| CODE | SPI5715 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Studies in Urban Design Research and Analysis | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Spatial Planning and Infrastructure | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit is based on a series of formal lectures, seminars and workshops to expose student to the wide array of traditional and contemporary research methods for urban design and analysis, commencing with an overview of the different families of research methods - scientific, social science, humanities and design. The lectures are supplemented by seminars that focus on contemporary urban design research and investigations, dealing with the different approaches, methods and techniques in relation to place and urban design analysis. Five typologies of approaches to urban design research are addressed in this study-unit: - Philosophical approaches (using theory and critique to understand urban design processes and outcomes); - Process investigations (focusing on the normative and "potential" systems, tools, procedures and networks that shape urban design outcomes); - Physical explorations (analytical studies in which form and configuration of space is examined as the physical "product" of urban design); - Propositional experiments (studio-based research and pedagogical investigation using design process and creative speculations; - Performance inquiries (direct/indirect anthropological investigation, stakeholder inquiry, and historical study). Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to develop the five typologies of approaches to urban design research. By means of the seminars, the study-unit further aims to make students understand the need and relevance of urban design research to practice, as a further tool in developing urban design-based dissertations and future research proposals. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Distinguish between different families of research methods for urban design and analysis; - Comprehend the five typologies of approaches to urban design research; - Demonstrate an understanding of the need and relevance of urban design research to practice. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply different research methodologies to analyse urban spatial situations; - Participate in contemporary discourse on urban design research and its applications to practice. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Banerjee, T. and Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (ed.)(2011). Companion to urban design. London: Routledge. - Carmona, M. (ed.)(2014). Explorations in urban design: an urban design research primer. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. - Carmona, M. (2014). The Place-shaping Continuum: A Theory of Urban Design Process. In Journal of Urban Design, 19(1), pp. 2-36. - Cuthbert, A.R. (2011). Understanding cities: method in urban design. London: Routledge. - Farrell, T. (2010). Shaping London: the patterns and forms that make the metropolis. Chichester: Wiley. - Forsyth, A., Jacobson, J. and Thering, K. (2010). Six Assessments of the Same Places: Comparing Views of Urban Design. In Journal of Urban Design, 15(1), pp. 21-48. - Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for people. Washington, D.C.; London: Island Press. - Gehl, J. and Svarre, B. (2013). How to study public life. Washington; London: Island Press. - Haas, T. (ed.)(2008). New Urbanism and beyond: designing cities for the future. New York: Rizzoli. - Hillier, B. (1996). Space is the machine: a configurational theory of architecture. New York; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Mitchell, W.J. (2003). Me++ : the cyborg self and the networked city. Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press. - Sepe, M. (2013). Planning and place in the city: mapping place identity. New York: Routledge. - Shane, D.G. (2005). Recombinant urbanism: conceptual modeling in architecture, urban design and city theory. Chichester: Wiley. |
||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Seminar & Independent Study | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Jacques Borg Barthet Wendy-Jo Mifsud Sarah Scheiber Antoine Zammit |
||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||