Theories of Regional Planning
Code: 104243 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2503710 Geography, Environmental Management and Spatial Planning | OB | 2 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria Buhigas San Jose
- Email:
- Maria.Buhigas@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
External teachers
- Maria Buhigas Sanjosé
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites
Objectives and Contextualisation
Regional planning is one of the three modalities of physical planning and regulation that intervenes in any territory. A modality that had traditionally been little developed in our reality and that has been taking a greater role in the last decades impelled, on the one hand, by the Generalitat of Catalonia - with the development of the of Regional Planning Programme approved in 2004 - and on the other hand, by the conditions of the territory itself – with the consolidation of the metropolitan areas and regions.
The three main goals of the course are:
- To introduce the main concepts, tools and contents of regional planning and its alignment with other planning modalities, such as the urban and the sectoral planning.
- To deconstruct and analyse the physical planning process (in particular regional and urban planning) and how decision-making process influences on its outcomes.
- To explore current regional and urban plans in Catalonia mainly and in other European and Latin American realities, in general.
In short, it is a matter of knowing the motivations of the planning (mainly territorial and urban), becoming familiar with the basic concepts and elements that make it up and the instruments or technical tools used to shape and concretize the planning. It will be done through theoretical classes, examples and current debates (global agendas (SDGs and Urban Agenda), the "new normal", among others) and a work on a practical case of executed planning.
Competences
- Critically analyse the relationship between society and the region applying the conceptual and theoretical framework of geography.
- Integrate the different social and environmental disciplines with a view to describing and interpreting the spatial dynamics linked to social, economic and environmental change.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
Learning Outcomes
- Differentiate between different urban and regional planning proposals drawn up in different disciplines.
- Identify the main theoretical concepts of regional studies.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
Content
The subject’s course will be taught according to the following agenda:
Block 1: Planning in Theory.
- Current context for planning: objectives, criteria, challenges and debates.
- Modalities of spatial planning:
- Regional planning: concepts, elements, criteria and instruments.
- Urban planning: concepts, elements, criteria and instruments.
- New approaches and debates: on decision-making processes (participation) and on instruments and tools.
Block 2: Planning in practice.
- From planning towards implementation (management).
- Case study:
- Implementation of the plan (constraints and uncertainties).
- Monitoring and evaluation.
Methodology
The course aims to approach and to show simultaneously the two dimensions embedded in planning: the theoretical and the practical. To make this double look possible there would be two kinds of sessions:
- theoretical sessions, accompanied by readings that the student must prepare in advance to comment in class. This part will allow introducing a common and shared base knowledge for the whole group, a basic bibliography of reference and the state of the art of the most current debates.
- workshop sessions, based on the study of specific cases which will be announced and distributed at the beginning of the course). These cases will be presented in class by the teacher and the students - by groups of 3 – along the course to monitor and build up the final report.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Debates | 4 | 0.16 | 1, 2 |
| Oral exposition by the students (study cases) | 12 | 0.48 | 1, 2 |
| Theoretical sessions | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 2 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorial | 4 | 0.16 | 2 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Readings and personal work | 21 | 0.84 | 2 |
| Teamwork (study cases) | 60 | 2.4 | 1, 2 |
Assessment
The course’s final grade will essentially be based on the following three components:
• Written individual work documents that represent 50% of the final grade.
Maximum 4 writing exercises would be proposed along the course (a summary of reading articles, a short essay regarding an ongoing debate or an issue raised in class, a small intervention on a specific concept discussed in class, etc.). Written quality, ability to concretise and synthesize arguments and argumentation capacity will be valued.
• Group case study work that represents 40% of the final grade.
At the beginning of the course, a case study would be proposed for each group (groups of 3 students) and an outline of the contents that will be developed and worked throughout the whole period. The presentations in class of the different parts of the research paper and the partial deliveries will build the final grade. All group members must demonstrate equal work and commitment towards the teamwork. The quality and rigor of the contents will be valued as well as the quality of the presentation, the language used and the graphics.
• Attendance and active participation in class that represents 10% of the final grade.
Attendance at all classes is mandatory. In exceptional cases of missing a class, the student would submit an acceptable justification in writing. Continued absence from class without justification will lead the student to the resit exam (as he / she will not have been able to demonstrate his / her involvement and participation in the study work).
Qualification’s requirements:
a) Having passed written individual work documents with a minimum average grade of 5.
b) Have submitted the case study work with a minimum grade of 5.
Both previous grades will not average between them to pass the subject. Therefore, you must have a minimum grade of5 in both jobs (individual documents and case work in groups).
c) Have participated regularly in the classes.
Grade’s review:
a) The exams and works to review the final grade would be indicated in due time.
b) To qualify for review, you must have participated in the evaluation tests and delivered the materials of the practices in the manner that will be indicated in due time.
c) The maximum grade that can be obtained in the review process is 5.
Not eligible students:
According to UAB regulations, in order to participate in the recovery process, a minimum grade in the average of the subject must have been obtained. This rating will equal or exceed 3.5. (These conditions are adapted to the regulations on the evaluation of the UAB in Article 112. The recovery http://www.uab.cat/doc/Modificacio_normativa_academica_CG120717).
Plagiarism
The copying or plagiarism of material, both in the case of works and in the case of exams, constitute a crime that will be sanctioned with a zero to the activity. In the case of recidivism, the entire subject will be suspended.
Let's remember that a "copy" is considered a work that reproduces all or most of the work of one or the other company / a. "Plagiarism" is the fact of presenting all or part of a text of an author as its own, without mentioning the sources, be on paper or in digital format. See UAB documentation on "plagiarism" at:
http://wuster.uab.es/web_argumenta_obert/unit_20/sot_2_01.html.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and active participation in class | 10% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Group case study work | 40% | 4 | 0.16 | 3 |
| Written individual work documents | 50% | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 3 |
Bibliography
Romà Pujadas, Jaume Font; “Ordenación y planificación territorial”. Editorial Síntesis.
Manuel Benabent Fernández; “Introducción a la teoria de la planificación territorial”. Secretariado de Publicaciones. Universidad de Sevilla.
Juli Esteban Noguera; “Elementos de Ordenación Urbana”. Edicions UPC. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
Peter Hall; “Urban and Regional Planning”. Routledge.
Patsy Healey; “Collaborative Planning: shaping places in Fragmented societies”. Palgrave-MacMillan.
Scott Campell, Susan Fainstein (ed.); “Planning Theory”. Blackwell Publishers.
Articles and complementary readings for the class debates will be proposed at the beginning of the course.