Urban Design and Planning

Core modules:

Planning Design and Development

This module introduces core knowledge and skills for understanding urban development processes and how they shape the built environment. It will explore key factors that shape the quality of development outcomes including policies and plans, urban design principles, and financial viability. The module develops critical awareness of the potential impacts of development projects on people and places and introduces students to principles and practices of site analysis.

The module will be taught in three blocks where students will learn: i. site appraisal and how to assess the potential of development sites in planning and policy terms; ii. how to identify key principles of good urban design, and; iii. how to assess the financial viability of development schemes.

Each block will be taught through lectures and workshops that introduce core principles and foundational concepts. Throughout, this will be supplemented by a focus on learning from case studies of urban development, enabling students to begin to apply their understanding to real world examples and to develop skills in critically assessing key factors that shape the quality of urban development and the built environment.

15 credits

Perspectives on Spatial Planning and Development

This module is seen as core in developing initial knowledge and understanding of planning and urban development. It critically explores the role of spatial ideas in planning policy and practice and plays a key part in developing critical skills and understanding of different contexts and environments relevant to that practice. The module covers urbanisation in a range of contexts and examines how spatial planning seeks to respond to key economic, environmental and social challenges.

15 credits

Principles of Urban Design

An introduction to the essential design components, principles and theories that inform urban design practice today. This module examines the core components that make up urban spaces and how they can be analysed. The key objectives that inform many urban design practices are also explored, including legibility, diversity, safety and sustainable design. The ethics of professional practice in urban design are explored, including through consideration of equity and inclusivity in design practice. Teaching will draw on practical examples, using seminars, lectures and student site visits and virtual reality to develop skills in analysis and evaluation of urban spaces and their design.

15 credits

Professional Skills Development

This module aims to provide a range of supporting skills for home and international students, which will help you get the most out of your learning in Sheffield, and to prepare you for professional employment development at the end of your studies. The module has three elements: 1. Cultures of Learning - understanding how we teach at Sheffield, and how to get the most out of your study 2. Academic English (assessment support). The sessions are particularly relevant to your assessment preparation. 3. Employability Skills - preparing you for careers within planning, design, real estate, global development, GIS and related professional areas. 

Optional modules - one from:

Urban Development in the Global South

This module explores the challenges of urban planning and development in the global South: how are conflicting imperatives of ecological sustainability, social inclusion and economic competitiveness being balanced by practitioners, and what implications does this have for those living there? The module will develop understanding of how urban planning systems are constructed and mediated by different actors. The unit will use a series of scenarios; representing some of the diversity of conditions that exist in the global South, to develop understandings of how planning systems shape and are shaped by the contexts in which they operate.

15 credits

Politics, Planning and the State

Understanding how cities function is central to the role of planners, urban policy advisers, and other built environment professionals. Drawing on cities from different national contexts, this unit provides an introduction to the administrative, legal and political contexts in which decisions are made about planning, regeneration and development and the role different groups play in mediating and affecting development. The module explores how practitioners approach urban development challenges, define problems and frame policy interventions. Conceptual and practice-based perspectives are employed to encourage students to think critically about the tensions and trade-offs that confront those involved in planning and managing cities.

15 credits

Spatial Planning Systems

This module provides an introduction to state-led planning. It considers the administrative, legal and political contexts in which planning decisions are made and the role of different groups in mediating land-use development. The module will focus around work to understand how spatial planning systems are constructed and mediated by different actors. The module will use practical scenarios to explore how action surrounding development might be organised, the ways in which the state is talked about and how it is organised, as well as the means by which the state makes planning policies and implements these.

15 credits

Core modules:

Integrated Project

This module draws together skills and knowledge gained during the first semester and applies these to the specific problem of planning for an area of Sheffield. The module will use an in-depth project to explore the problems and potential of a site in inner Sheffield. In doing so, the project will develop skills and knowledge in policy making and evaluation, design and property financing. The over-riding objective of this module is not to view each of these three topics as separate, but to understand the inter-connected nature of these topics in order to respond to complex urban problems in an innovative and sensitive manner. Through this module you will develop skills and knowledge in policy appraisal and formulation, analysis of sites and urban areas, urban design and financial and development appraisal. These skills and forms of knowledge will be drawn together in the form of a site-specific planning brief and design-sketch scheme, a financial appraisal and a design report. The module will also develop presentational skills and inter-disciplinary working. The overall aim of the module is to develop knowledge and skills acquired in the first semester of the programme through their application to an actual planning problem by drawing together three critical themes: policy-making and evaluation, design and property financing.

30 credits

In addition, students must choose two specialised study option modules of 15 credits each. At least one of these must come from a list of ‘spatial planning option’ modules that enable specialism alongside the consolidation of core spatial learning outcomes:

Cities of Diversity

Acknowledging diversity within cities is increasingly regarded as central to successful planning, urban development and city making and is a very hotly debated issue currently, particularly with #MeToo, Brexit and Trump! But what do we mean by diversity and what theories exist to help us understand it? This module will focus on various aspects of diversity in the form of differing social identities (such as age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and gender – including focusing on masculinity within cities) but also critically explore the ways in which diversity is understood by policy makers and city managers. The module will focus on cities in both the global South and North and consider the significance of migration in relation to diversity in both contexts. The module will rely on a critical engagement with literature from the discipline of geography, planning, urban studies and development studies.

15 credits

Citizen Participation in Planning and Development

Recent decades have seen a proliferation of initiatives to involve citizens in policy-making, planning and urban governance. There is widespread agreement that 'citizen engagement' can play a positive role in democratizing urban development. However, public participation raises a range of significant challenges for urban professional practice. This module will draw on critical debates about the roles citizens and publics can and should play in shaping the city to reflect on the theory and practice of participation. The module is taught through seminars which structure learning, and help students to research case studies of participatory initiatives.

15 credits

Transport Planning

This module will provide students with an introduction to transport planning and policy. The module develops students' ability to think critically about the framing of transport policy using UK transport planning as an example. It will focus on how planners in localities give shape to effective transport strategies, which balance a range of environmental, social and economic objectives.

15 credits

Issues in Housing

The aims of the module are twofold: to build both on substantive knowledge, theory and skills about housing gained in earlier parts of both the UG and PG courses, with an emphasis on policy analysis; and to look more closely at the links between housing and planning (in its widest sense) at the local and regional level.

15 credits

Urban Informality

The overall aim of this module is to critically examine informality, with a particular but not exclusive focus on cities of the Global South. The module relies on a mixture of lectures, seminars and student-led group work, with the latter focusing on an in-depth case study of a selected city. It explores patterns and causes of informality and discusses the strengths and limitations of a range of theoretical approaches. It also analyses the success of different real-world urban planning responses (understood in broad terms), including government-led, donor-led and community-focused ones, in addressing key urban issues in the context of informality.

15 credits

Planning Law

The course is intended to develop students' expertise in the legal framework for the planning system and to set that legal framework within the wider context of law in the United Kingdom. It considers the origins of planning law and seeks to provide explanations for the powers that the law confers on decision makers. The course focuses particularly on the development control aspects of planning law and looks at the rights and duties of applicants, local authorities and the Secretary of State in making and determining planning applications. It considers the criteria for decision making and the possibilities for the redress of grievance. It considers planning law in the light of wider discussions about human rights and planning gain.

15 credits

Health, Wellbeing and the City

This module explores the urban environment as a determinant of health and well-being and examines how planning and urban design can contribute to improvements in health. Beginning with an exploration of the historic relationship between planning and public health, the module focuses on how the urban environments support or undermine health in relation to mental health, ageing, obesity, air quality and noise pollution. The module also introduces the notion of health impact assessment and further reflects on the contribution of planning to environmental justice and the reduction of inequalities in health.

15 credits

Mega Urban Projects

In many cities nowadays, mega urban projects such as mega events like the Olympic Games or Central Business Districts like Canary Wharf are seen as an effective means to boost the local economy and to promote the city on a global scale. However, many of them often fail to contribute to the local economy whilst having detrimental impacts on local residents and the wider society. This module offers an in-depth understanding of the development processes and outcomes of large-scale urban projects by exploring aspects of why such projects are developed, how they are governed and their socio-economic impacts.

15 credits

Students may also choose to select one ‘design skills’ option from the list below:

Behaviour in the Built Environment

The urban/built environment influences the behaviour of people; equally, people’s behaviour can shape the environment. Understanding the interaction between people and their environment promotes the design of spaces and buildings that meet the needs of the people who occupy them. This module will discuss principles of behavioural and environmental psychology in the context of the design and management of indoor and outdoor spaces, including the application and interpretation of behavioural research methods. A key objective is for students to be better equipped to deliver a sustainable environment that meets user requirements.

15 credits

Conservation and Regeneration Principles and Approaches

This module introduces a range of theoretical and practical approaches to architectural design interventions in the historic built environment. It will explore conceptual and philosophical debates within architectural conservation and heritage studies, addressing the conflicting and complementary approaches that have historically been employed. You will be encouraged to develop a critical understanding of conservation and built heritage issues and to evaluate the role of architectural conservation in historical rural and urban regeneration.

15 credits

Trajectories in Urban Design Practice

This unit focuses on exploring the emergent and potential roles of Urban Design practitioners, and on relating them to students' own Urban Design experience, both within practice and within the School of Architecture. The unit will be broad ranging, looking at the unprecedented scale and complexity of conditions that are shaping the urban environment globally, creating the need for a critical evaluation of the methods, tools, and design culture that surrounds the practice of Urban Design. The module will discuss the consequences of these conditions on the practice of Urban Design, and will invite students to speculate about the potential trajectories that they could take in the future as Urban Design practitioners. Assessments will be based on a reflection on student's individual experiences and future aspirations. This unit is also suitable for students taking a part-time route whilst continuing to work in practice. It is also suitable as an optional module for the MArch course. It will also be offered as a CPD module.

15 credits

Cities of Diversity

Acknowledging diversity within cities is increasingly regarded as central to successful planning, urban development and city making and is a very hotly debated issue currently, particularly with #MeToo, tensions in the post-Brexit context and the aftermath of Trump! But what do we mean by diversity and what theories exist to help us understand it? This module will focus on various aspects of diversity in the form of differing social identities (such as age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and gender - including focusing on masculinity within cities) but also critically explore the ways in which diversity is understood by policy makers and city managers. The module will focus on cities in both the global South and North and consider the significance of migration in relation to diversity in both contexts. The module will rely on a critical engagement with literature from the discipline of geography, planning, urban studies and development studies.

15 credits

Citizen Participation in Planning and Development

Recent decades have seen a proliferation of initiatives to involve citizens in policy-making, planning and urban governance. There is widespread agreement that 'citizen engagement' can play a positive role in democratizing urban development. However, public participation raises a range of significant challenges for urban professional practice. This module will draw on critical debates about the roles citizens and publics can and should play in shaping the city to reflect on the theory and practice of participation. The module is taught through seminars which structure learning, and help students to research case studies of participatory initiatives.

15 credits

Transport Planning

This module will provide students with an introduction to transport planning and policy. The module develops students' ability to think critically about the framing of transport policy using UK transport planning as an example. It will focus on how planners in localities give shape to effective transport strategies, which balance a range of environmental, social and economic objectives.

15 credits

Issues in Housing

The aims of the module are twofold: to build both on substantive knowledge, theory and skills about housing gained in earlier parts of both the UG and PG courses, with an emphasis on policy analysis; and to look more closely at the links between housing and planning (in its widest sense) at the local and regional level.

15 credits

International Real Estate Market Analysis

This module will provide a comprehensive introduction to key concepts and approaches to the analysis of international real estate markets. This module makes a simple operational distinction between mature, emergent and transitional markets as a first step towards a systematic framework for analysis. It gives an introduction to specific real estate markets and the ways in which they function, and offers generalizable conclusions about the wider operation of global real estate markets. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of global political economy as a context for interpreting real estate markets.

15 credits

GIS for Built Environment Professionals

This module aims to introduce key Geographical Information Systems (GIS) principles and techniques to students in fields where GIS is becoming an increasingly relevant tool. The focus is on enabling students to develop an understanding of the potential of GIS and some fundamental GIS skills, through a series of workshops using a range of common software. Assessment is through a written report incorporating visualisations and analysis.

15 credits

Urban Informality

The overall aim of this module is to critically examine informality, with a particular but not exclusive focus on cities of the Global South. The module relies on a mixture of lectures, seminars and student-led group work, with the latter focusing on an in-depth case study of a selected city. It explores patterns and causes of informality and discusses the strengths and limitations of a range of theoretical approaches. It also analyses the success of different real-world urban planning responses (understood in broad terms), including government-led, donor-led and community-focused ones, in addressing key urban issues in the context of informality.

15 credits

Planning Law

The course is intended to develop students' expertise in the legal framework for the planning system and to set that legal framework within the wider context of law in the United Kingdom. It considers the origins of planning law and seeks to provide explanations for the powers that the law confers on decision makers. The course focuses particularly on the development control aspects of planning law and looks at the rights and duties of applicants, local authorities and the Secretary of State in making and determining planning applications. It considers the criteria for decision making and the possibilities for the redress of grievance. It considers planning law in the light of wider discussions about human rights and planning gain.

15 credits

Contemporary Urbanism

The module focuses on the opportunities and challenges of contemporary urbanism to develop a unique approach to urban design process and practice. The module exposes students to contemporary urban concerns and investigates opportunities for new models of development, aided by an understanding of practices that are transforming growth of cities; such as smart cities, critical regeneration, urban automation, immersive data visualisation, responsive technologies and vertical public realm. The module engages with new and innovative areas of industry practice and focuses on the uses and limits of technology in the development of urban design responses to contemporary urban challenges.

15 credits

Advanced Software Skills in Urban Design

This option module will provide students with the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge of key 2D, 3D and immersive technology (Virtual reality and augmented reality) design software packages which are increasingly required to visually communicate development proposals and ideas within the urban design and planning professions. The module will equip students with a broad understanding of different methods of communicating urban design ideas using digital technologies, and a critical appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of design software packages enabling the effective selection and utilisation of appropriate software in order to perform a range of different urban design tasks.

15 credits

Health, Wellbeing and the City

This module explores the urban environment as a determinant of health and well-being and examines how planning and urban design can contribute to improvements in health. Beginning with an exploration of the historic relationship between planning and public health, the module focuses on how the urban environments support or undermine health in relation to mental health, ageing, obesity, air quality and noise pollution. The module also introduces the notion of health impact assessment and further reflects on the contribution of planning to environmental justice and the reduction of inequalities in health.

15 credits

Mega Urban Projects

In many cities nowadays, mega urban projects such as mega events like the Olympic Games or Central Business Districts like Canary Wharf are seen as an effective means to boost the local economy and to promote the city on a global scale. However, many of them often fail to contribute to the local economy whilst having detrimental impacts on local residents and the wider society. This module offers an in-depth understanding of the development processes and outcomes of large-scale urban projects by exploring aspects of why such projects are developed, how they are governed and their socio-economic impacts.

15 credits

Dissertation - one from:

Dissertation

This is a core module which allows students to develop and manage an individual research project. The module aims to help students to develop and apply research skills and an appreciation of the issues involved in managing a research project; to develop an understanding of the role of research in relation to theoretical and practical dimensions of the chosen discipline; and to further and deepen knowledge in their chosen field of planning, real estate, urban design, development, or related interests.

60 credits

Design Dissertation

This module is a major research project that offers the opportunity for students to develop and manage an individual research informed site-based urban design project. The module aims to help students develop and apply research design skills, site analysis and development skills, and visual communication skills. Students will gain an appreciation of the issues involved in managing a research project; an understanding of the role of research in gaining a detailed understanding of a site and developing contextually appropriate site design solutions; to further and deepen knowledge and experience in a chosen field of urban design or planning.

60 credits