Approaches to a University Urban Design Curriculum for 21st century Cities

This paper examines approaches to a contemporary urban design curriculum. It considers such questions as: What general direction should a contemporary postgraduate urban design curriculum take? Should it be more focused on practice, more biased to historical and theoretical issues, or give greatest emphasis toward developing research-led policy and regulatory frameworks? How best to address the new scale and complexity of intertwined urban forces and values and the transdisciplinary knowledge required to respond to them? To begin to answer these questions, this paper undertakes a comparative survey of three approaches to a contemporary urban design curriculum. Focusing on program structure, key elements, and future challenges in the university education of urban design professionals, the paper contributes to scholarship on the practice and theory of urban design education and aligns with Congress theme Future.