Fall 2017 - URB 610 G100

Urban Design: Integrating Theory and Practice (4)

Class Number: 7553

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: 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:


Course 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:  Urban design, the intentional shaping of cities and the spaces within, is a well-established practice in Canadian cities and increasingly an area of interest to urban thinkers and practitioners looking to translate policy vision into built environment outcomes. Planners and related practitioners seeking to influence the experience and performance of place often need to engage design and the physical components of place to advance varied policy objectives, including those related to sustainability, livability, affordability, equity, health, and community well-being.

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.

The course is organized around a series of lectures but also incorporates a collaborative exercise: a hybrid of the classroom and the studio. The collaborative exercise will provide an opportunity for students, working in groups, to explore and test design ideas and practices on an applied case. Guests from the local urban design community will join us for short talks and informal reviews (‘pin-ups’) of group work.

Grading

  • Participation 20%
  • Individual project 20%
  • Group Project - 3 phases, each worth 20%: 1) analysis, 2) alternatives, 3) proposal 60%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

 The course will require basic drawing and presentation materials. A list will be provided.

REQUIRED READING:

Required 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.

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

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS