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2022/2023

Regional and Urban Planning

Code: 44468 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
4317520 Territorial Studies and Planning OB 0 A

Contact

Name:
Oriol Nelˇlo Colom
Email:
oriol.nello@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)

Other comments on languages

Given the international character of the Master's Program, languages used in the classroom will be Catalan and/or Spanish, depending on which is the most common among students

Teachers

Juan López Redondo
Maria Buhigas San Jose

Prerequisites

The complete bibliography of the module is part of the Main Notebook. The requirements to study the Module are of three types:

Training.

It is necessary to have a certain background in territorial studies (degree in geography, environmental sciences, engineering, architecture, urban planning, economics, legal sciences). The other cases will be studied individually. Instrumental. It is necessary to have a certain ability to use (at user level) statistical and cartographic applications, as well as the ability to interpret technical and legal literature on land use planning.

Administrative.

It is necessary to study, simultaneously, the Modules "Advanced Topics", "Geographic Information Systems and Landscape" and "City and metropolitan regions", which together with this one of "Territorial Planning", integrate the main program in which it is articulated the Master's in Territorial Planning itinerary.

Self-learning tools and materials

At the beginning of the course, various training materials and resources will be made available to those students who, due to the specialization of their previous training or their origin, consider that they need additional prior work in order to adapt their level of training in urban planning and land use planning. These materials will include self-assessment mechanisms, but their content will not be subject to separate assessment within the framework of the module.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The Master's in Territorial Studies and Planning of the Department of Geography of the Autonomous University of Barcelona aims to train professionals in the analysis and management of the territory. This year he will dedicate his core program to the study and elaboration of proposals for the planning and management of commuting patterns and public transport in the UAB Campus. .

The complete program, available in the Quadern de Troncal, is made up of four modules –Advanced Topics, Spatial Planning, Geographic and Landscape Information Systems, City and Metropolitan Areas-, the lecture series and fieldwork. Below you will find the content of the Spatial Planning module.

Spatial planning: professional technique, administrative instrument and political design

The processes of transformation of the territory in contemporary societies are characterized by their speed and depth. The integration of space on a planetary scale and the advancement of the urbanization process entail radical changes both in the structuring of urban systems and in the occupation of the territory, the use of resources and the configuration of the landscape. Changes that are both the cause and effect of demographic dynamics, the organization of production processes, the circulation of factors (capital, goods, information, labor), social structure and the distribution of wealth.

At the regional level, in the European Mediterranean regions, the integration of the territory and the progress of the urbanization process that has taken place over the last half century have been closely related to economic development, the reduction of territorial inequalities, the unification of labor markets and greater accessibility to services. However, the concretion of territorial transformations has also led in many cases to the appearance or aggravation of various problems, linked to factors such as accelerated land use, the dispersion of urbanization, the functional specialization of places, the 'increased cost of services, increased mobility needs, wasted natural resources or risks of social segregation.

In this context, that is to say, in the face of the potentialities and problems that derive from contemporary territorial transformations, the capacity of the public authorities to order the territory for the benefit of the community is becoming increasingly important. That is why it is necessary to provide diagnoses, instruments and regulations capable of guiding, strengthening and, where appropriate, correcting the ongoing territorial dynamics. This is the field of land use planning as a professional technique, as an administrative action and as a political design.

Objectives of the module: knowledge of instruments and learning techniques

The module is part of the core programming of METIP 2021-2022, whose main purpose is to offer students the opportunity to participate in the development, for educational purposes, of a spatial planning instrument. To this end, all the modules of the Master are integrated into a single program, configured, in addition to the teaching sessions, by an intensive exercise of field work, two cycles of conferences and three weeks of workshops. The exercise proposed for this year is the elaboration of plan for the management o commuting and transport in the UAB Campus.

In this context, the territorial planning module of the Master's in Territorial Studies and Planning aims precisely to perfect the ability of students to intervene professionally in spatial planning. To do this, it will consist of two types of content:

a) First, the various instruments available for land use planning and management will be studied. We will start from the Catalan experience of the last decades in this field and, from the study of its achievements, with its potential and its limitations, we will advance towards the acquisition of knowledge and techniquesof character. general.

b) Secondly, the specific problem of the planning and management of public spaces in urban environments will be analyzed, in a context characterized, on the one hand, by the presence of urban transformations -economic, social, physical- particularly rapid and, on the other hand, due to an aggravation of environmental problems - climate and resources.

Competences

  • Analyse and interpret environmental issues, applying your knowledge of environmental and ecological economics
  • Analyse and interpret spatial and regional projections of social and economic imbalances in the processes of land-use planning and urban planning
  • Design urban planning and land-use management projects using the appropriate figures and methodologies at different local and regional scales
  • Develop a capacity for critical thinking, analysis and resolution of hypotheses with maximum rigour and quality for each area of local and regional specialisation.
  • Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  • Promote the use and development of the principles of ecological, social and economic sustainability through mechanisms of citizen participation.
  • Recognise and use the most efficient mechanisms and instruments of planning and management, especially in situations of conflict, for a wide variety of spaces at different scales.
  • That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Evaluate regional and urban planning strategies in agreement with the principles of sustainability and public participation.
  2. Evaluate the application of law and regulations for urban planning drawn up for different administrative scales.
  3. Evaluate the application of planning laws and regulation on different administrative scales.
  4. Evaluate the processes of regional and population change applying methodologies and instruments linked to the theories of reference capable of measuring the mechanisms of action and the results.
  5. Evaluate the regional, social, economic and environmental impacts generated in situations of regional conflict and the contribution of urban planning.
  6. Evaluate the socioeconomic imbalances deriving from urban planning.
  7. Know and understand new forms of governance linked to environmental economics.
  8. Know and understand the main regional and socioeconomic conflicts linked to environmental problems in urban areas.
  9. Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  10. Make propositive conclusions for regional and urban planning.
  11. Manage situations of conflict for each type of space.
  12. That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.
  13. Understand different models of environmental economics applied to urban planning.
  14. Use regional and urban models to detect comparative advantages to rebalance the territory.

Content

In this context, the territorial planning module of the Master's in Territorial Studies and Planning aims precisely to perfect the ability of students to intervene professionally in spatial planning. To do this, it will consist of three types of content:

a) First, the various instruments available for land use planning and management will be studied. We will start from the Catalan experience of the last decades in this field and, from the study of its achievements, with its potential and its limitations, we will advance towards the acquisition of knowledge and techniques of character. general.

b) Secondly, the specific problem of the planning and management of metropolitan hubs will be analyzed, in a context characterized, on the one hand, by the presence of urban transformations -economic, social, physical- particularly rapid and, on the other hand, due to an aggravation of environmental problems - climate and resources.

c) Finally, various trends that are pointed out today in the field of territorial and urban planning will be presented and debated, through formulas such as smart cities, cimate-proof planning, low-carbon city and green infrastructures.

The final program of the Module will be the one that will appear in the Notebook of Block, where will be able to consult the detailed calendar of each session, integrated with the subjects Systems of Geographic Information and Landscape, City and Metropolitan Spaces and Advanced Subjects.

Methodology

Course work and evaluation: the hands-on elaboration of a territorial planning instrument

As mentioned, the module is part of the core program of METIP 2021-2022, a program whose main objective is to improve the skills of students to intervene directly as future professionals in the development and management of instruments of territorial planning.

The aim of the core teachings of the first semester will be to provide students with the conceptual and practical skills for the design and writing of urban planning instruments.

Thus, the program of the Module has been elaborated in a coordinated way with the rest of the modules of the semester, so that, in addition to the contents of conceptual and instrumental character, the necessary time is had so that the students can elaborate, for didactic, a planning instrument with what would be all its elements.

The process will be structured in five stages:

a) Territorial recognition. Content: Explanatory report on commuting patterns and transport in the UAB Campus. .

b) Analysis of the public space of the municipality of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Content: Study of the relationship between mobility and activities in the UAB Campus. .

c) Identification of potentialities and risks. Content: elaboration of the SWOT tables.

d) Establishment of criteria and objectives. Content: concept, criteria and proposal of specific objectives to be achieved in the planning exercise (for these purposes, contrasted objectives will be suggested to the various groups in order to make evident the various possibilities of using planning).

e) Elaboration of the projects and proposals of intervention. Content: proposals for the endowment and management of mobility in the UAB Campus.

Activities that cannot be done in person will be adapted to the possibilities offered by the UAB's virtual tools. The exercises, projects and theoretical classes will be carried out through virtual tools, such as tutorials, videos, teamsessions, etc. The teacher will ensure that the student can access it or offer alternative means, which are available to them.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classroom sessions 36 1.44 5, 4, 7, 14, 11
Five days of field work 100 4 6, 2, 8, 12
Type: Supervised      
Workshop sessions 18 0.72 3, 1, 13, 8, 9

Assessment

The evaluation of the specific content of the module will consist of two parts:

a) 40% of the mark will correspond to the first part and will be evaluated through an examination that will be carried out during the first fortnight of December.

b) The final mark of the module, as in the rest of the subjects that integrate the main exercise, will be integrated 25% in relation to the results of the specific evaluation, 65% in relation to the work of general group and 10% in relation to the intervention of the student in the general march of the exercise. The characteristics of the continuous evaluation of the group work are common to all the modules that make up the core program and correspond to the following sections and relative weights:

1. Preparation of the territorial diagnosis (15%)

2. Preparation, debate and presentation of the SWOT and the criteria (15%)

3. Preparation of proposals and projects (15%)

4. Final presentation of proposals and projects (20%)

There will be a possibility to retake the specific exam of the module. There will be no possibility of recovery for trunk work.

VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered a SUSPENSION (0) of the plagiarized exercise. PLAGIARISM is copying from unidentified sources of a text, be it a single sentence or more, which is passed off as own production (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS TO THE TEXT PRESENTED AS ITS OWN ), and is a serious offense. It is necessary to learn to respect the intellectual property of others and to always identify the sources that can be used, and it is essential to take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of one's own text.

In the event that the evaluation activities cannot be carried out in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining their weighting) to the possibilities offered by the UAB's virtual tools. Homework, activities and class participation will be done through forums, wikis and / or discussions of exercises through Teams, etc. The teacher will ensure that the student can access it or offer alternative means, which are available to them.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Group work, first part 30% 15 0.6 5, 2, 13, 8, 7, 11
Group work, second part 35% 25 1 6, 5, 2, 13, 8, 14, 11
Specific content of the module 25% 3 0.12 5, 4, 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 9
Student participation in debates, workshops and the work of group 10% 28 1.12 3, 1, 11, 12

Bibliography

The complete bibliography of the module is part of the Main Notebook

Software

None specific