Summer 2019 - URB 610 G100
Urban Design: Integrating Theory and Practice (4)
Class Number: 5153
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
May 6 – Aug 2, 2019: Thu, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
Vancouver
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
This course is an examination of urban design as a discipline that involves the environmental, aesthetic, social, economic, geographic, ecological, historical, political, and cultural aspects of the built environment. The importance of creative design, the interrelationship between the spatial organization of a city, its efficient delivery of services, the social, cultural and economic considerations of the public realm, as well as the process of change in our pluralistic society will all be considered.
COURSE DETAILS:
Description
This course is an introduction to urban design from a policy and practice-centred perspective. We will discuss, and explore through collaborative work, fundamental principles and practices of physical place making, as well as critical issues and dynamics related to the design and development of urban place.
Course Details
This course is envisioned as a lively and intensive quest to examine, understand and interact with Vancouver’s exemplary urban fabric. Using a variety of investigative tools, we will actively explore urban design case studies via field trips, directed exercises, interactive workshops, and careful cataloguing. Using methodologies developed by Jan Gehl, we will observe and reflect on how people relate to their surroundings, including their movements, interactions and behaviour. The course is intended as an introduction to urban design thinking and practice, with a particular eye to the interrelationship of planning and policy to design and development (in other words, what planners and urbanists need to know about urban design). The primary focus is on the fundamentals of urban design at all scales, from the block to the neighbourhood, from the city to the region, and the course will provide a broad overview and survey of contemporary urban design thought and practice. Vancouver is used to ground our exploration and provides an opportunity to work through ideas via review of actual projects, both built and working through the planning and development process.
Students will: explore the urban environment using a ‘quality of life’ approach; reflect on the principles and philosophies that underpin current and past urban design approaches; role play and critically evaluate the relationships among decision makers and influencers of urban design decisions; investigate contemporary and classic best practice analogues to create an informed position on urban design theory and implementation; and develop an urban design strategy for a site in Grandview Woodlands using tools of policy, stakeholder recommendations, feasibility programming, built form layout and massing, site access and circulation, public realm and streetscape.
Grading
- Participation 10%
- Practitioner Written Response (Individual) 15%
- Precedent Research Presentation (Individual) 30%
- Urban Design Project (Indiv/Group) 45%
NOTES:
GRADUATE STUDIES NOTES:
Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here:
http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html.
The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.
REGISTRAR NOTES: SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English. Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Recommended texts:
- Gehl, J. and B. Svarre (2013) How to Study Public Life: Methods in urban design
- Sadik-Kahn, J. and S. Solomonow (2016) Streetfight: Handbook for an urban revolution.
Required and recommended readings will be available as electronic resources or Reserve Desk readings through the SFU Library, supplemented with journal articles that can be accessed through the Electronic Journals selection on the SFU Library website.
The course will require basic drawing and presentation materials. **Students should be familiar with Adobe InDesign, which they will use to prepare their final project. They should pursue online training e.g. through the SFU Library subscription to Lynda.com or alternatively take a workshop through the SFU Publishing Program.**
Graduate Studies Notes:
Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS