Architecture, Landscape & Visual Arts

Unit Outline

Introduction to Urban Design

URBD1000
SEM-1, 2015
Campus: Crawley
Unit Coordinator: Dr Julian Bolleter

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Unit details
Unit title
Unit code
Availability
Location

Introduction to Urban Design

URBD1000
SEM-1, 2015 (23/02/2015 - 20/06/2015)
Crawley

Credit points

Mode

Face to face

Contact details
Faculty
School
School website
Unit coordinator
Email
Consultation hours
Tutors

Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts

Architecture, Landscape & Visual Arts
http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/
Dr Julian Bolleter
julian.bolleter@uwa.edu.au
Any time via email or 6318 6203.
Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
sara.padgett@uwa.edu.au

Unit contact hours

Online handbook

Lecture: 1 hr per week; plus tutorials: 2 hrs per week

http://units.handbooks.uwa.edu.au/units/URBD/URBD1000

Unit description
While our urban settlements can be viewed as our most enduring cultural artefacts, the form and evolution of the city is emerging as a
significant global issue confronting contemporary societies. This unit seeks to develop an appreciation of the historic evolution of the
city and the range of forces impacting on city development both across time and in different social, political and economic
circumstances. It explores a range of theories about the nature of the city and identifies a range of current challenges facing urban
designers. This unit is aimed at students who have an interest in urban design and provides a comprehensive introduction to the field.

Learning outcomes
Students are able to (1) understand the historic development of the city and the social, cultural and economic forces at work in its
evolution; (2) appreciate the range of urban design theories put forward in attempting to explain the city and the broader frameworks
within which these theories exist; (3) understand the substantive and emerging challenges faced by the contemporary city from the
point of view of urban designers; and (4) demonstrate both critical thinking in the analysis of academic literature and competent written
skills in presenting an opinion.

Unit structure
For weeks 1-5 and 9-12 of the semester there are weekly 1 hour lectures followed a tutorial discussion of questions set by the lecturer
that relate to the lecture and reading material. For weeks 6-8 there will be student presentations of selected case study cities.

Unit schedule
Week

Date

Thursday 26.02.15 Introduction (JB)

What is a city, what is urban design? (JCB)
Thursday 05.03.15 The Ancient City
Thursday 12.03.15 The Industrial and the Garden City
Thursday 19.03.15 The Modern City
Thursday 26.03.15 The Post Modern City
Thursday 02.04.15 Student city presentations (no lecture)

JB/ JCB

None

JB
JB
ADS
ADS
JB

Tutorial 1
Tutorial 2
Tutorial 3
Tutorial 4
Tutorial 5

Thursday 16.04.15
Thursday 23.04.15
Thursday 30.04.15
Thursday 07.05.15
Thursday 14.05.15
Thursday 21.05.15

JB
JB
TG
JCB
JB
JB

Tutorial 6
Tutorial 7
Tutorial 8
Tutorial 9
Tutorial 10
Tutorial 11

2
3
4
5
6
Study Break
7
8
9
10
11
12

Lecture Topic

Lecturer Tutorial

Student city presentations (no lecture)

Student city presentations (no lecture)
The New Urbanism City
The Eco-Urbanism City
The Future Australian City
The Future of an Urbanising Planet

Assessment
Assessment overview
Typically this unit is assessed in the following way(s): (1) presentation; (2) urban design case study report; and (3) analytical report.
Further information is available in the unit outline.
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Assessment mechanism
# Component

Weight Due Date

1 Case study presentation

30%
2 Notebook
20 %
3 Future city photomontage and essay 50 %

02.04.15- 23.04.15 (in class)

21.05.14 (submitted in class)
28.05.14 (electronically)

Assessment items
Item
Title

Description

Submission Procedure for

Assignments

Case study presentation:

In class presentation

In weeks 6, 7 and 8 there will be a series of presentations by students. In week

1, you will be assigned a certain city and with your team you will research this
city and then present a 20 minute professionally developed presentation
regarding the city. These seminars are NOT tourist versions of the city in
question. They are to be thoroughly researched analyses of the Urban Design
theory and practice that the city manifests. You are encouraged to meet with
the unit coordinator/ tutors during the tutorials to discuss your presentation
content.
Notebook: The notebook (A5 Moleskine or similar available at Officeworks) will Submit notebook in class
display your full attendance and your degree of engagement with the course.
The notebook might also serve you well as a resource later in your career so
treat it with some respect. The notebook will be neatly handwritten and
comprise a combination of lecture notes and reading summaries.
NB: The Facultys plagiarism policy applies to notebooks. Do not include notes
from another student to cover for your absence unless that student is formally
acknowledged and the notes included as a photocopy of the original. In the
past, students whose notebooks have been in part the same have been found
to have contravened the facultys plagiarism policy rendering them liable to
outright failure at the Deans discretion.
Future city montage and essay:
To submit electronically - refer to unit
coordinator for details
With reference to the lecture material and course readings provided, you are
to create a digital or physical montage* (A1 dimensions 841 x 594mm) which
evokes your vision of an ideal future city. In the accompanying scholarly essay
(between 1200 -1500 words) you are to explain why you consider this an ideal
city and discuss it in relation to current ecological, social or political
challenges, urban design theory covered in this unit and existing city
precedents. The essay needs to be clearly structured, written in fluent prose
(i.e. no bullet points) and closely referenced.
*Note physical montages will need to be digitally photographed at a high
resolution for submission
Please refer to the following sources for guides on essay writing and
referencing
http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/learning/studysmarter/getsmart/guides/essays
http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/learning/studysmarter/getsmart/guides/reading

Other important information

Enrolled students can access unit material via the LMS in units that use LMS

Building clean-up and folio collection (for units with folio submissions)
Studios are expected to be left clean and tidy. Drawing boards are to be cleaned. Students must remove all personal property
immediately after the submission of their folio. If the content of a folio is used for exhibition then the student must write their name on
the back of the work so that when the exhibition is demounted collection is simplified. If staff or the Faculty wish to reserve work for
reproduction and/or accreditation purposes then this should be negotiated with individual students.
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Attendance
Attendance is required at all lectures, tutorials and workshops. These are the primary means of consultation with your Unit Coordinator
and Teaching Assistants. Do not expect questions relating to content missed through unjustified absence to be answered. Additionally,
it will be assumed that students have read all relevant course materials.

Authenticity of work
For Studio units, the Faculty may prevent your continuation in this unit if you fail to meet requirements for attendance at
classes to establish the authenticity and originality of your work.
Submissions
The ALVA Submissions policy is available at:
http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/students/policies/

Submission of Late Work

All assessment tasks are due no later than 4pm on the date indicated in the unit's Assessment Mechanism Statement, with the
exception of in-class assessment items such as tutorial presentations. Any assessment task which is submitted after the time
indicated in the assessment mechanism statement without a formal approved extension will be considered LATE and appropriate
penalities will be applied. Information on penalties can be obtained in the Faculty Policy on Submissions
at http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/students/policies/.

Extensions
The Faculty approves extensions only in exceptional circumstances in order to ensure that all students are treated fairly and that
submission date schedules, which are designed to produce ordered work patterns for students, are not disrupted. Extensions may be
authorised only by the allocated Faculty Course Advising Office or a delegated representative. In all cases, requests for extensions
require the submission of Special Consideration form no later than three University working days after the due date.
Students are encouraged in the strongest possible terms to familiarise themselves with the Faculty Policy on Extensions available
at http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/students/policies/.

Return of Student Work

Marked assessments submitted on time will be made available for collection by students at least one week before the next assessment
in the unit is due (if it is related to the previous assessment), or no more than four weeks after submission, whichever is sooner.

Special Consideration
For information regarding special consideration please go to:

http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/course/exams/consideration
Faculty Safety Inductions
The ALVA Health and Safety Induction (Part A) must be completed online by all students enrolled in a unit taught by the Faculty. This
online module is available for self-enrol via LMS. Completion of the Part A induction will ensure after-hours access to the ALVA Building
(including computer labs) is enabled.
The ALVA Workshop Induction (Part B) runs in Week 1 of each semester, and must be completed if the unit involves use of the
Workshop. Your Workshop Induction lasts for five years, after which you will be required to attend a refresher. Please refer to
http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/students/facilities for more information on Inductions and Workshop close-down period.

Material and Equipment Costs

Costs specific to individual units will be communicated to students in this unit outline or early in semester.
All sites will require students to wear protective helmets; students needing to purchase a certified protective helmet may do so from
Alsafe Safety Industries Pty Ltd, 177 Bannister Rd Canningvale. Students must wear appropriate clothing when visiting building sites;
open toed shoes and sand shoes will not be accepted and students will not gain entry to site with these shoes. The sites also require
steel capped boots to be worn this is a condition of accessing these sites. These can be bought from Army Surplus stores or
borrowed, they are a worthy investment as will be required on future building sites of your own.

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