best Published Paper, Best Congress Paper
- International, peer-reviewed, open-access journals, produced and owned by AESOP
Recent Submissions
Leaflet of the 2nd Annual AESOP Congress The Environment in Planning Education, 1988
(AESOP, 1988)
Association of European Schools Of Planning
Universität Dortmund
About AESOP
The reasons for establishing AESOP are among others:
1. There is little comparative information about planning schools in Europe. As a rule one knows very little about curricula, aims, research, degrees, professional career prospects and the relation between educational provision and the structure of planning in each country
2. Given the small number of planning schools in most European countries (Britain is an exception), there is a need for a network of European allies to find international support and backing. The discipline which is still young and emerging needs the confidence which an international alliance can foster.
3. The increasing economic integration of Europe will also have an effect on the job market for planners. It will encourage planners to work outside their own country, and require a better knowledge of planning-related conditions and systems in other European countries.
4. Planning problems and environmental issues in all European countries have become much more internationalized. Euro- pean policies effect local and regional economic development and have an impact on the environment. Consequently planning schools have to introduce a more intemnational dimension into planning curricula. The AESOP network is one means to communicate ideas and approaches about how this may be done.
5. By creating a European network of those involved in planning education, opportunities are created which may lead to new comparative research within Europe, lead to the exchange of staff and students and to mutual visits of student groups
6. The policy of the European Commission of intensifying the exchange of students within its members countries will require mutual recognition of credits, of academic degrees and diplomas. AESOP could contribute to facilities such mutual re- cognition by better and comparative information.
7. In Europe, the development of planning knowledge, theory and method is hampered by language constraints. The AESOP network and its activities should encourage communication in other than our respective mother tongues, thus contributing to more cross-national communication and the consolidation of planning as a discipline.
Revising the AESOP Core Curriculum – for the 21st century
(Taylor & Francis, 2024) Frank, Andrea I.; Koll-Schretzenmayr, Martina
In 1995, AESOP issued its ‘Statement on European Planning Education’Footnote1 – with the objective of establishing common principles that would foster high-quality planning education provision across Europe. These common principles were encapsulated in a set of requirements forming a Core Curriculum for planning education. Adopted by the AESOP community, these principles served as the basis for the admission of new AESOP member institutions and to promote quality in planning education.
However, as planning is a very dynamic field, planning practice and the profession have changed considerably since 1995. Awareness of issues related to climate change and sustainable development has increased; national and local democracies have evolved; and the digital revolution is profoundly impacting the process and the tools of planning, to mention a few important changes. Furthermore, the Bologna agreement (1999) has changed the academic landscape, offering new possibilities and imposing new constraints on the organisation of planning education. For these reasons, in 2021, AESOP’s ExCo decided to embark on updating the principles eschewed in its Core Curriculum.
Master in Urban and Regional Planning
(Norwegian University of Life Sciences - NMBU)
(AESOP, 2023) Maidment, Christopher; Dabović, Tijana; Galland, Daniel; Chettiparamb, Angelique
The programme curriculum offers three main progressions – scales, topics and ethics –, the development of which are clearly articulated through a coherent course structure:
- Rooted in landscape and land use planning and land consolidation alongside the Norwegian legislation and public administration, programme branches from compulsory knowledge related to project management, place making, local development to comprehensive land use planning, urban, landscape, regional and strategic planning.
- Progression of skills and competences related to procedural and substantive theories and methods in planning, but also to interdisciplinary collaboration. From the main focus on land use and spatial planning, the programme offers a large spectrum of optional courses around the following 5 tracks: Planning, landscape and public health; Global development and sustainability; Property development; Organisation, project management and finance; and Environment/climate/nature/management/ecology.
- Progression of professional and academic ethical considerations and engagement of planners in practice and in research: from the planner’s role in mediating/communicating knowledge about the impacts of spatial interventions to key decision-makers to the planner’s role in defending the ethical choices (related to sustainability, climate change, social justice and resilience) in a specific planning practice. The progression of professional ethics in is undertaken to consider the specific Nordic, but also agnostic/general market and regulative driving forces and planning system(s).
- International mobility, including recruiting international staff and students, is perceived as a significant mechanism for increased quality and competence in education, research, innovation and multicultural understanding. It fosters collaboration within leading international research and education environments and a variety of institutional measures are in place to support it.
Master in City and Regional Planning (Polytechnic University of Madrid)
(AESOP, 2023) Galland, Daniel; Fikfak, Alenka; Chettiparamb, Angelique
The MSc in City and Regional Planning delivered at the Polytechnic University of Madrid is distinctive in its focus on theoretical and methodological courses, interdisciplinarity and regional science. It brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education:
Programme Curriculum and Identity
- A compelling blend of compulsory and elective courses focused on contemporary research areas in urban studies and regional planning. The programme combines practice and research, including direct participatory approaches of different stakeholders, citizens and other experts. An excellent balance of theoretical, methodological and policy-based courses delivered by a highly qualified teaching team concerning the interdisciplinary character of the programme.
- Practical exposure to contemporary socio-spatial challenges across the five main modules of the curriculum: basis in urban planning, professional research, thematic intensification, and master thesis dissertation.
- Fostering awareness about global change, its relevance and implications on different spatial scales, from local to regional and beyond.
- Excellent transfer of knowledge supported by project-based learning methodology to develop analytical, critical and interpretive thinking through studio-based courses. The structure of courses and leaders’ profiles supports the multidisciplinary approach of PBL methodology based on balanced practice and research tasks.
Master in Architecture and Urbanism - Spatial Planning Module (Czech Technical University Prague)
(AESOP, 2023) Perić, Ana; Silva, Paulo; Dabović, Tijana; Cotella, Giancarlo
The Master Programme in Architecture and Urbanism - Spatial Planning Module delivered at the Czech Technical University in Prague enriches students’ knowledge in the field of regional policy and development, geography and social ecology, and skills in applied statistics, spatial analytics, ICT and GIS. In this way, the Module provides the students of the study programme Architecture and Urbanism an added value, extending their professional capabilities to the field of spatial planning. Additionally, it brings together the following aspects of quality in planning education:
Programme Curriculum and Identity:
- Acknowledgement of professional ethics through applied approach (e.g., studio course occasionally attended by real-world stakeholders).
- A cross-disciplinary approach, seen not only in the structure of the courses offered in the Module but also in collaboration with experts in complementary fields from other universities.
- A comprehensive yet well-interlinked and content-coordinated system of subjects.