Urban Studies BA

Core modules:

Development, Planning and the State

The module provides an introduction to planning theory and practice, exploring arguments for and against spatial planning and the rationale for state intervention into land and property development and introducing key principles of planning law and practice. The first part of the module covers key debates on the purposes of planning, the historical development of planning as a state activity and the current structure of national, regional and local government. The central part of the module introduces key aspects of the English planning system and key debates about its role and purpose. The final third of the module explores its application to issues of contemporary concern.

20 credits

Economics for Spatial Planning

This module provides an introduction to economic concepts and theories and to the way in which they are applied to the analysis of selected markets and policy challenges. The module seeks to offer an economic perspective on planning issues. The overall aim of the module is to develop students' understanding of the economic environment within which planners and other urban professions operate and to enhance understanding of economic theory and the economy in general.

10 credits

Information and Communication Skills

The skills needed to be able to find, evaluate, summarise and critically evaluate information are all vital to success in an undergraduate degree programme, and are also key transferable skills. This module provides basic knowledge of a range of methods for information-gathering and forms of communication. The teaching is delivered through a mix of lectures, workshops and student-led discussions, with students expected to take more responsibility for their own learning as the module progresses. . Lectures provide basic knowledge on method for information gathering and forms of communication, whilst workshops and a range of exercises are used to develop these skills

10 credits

Understanding Sheffield; place, work, folk

The aim of this module is to provide you with an introduction to Sheffield with a particular focus on place, people, the local economy and urban change. You will be introduced to some of the theories, information and techniques that planners use in their efforts to understand and create better places and the module will develop your skills of analysis for assessing the social, economic and environmental qualities of urban places. Through a series of site visits, you will gain a basic understanding of several different areas in Sheffield so that you develop a broader appreciation of the city’s strengths and some of the contemporary challenges that it faces.

20 credits

Professional Skills Development (L1)

* A foundation to articulate the skills-based nature of study in USP.
* An opportunity to recognise the importance of, and your responsibility for, the development of key professional and employability-related skills.
* A series of support sessions to help you get the most out of your learning experience and prepare you for professional employment at the end of your studies.

This module seeks to deliver a range of professional and employability-related skills over the academic year, tailored to each student cohort, to introduce skills development and to tailor support towards the final stages of study.

The Environmental Challenge

Human impacts are significantly altering the natural environment, and ecological degradation poses threats to human society. This module introduces students to these challenges and how they might be addressed. It aims to (1) to examine the key environmental challenges facing human societies with a particular focus on climate change; (2) to provide students with theoretical knowledge and practical understanding to help in confronting environmental challenges in a context they know (3) Provide an awareness of society’s main political institutions and regulatory procedures concerned with environmental protection and climate change (4) Develop skills in report writing and critical thinking related to environmental issues.

10 credits

The Making of Urban Places

This module will introduce you to cities and urbanisation, from the very first settlements to contemporary metropolises, using examples from across the world. The module focuses on thinking about the role of cities within societies and civilisations throughout history. The first half, on the history of urbanisation and urban settlement, looks at how various forces have shaped cities, and the outcomes of urbanisation for cities and their populations. The second half, on contemporary global urbanisation challenges, examines some of the major global challenges facing cities today. Throughout, we will explore influential ideas which have changed our thinking about cities, and look at how urban governments and planners have sought to respond to the challenges of urbanisation.

20 credits

Urban Analytics

This module will serve as an introduction to quantitative research methods, with a specific focus on data sources, analysis methods and presentation techniques for policy analysis in social science. It will expose students to a wide variety of substantive issues surrounding the use of data in practice and enhance their understanding of methods used in the real world policy settings. Students will access and use a range of different datasets, covering demographics, property, and land use. They will be required to demonstrate competence in accessing, analysing and presenting such data in order to gain a deeper understanding of key issues.

10 credits

Optional modules (20 credits from a range of modules including):

Housing, Home and Neighbourhood

Housing and the homes and neighbourhoods that we live in are in the news every day. Whether this is over concerns about housing shortages, affordability, housing bubbles, `generation rent', social housing, housing evictions, Covid lockdown, city-centre housing, DIY and `grand designs', or debates about the domestic sphere, `home as a haven', `benefit streets', flooding and shack settlements, housing is often at the centre of social science research. This module aims to introduce students to this broad and diverse subject by drawing on the expertise of staff who research across these multiple themes. The module focuses on contemporary concerns, while maintaining an appreciation of the impact of historical trends (e.g. the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/8). The module will make use of cases from the UK and abroad to illustrate trends, arguments and challenges.

10 credits

Cities

The main aim of Cities is to introduce you to our urban condition in a global context. Within this broad aim we will connect you to a range of key issues in contemporary urban studies and help you to understand more about the roots of urban problems and questions of social inequality and social justice within that context. This a general course that aims to develop an understanding of urban social life, economies, political systems, urban order/disorder and a range of other themes in an international context.

10 credits

Living with Environmental Change

This module will introduce students to a wide range of critical environmental issues facing the world today from physical science and social science perspectives. Using a range of environmental problems evident in the Global North and Global South (such as climate change, habit loss, water resources, land-use change, agriculture), the physical and social processes implicated will be examined. Drawing on a range of examples, students will critically explore the causes, consequences, management and solutions to environmental issues and learn how to question assumptions about environmental processes.

20 credits

Why Geography Matters

Geographers actively contribute to intellectual debates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the modern world, from climate change to food security, informing policy and practice. The module provides a challenging but accessible insight into the origins of the discipline and how these translate into the cutting edge of contemporary geographical research, and how this helps us understand our changing world. Serving as a bridge between the general introductory modules, and the more specialist modules taught at levels 2 and 3, this module provides an opportunity for students to engage with topical issues in contemporary human and physical geography led by academics actively engaged in cutting edge research on those subjects.

20 credits

Exploring Human Geographies

The module provides an introduction to human geography including key principles and processes in economic, social and cultural geography. It describes the main elements and issues involved in the global economic system including the process of uneven development and how local economic activities are moulded by global forces. It also provides an introduction to social and cultural geography focusing on a range of concepts, current debates and contemporary issues. Drawing examples from around the world and at a variety of geographical scales, the module highlights the value of a geographical perspective on current economic, social and cultural issues.

20 credits

Core modules:

Researching the city: applied skills for practice

Level Two study of urban design, urban management, social research methods and the distinctiveness of place is enhanced by learning about how to conduct research in urban context. Students taking this module will consider various topics, such as the impact of planning policy, flood management, urban ethnicity and social segregation, housing developments, or issues in the use of public space, through learning about and, circumstances permitting, conducting field investigation. They will be introduced to a range of qualitative and quantitative research skills and techniques, as well as interpretative methods.

20 credits

Professional Skills Development (L2)

▪ A foundation to articulate the skills- based nature of study in USP;
▪ An opportunity to recognise the importance of, and your responsibility for, the development of key professional and employability-related skills;
▪ A series of support sessions to help you get the most out of your learning experience and prepare you for professional employment at the end of your studies.

This module seeks to deliver a range of professional and employability-related skills over the academic year, tailored to each student cohort, to introduce skills development and to tailor support towards the final stages of study.

Optional modules:

Design and Development Project

This module explores the interrelationship between planning, design and development profitability. It examines the structure of real estate markets, the roles and objectives of the various stakeholders involved in the development process and the main aspects of development appraisal. At the same time, the module introduces the physical dimensions of urban planning and considers the urban design process and proposals for improving urban space. Students will work towards producing a development proposal that balances profitability with good design and in doing so, will learn to balance the competing demands of planning, design and real estate markets.

20 credits

Profit, Planning and Context

The module explores the relationship between the activities of profit-seeking business, the use and development of land and the planning activity. It provides an elementary introduction to the economics of land and property development and explores how these pressures interact with lifestyle choices to shape the use of land and property and the implication for public planning. The first part provides a brief introduction to measuring the performance of businesses and investments. The remainder of the module looks at the use of land and property for housing, retail, leisure, employment and transport uses in `urban' contexts

20 credits

Spatial Analysis

The aims of the module are to provide students with a broad introduction to the basic concepts of GIS and how they can be used for the spatial analysis of a wide range of data for planning purposes. The assessments will (a) test students' individual understanding of key concepts and their ability to think about the potentials and limitations of using spatial analysis to solve planning related problems; and (b) assess students' skills in the practical application of GIS and spatial analysis to a contemporary planning-related problem.

20 credits

Urban Design and Place-Making

The overall aim of the module is to improve students’ understanding and critical appreciation of the ideas, practices and techniques of urban design, focusing particularly on the contemporary context for place-making.

20 credits

Urban Theory

This module aims to develop student’s imaginative engagement with the nature of urban life and human settlement. Urban theory is about how we think about and ‘see’ cities around us – ideas are critical to how we engage with the key problems of the urban world, they are also important to our understanding of how cities work in practice. Urban Theory introduces a range of ideas and key concepts in urban studies with a view to understanding how cities have developed and how they ‘work’ in broad terms. The module considers a range of thinkers, ideas and problems.

20 credits

Core modules:

Dissertation

This module allows students to develop and manage an individual research project. Students will choose a topic of their interest, develop an appropriate research design to address this, and conduct primary or secondary research to provide critical insight and analysis of the research issue. The module aims to develop knowledge of research methods, skills in identifying and scoping an appropriate research topic, and ability to design and undertake an appropriate and feasible programme of research. The module will contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of research in relation to theoretical and practical dimensions of urban studies and planning, and will allow students to deepen their own knowledge in a chosen field of specialist planning concern. The module will be of interest and practical use to students in carrying out dissertations, and in introducing a range of research and analytical skills that will be useful in future careers.

40 credits

Professional Skills Development (L3)

▪ A foundation to articulate the skills- based nature of study in USP;
▪ An opportunity to recognise the importance of, and your responsibility for, the development of key professional and employability-related skills;
▪ A series of support sessions to help you get the most out of your learning experience and prepare you for professional employment at the end of your studies.

This module seeks to deliver a range of professional and employability-related skills over the academic year, tailored to each student cohort, to introduce skills development and to tailor support towards the final stages of study.

Optional modules:

Decolonising Geographies

This module examines Indigenous geographies through Indigenous storytelling and film as a way to understand the need to decolonise geography. It examines how race, racism, Indigenous rights, settler colonialism, settler responsibility, white supremacy, land rights, dispossession and genocide shape geographies of place, space and landscape. Topics covered include geographies of identity, emotions, memory, racism, colonialism, gender, landscape, and visual representation. The aim of this module is to centre Indigenous narratives, voices and knowledge to understand geography differently while simultaneously critiquing the current whiteness of academic geographical discourse. Trigger warning – this module engages with potentially distressing and challenging themes of rape, murder, abuse, loss and violence.

20 credits

Consumption and Sustainability

The ways in which we buy and use stuff and services are inextricable from the shaping of both our everyday lives and of contemporary societies. From constructions of identity and models of human well-being to issues of social equality and environmental sustainability, debates around consumption illuminate critical perspectives on contemporary societies and cultures. This module explores key contemporary geographical perspectives on consumption, linking critical insights and theoretical perspectives to our own practices and experiences.

20 credits

Urban Transformations

From the industrial-era modern cities of the Global North such as Manchester and Chicago to the fragmented, sprawling mega-cities of the contemporary Global South such as Lagos and Delhi, urban theorists have sought to understand the interplay of power, everyday practice, and social, political, economic, and cultural processes that both transform and are transformed by urban space. Pulling together critical social science and humanities-informed perspectives, the module draws from interdisciplinary theory and research to engage with urban transformations in both the Global North and the Global South. Topics may include transformations in urban theory, urban uprisings, urban infrastructure, and the role of film and literature in documenting and anticipating urban change.

20 credits

Values, Theory and Ethics in Spatial Planning

Drawing on insights from theoretical debates in planning and policy studies the module explores the assumptions underlying spatial planning practice and the challenges confronting practitioners. Firstly, it explores the values underpinning planning to understand why we plan, the nature of the challenges planning seeks to address and the dilemmas and conflicts these generate for planning practice. Secondly, it presents diverse theoretical approaches that planning has taken to address these dilemmas and conflicts. Thirdly, it examines the implications different planning theories have for the values of planning and the ethical frameworks available to planners in deciding how to act. Lectures will employ real-world cases and dilemmas faced by individual practitioners in their day-to-day work. Seminars will involve discussion based on films and other relevant material. Workshops will support students in the application of the approaches and theories discussed to specific cases, in preparation for the assignment.

20 credits

Transport and Infrastructure Planning

This module will provide students with an introduction to planning and policymaking in relation to the provision of transport and other types of infrastructure. The module develops students' ability to think critically about the framing of transport and infrastructure policy using an appreciation of historic developments, current practices and debates, transport and infrastructure planning examples from the UK and abroad. It will focus on how planners working at a range of spatial scales can give shape to effective transport and infrastructure strategies, which balance a range of environmental, social and economic objectives.

20 credits

Housing Policy and Governance

The aims of this Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) accredited module are to build on substantive knowledge, theory and skills about housing. Emphasis is placed on policy, practice, strategy analysis and understanding the links between housing, planning, social policies and outcomes at national, regional and local levels. The module further aims to: increase understanding of contemporary issues and debates in housing and housing policy and strategies; understand the causes and manifestations of problems, dilemmas and conflicts in housing systems and policy processes; and to develop abilities to synthesise and apply knowledge by understanding and critically assessing potential policy approaches to addressing housing problems.

20 credits

Environmental Policy and Governance

This unit aims to help students analyse environmental policy. It provides an overview of the principal elements of contemporary environmental governance, and an introduction to the process of systematic policy evaluation in relation to a policy element of your choice. The module draws attention to the contested and complex nature of the policy environment, and the role of the competing interests in relation to policy on the environment. Through individual investigation of a specific element of policy, you will explore the multi-level nature of environmental policy, contested and competing policy goals, and one approach to understanding how policy brings about change.

20 credits

Creative Geographies: Media, Imaginaries and Politics

Place, in all its forms, has long inspired radically new thought and perception. This module will explore the work of several historical and contemporary philosophers and artists in situ—why did their work arise where it did? What difference does that place (or places) make to their thought and expression? This module will guide students through the intricate relationship between philosophy, art (across various media) and geography with emphasis on specific types of place as sites of intellectual thought and creative practice. These may range from the large scale such as nation and heimat, to the urban scale, to the intimate such as the village and even the body. Core themes will include identity, place and displacement, historical imaginary and the built environment, and creativity and social/spatial transformation.

20 credits

Challenging Development

The aim of this module is to critically examine the development process within a global context, drawing on examples from developed and developing nations. Attention is given to the different ways in which we in the West understand 'development', and how we can reflect more critically on our position, and the power relations within this process. Drawing on debates within development geography, and other disciplines, the course is structured around three themes: the development industry, the poverty agenda and the local-global nexus. Topics covered may include: neoliberalism and state governance, humanitarian intervention, gender and empowerment, protests and social movements, corporate social responsibility, participation and empowerment, local forms of resistance, environmental action and change.

20 credits

Democracy and Citizenship: Dilemmas and Tensions

This module explores how a geographical approach helps us to analyse events such as controversial election results, divisive immigration policies, and contentious social activism. The two key concepts of democracy and citizenship are used to engage with contemporary debates and theories to draw out the links between geography, policy and society, and the ways in which these are responded to by citizens, communities, civil society, and political parties. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which these interactions are played out across and through multiple scales, from the global to our everyday lives.

20 credits

Sociology of Health, Illness and Medicine

This module explores sociological aspects of health, illness and medicine. It will focus on issues of health inequality exploring the ways in which patterns of health and disease vary according to class, gender and race. It also provides a critical examination of biomedicine, highlighting the contemporary challenges faced by medicine as a profession. Furthermore, it will focus on new dynamic developments in science and medicine linking health with the Internet and exploring the rise of the new genetics. The aim of this course is to provide students with a critical understanding of the role of health, illness and medicine within contemporary society.

20 credits

Perspectives on inequalities

This module is co-taught with local agency, community and family members. It asks students to think about the everyday experiences of inequality. It explores some of the core theoretical frameworks for interrogating inequality, and then explores everyday reality to apply the theories and concepts. The involvement of practitioners, community members and families means that the module is interactive and requires full attendance, in order to ensure a respectful experience for external contributors.

20 credits

Applied Volcanology

Volcanoes are an enigmatic force of nature. Understanding the way they behave and how they are monitored is a key aspect in hazard assessment. The module will cover a range of topics related to volcano monitoring, underpinned by an overview of the current state-of-the-art in volcanic science. In particular, the module will combine a theoretical basis of understanding for ground-based and satellite-based volcano monitoring capabilities with practical applications. Via lectures, lab practicals, and field-based activities, students will benefit from hands-on operation of monitoring equipment through to processing and interpretation.

20 credits