University of Strathclyde
Recent data and predictions on urbanization make cities the most common living environment of the future by far, with the current 7 Billion urbanities set to increase to two thirds by 2050.
Cities hold tremendous potential, but at the same time are sources of stress, inequalities and pollution. Urban development is faced by unprecedented challenges, and the future cost of remediation – social, economic and environmental, is increasingly unaffordable.
Our course in Urban design embraces fully these premises, and equips students with innovative principles and tools to respond to them with a visionary, but at the same time responsive, approach.
Our course is shaped around these principles:
- The responsibility for developing and managing cities is becoming increasingly shared between governments, and their people.
- The nature of the professions engaged in shaping future cities and reshaping existing ones is changing, with observation, management, negotiation coming to the fore next to more traditional design-based skills.
- Time, adaptability, local relevance, and efficiency within limited resources are drivers of intervention.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Our MSc in UD is delivered through a combination of studio teaching, taught classes and seminars. The key principles we pursue in studio are adaptability in time, efficiency and local appropriateness. On project commissioned by live clients, students learn to shape cities joining strategic to detailed scales to deliver social, economic, ecological, typological and aesthetic aspects of sustainability. Taught elements include urban design history, theory, landscape architecture, transport, representation, policy and practice and real estate.
The research element is the opportunity to research an issue of particular interest; recent work has been published, exhibited and generated further research commissions for the Unit.
This course is ideal for both practitioners and students from architecture, planning and other build environment related disciplines. It is delivered by a very active research units which is well known for its work on urban modelling, community engagement, environmental assessment, strategic and detailed and design; as such, it exposes candidates to the latest advancements in urban design by, and new ideas are tested regularly.