Development Planning Unit UCL
The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc will immerse you in the theory and practice of imagining and building just cities and communities. Our course is designed to centre the political and social processes of urban design with a political economy view on space and power and a unique focus on cities located in the Global South.
Develop a critical theoretical foundation
The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc grounds your practice in critical urban theory, giving you the conceptual tools to interrogate how power, inequality and histories of colonialism shape the production of space. Through engagements with political economy, feminist and decolonial thought, you will learn to analyse urban transformations not as neutral processes but as contested terrains where rights, resources and futures are negotiated. This grounding will strengthen your ability to work across diverse contexts, enabling you to recognise structural patterns of spatial injustice while also identifying situated forms of urban agency and possibilities for transformative practice. By the end of the programme, you will be equipped to move into your career with a rigorous theoretical lens that informs ethical, reflexive and justice‑oriented urban design.
Gain experience in spatial design practice
The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc is an urban design course with a political economy view on space and power and a unique focus on cities located in the Global South. This approach will give you an understanding of how spatial injustices manifest differently between and within contexts and give you the confidence to move into your future career as an urban designer with experience working with specific case studies whilst also seeing similarities and opportunities for knowledge exchange between people of different cities.
At The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, we emphasise the importance of putting theory into practice and as a Building and Urban Design in Development MSc student you will have the opportunity to do so through practice engagements in London and overseas that will immerse you in the design of real cities by working with communities and global partners in action‑research projects. You will engage in a set of complementary learning environments: the studio work that will build your design skills; the development workshops that simulate the complex processes of negotiating development strategies with students from other master's courses; the Urban Design Otherwise series that exposes you to critical, experimental and community‑driven design practices; and the Overseas Practice Engagement, an immersive field‑based collaboration with international partners where you test methodologies, co‑produce spatial strategies and reflect on your positionality as a practitioner.
Explore your personal interests through optional modules
In addition to core learning on the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc and practical projects, you can develop your personal interests and choose from a wide range of optional modules from across the six other master's courses at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, as well as from across The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment and wider UCL. Optional modules range from Housing Policies: Practical Dimensions and Alternative Options ; Managing the City Economy ; Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South ; Transport Equity and Urban Mobility ; Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities ; Gender in Policy and Planning
Develop your individual research aligned with funded projects and global partners
The DPU Fellowship scheme will help you cultivate your own research trajectory while contributing to ongoing funded projects and collaborations with global partners working on the frontlines of urban transformation. Working alongside interdisciplinary teams, you will engage with real‑world challenges, co‑produce knowledge with partners, and position your research within international networks that amplify its relevance and impact.
By the end of the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc, you will:
Have the confidence to design and propose strategies and interventions that are fundamentally rooted in social, environmental and spatial justice;
Experiment with the practice of urban design beyond the classroom environment through practice engagements with international partners;
Develop as a reflexive and ethical professional in the field of sustainable development with key skills in critical thinking, teamwork, project management and impactful communication with stakeholders.
