SO4A5     
Urban Infrastructure and Strategic Planning

This information is for the 2018/19 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Philipp Rode FAW 8.01I and Prof Antony Travers CON6.06

Availability

This course is available on the Executive MSc in Cities. This course is not available as an outside option.

This course is only available to students registered in the Executive MSc in Cities and is offered as an option.

Course content

Urban infrastructure and strategic planning is a workshop based course providing practical insights on infrastructure development and strategic planning for cities. The course combines a series of lectures with studio-based group work on a case study city. Students are introduced to all key components of urban infrastructure, cutting across transport, energy, water, waste and digital network systems. A particular focus of this course is the interrelationship of transport infrastructure and urban form. This relationship forms the basis for an inquiry into strategic planning approaches and practical applications in cities around the world. Furthermore, the course covers important aspects of infrastructure governance, finance and regulation and examines implications for large-scale physical infrastructure as well as digital, smart city technologies.

Infrastructure and strategic planning aims to provide the students with a praxis-oriented understanding of urban infrastructure development and strategic planning. The workshop-based nature of the course facilitates learning and skills development in relation to strategic development planning.

Topics include: urban infrastructure, transport, energy, water, waste, digital networks, strategic planning, smart cities, finance, privatisation, municipalisation, public private partnerships, design life, lock-in, phasing

Teaching

3 hours of lectures and 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the LT. 6 hours of lectures, 3 hours of seminars and 9 hours of workshops in the ST.

The course will be taught during the lent and summer terms through hands-on team based workshops

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the ST.

Prepare a 500 word brief for your project indicating key deliverables

Indicative reading

Albrechts, Luis (2004): Strategic (spatial) planning re-examined. Pion Ltd.

Cervero, Robert and Jin Murakami (2009): Rail and Property Development in Hong Kong: Experiences and Extensions.

Delmon, Jeffrey (2011): Public-Private Partnership Projects in Infrastructure: An Essential Guide for Policy Makers. Cambridge University Press.

Dimitriou, Harry T. and Ralph Gakenheimer (2011): Urban Transport in the Developing World: A Handbook of Policy and Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Graham, Stephen and Colin McFarlane (2014): Infrastructural Lives: Urban Infrastructure in Context. Taylor & Francis.

Guy, Simon, Simon Marvin, Will Medd and Timothy Moss (2012): Shaping Urban Infrastructures: Intermediaries and the Governance of Socio-Technical Networks. Taylor & Francis.

Peterson, George (2009): Unlocking Land Values to Finance Urban Infrastructure. World Bank.

Stead, Dominic and Evert Meijers (2009): Spatial Planning and Policy Integration: Concepts, Facilitators and Inhibitors. Routledge.

Townsend, Anthony M. (2013): Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia. W. W. Norton.

Vasconcellos, Eduardo (2001): Urban transport, environment, and equity: the case for developing countries. Earthscan Publications.

Assessment

Coursework (80%, 5000 words) and presentation (20%) in the ST.

A group project report not exceeding 5,000 words, which will count for 80% of the final grade. 

Additionally, each group member must write a personal reflection on their contribution in no more than 600 words, and should include specific details of the student's contributions to the project. 

Key facts

Department: Sociology

Total students 2017/18: Unavailable

Average class size 2017/18: Unavailable

Controlled access 2017/18: No

Value: One Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Application of information skills
  • Communication
  • Application of numeracy skills
  • Specialist skills