Urban Design: University of Westminster

Introduction

Urban Design involves shaping the physical setting for life in cities. This course aims to provide a practical preparation for professionals entering urban design practice. It is designed to combine practical experience with advanced professional training and provides a theoretically informed understanding of urban design.

Urban design is a multidisciplinary profession and the course provides an opportunity to work collaboratively with people from a variety of backgrounds, including architecture, landscape architecture, transport and urban planning, and to extend your existing skills and knowledge into new areas.

Course Content

This course is designed to combine practical experience with advanced professional training and provides a theoretically informed understanding of urban design. Urban design is a multi-disciplinary profession and the course provides an opportunity to work collaboratively with people from a variety of backgrounds, including architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture and to extend your existing skills and knowledge into new areas.

The course is based around themes, each a year long, consisting of a double module and linked pairs of modules.

Urban Design Skills: This double module forms a basic introduction to urban design, theory, methods and techniques.

Urban Space and Culture: City Histories, City Futures and Experiencing the City form a looser linked pair of modules,
which may be taken separately or in reverse order.

Master Planning: This linked pair of modules start by studying sustainable development and urban form, and the relationship between transport, land use and density to develop an urban design framework for a large site. You will go on to develop a masterplan for a specific part of the site, using knowledge and skills developed in the earlier modules.

Research Topic: The Research Methods module and Dissertation/Design Thesis involves undertaking a major piece of academic work undertaken and distinguishes the MA from the Postgraduate diploma.

Option modules, choose one from those offered in specialist areas, which may include:

• Street management
• Sustainable development
• Urban conservation
• Urban regeneration

Entry Requirements

Applications are invited from graduates with a good Honours degree in architecture, landscape architecture, town planning or another related discipline, together with practical or professional experience in their own field or in urban design. Those whose first language is not English will need an IELTS score of 6.5.