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Overview

Course Prescription

Studio-based investigation to develop critical skills and judgments on urban design principles and concepts ranging from street/block to urban design at a strategic scale.

Course Overview

The aims of this course are to:

  • Focus on urban design at varying scales and develop strategic urban design proposals able to deliver high-quality and relevant urban outcomes ;
  • Challenge thinking about relevant approaches to different urban contexts – including the regeneration of existing urban fabric ('Brownfield' sites) or greenfield sites, and urban development issues such as intensification, resilience, climate change and broad sustainability;
  • Become familiar with the tools of urban design research, analysis and communication;
  • Develop knowledge and skills related to the description and analysis of urban environments, including historical, environmental, demographic, infrastructural, economic, social and cultural factors and the sourcing of relevant information;
  • Provide an opportunity to further develop and apply a critical understanding of urban design principles, theories and precedents and conceptual thinking in urban design;
  • Engage in the application of urban design principles, theories and technical issues to develop propositions, concepts and design proposals in the design, testing and refinement of an urban design project at the larger urban scale; and
  • Develop skills to effectively communicate urban design ideas, concepts and proposals in graphic, oral and written form.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 30-point course and students are expected to spend 20 hours per week involved in each 30-point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 72 hours of studio time (including time for the final exam), and 228 hours of preparatory reading, research, thinking, and working on your assignments.

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including studios to complete/ components of the course.

Teaching and Learning Methods

This is the first of two studios in the urban design program and is broken into three key teaching elements:

  • Lectures and seminars which convey key concepts that can be used throughout the course. These will be given by faculty staff and leading urban design professionals; 
  • Visual communications (Viscom) classes which set out key visual skills needed for the course, including presentation skills for your final presentation; and  
  • Crits of students’ work which provide an opportunity for students to discuss their ideas and concepts with faculty staff throughout the course. This is designed to be an iterative process with students putting forward their ideas and design thinking for staff (and professional guests) to evaluate and provide verbal comments on their work during class time. While these are given individually, students are encouraged to sit through as many of these crit sessions as they can, and this will significantly improve their learning opportunities throughout this course. Please use these sessions and do not come to a crit session without any work.  

Given that the student can come from a range of diverse backgrounds, student learning is supported in this course with either an urban planning policy stream or a visual computer software stream in Week Two of the course. Students are encouraged to attend the stream that most suits their needs.
Please note that staffs are only available (unless it's an emergency) doing office hours (9.00 am to 5.00 pm) Monday to Friday to repose to emails etc.  However, as a general principal staff contact time is during class time, please use this time appropriately.  
Coursework not received by the due date and for which no extension of time has been approved will receive the grade ‘DNC’ (Did Not Complete).

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

All course readings are available via Reading Lists on Canvas, or as set out above for each session.  Required Reading:

  • Frederick, M & Mehat, V, 2018, 101 Things I Leaned in Urban Design School, Three River Press, New York, U.S. 
  • Larice, M & MacDonald, E (Ed), 2014, The Urban Design Reader, Routledge, London, U.K. 
  • Richards, P, 2018, Design Thinking Drawing, Peter Richards Press, Brisbane, Australia 
  • Adams, D and Tisdel, S. Shaping Places: Urban Planning, Design and Development, London: Routledge, 2013 
  • Carmona, Matthew, Heath, Ted, Oc, Tanier, and Tiesdell, Steve, Public Places Urban Spaces – the Dimensions of Urban Design, Oxford: Architectural Press, 2021 3th edition. 
  • Campoli, C., Made for Walking: Density and Neighbourhood From, Lincoln Institute, Cambridge, U.S. 2007 
  • Farrelly, L. Drawing for Urban Design, Laurence King, London, U.K., 2011 
  • Gehl, J Cities for People, Washington: Island Press, 2010. 
  • Tarbatt, J. The Plot: Design Diversity in the Built Environment – a manual for architects and urban designers, London RINA Publishing, 2012 

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Other Information

Extensions of Time To make a late submission, of course work, students need to notify the Course Director/Course Coordinator of their situation as soon as practicable, and preferably before any due date. Submissions received after an assessment due date will be accepted where this is reasonable, within the context of the course. If possible, students are encouraged to seek medical, counselling or other support from the most appropriate sources.
Use of Gen-AI Gen-AI can only be used to help improve your writing skills, including grammar, use of vocabulary, and sentence structure, but not to generate content for the report, and you should correctly acknowledge its use. 

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Additional Information on Assessment

PASS REQUIREMENTS

You must submit all the coursework to pass this course. There is no discount policy for late work or assignments. Late assignments will only be accepted with prior approval from the program director.

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type12345

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

This course has been altered and updated from the 2024 version, reflecting previous student feedback.  

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.