Current course offerings

Please Note: Course profiles marked as not available may still be in development.

Course description

The focus of this course is on both the theory and practice of planning. In particular, this course intends to provoke students to think about what "good planning" means and of ways and means of improving the theoretical base and the practical operation of planning. Understanding planning theory will help future planners to understand how planning is practiced, why planning is done in particular ways, and provide them with a perspective about the roles that planners play. Critical questions will be explored, including: (a) should planners create utopian visions of how cities could be or to pragmatically deal with cities as they are, (b) should plans be grand and comprehensive or cautious and incremental, (c) should planners assist or resist the private market, (d) should planners be neutral professionals or social advocates, (e) should planners think like architects, social critics or private developers, and (f) should planners develop complex theories of urbanisation and decision-making, or simply deal with immediate practical and professional challenges? The course is structured around an exploration of recent approaches to citymaking, planning theory, and how they have given shape to planning practice. It also considers the professional status of planning and the ethical standards of the profession.

Archived offerings