Selected topics in City and Regional Planning (BYG640)

Content

The goal of the course will be to enable students to engage in thoughtful discussions and questions about balancing business, infrastructural and end-user needs with the safety and security issues in urban areas. It will address empirical as well as practitioner-oriented questions about the role of technologies - both physical and digital - in mitigating safety and security concerns in cities. Its core focus centers on the utilization of security technologies, autonomous vehicles and their positive and negative impacts in urban environments in relation to spatial, temporal, cultural and societal sensitivities. Working individually and in groups in lecture and workshop settings (online unless otherwise stated), students will be exposed to theoretical and hypothetical issues that seek to balance the needs of users with the needs of the environment and the protection of societies at large. The course gives students a unique opportunity to use a variety of research methods to find proportionate, holistic and cost-effective solutions based on classroom and fieldwork tasks. Students will also learn about the possibilities and limitations of emerging dual-purpose security technologies and autonomous vehicles and individually develop a planning proposal for the protection of a selected site for peer assessment.

Learning outcome

After the course the student should have

• Knowledge about how to make holistic planning decisions in the interest of human security, resilience, safety and business continuity.
• An ability to interpret spatial qualities, local identities, while also addressing accessibility, inclusivity, health and safety needs.
• Understanding how human, technological natural threats influence changes in planning decisions, building conventions, standardization, transport, societal safety, climate, business, and more.
• Knowledge about the opportunities and limitations of emerging dual-purpose technologies - both physical and digital.

After the course the students should be able to

• Use a range of scientific methods for effective and proportionate planning approaches, especially for crime prevention and safety issues.
• Develop proposals that take holistic approaches, addressing human, technological and natural threats and concerns
• Consider safety, security and preparedness in other topics in a critical, reflective way.
• Visualize and implement ideas that consider flexible and dual-purpose solutions for inner-city problems.

After the course the student should have general knowledge regarding

• Approaching, analyzing, and proposing solutions and responses to human, technological and natural problems in urban areas.
• The complexities of balancing user needs with safety and security needs.
• In-depth assessments of a sites via desk-based research and site observation.
• Independent execution of theoretical and creative project work.
• Presenting and communicating complex information orally.
• Presentation of urban projects in a convincing and professional manner through sketches / drawing / illustrations, text, physical / virtual modelling.

Required prerequisite knowledge

None

Exam

Course teacher(s)

Course teacher:

Tegg Westbrook

Course coordinator:

Anders Riel Müller

Course teacher:

Harald Nils Røstvik

Head of Department:

Tore Markeset

Method of work

Lectures.

Independent and group work with tutoring.

Brainstorming sessions.

Individual mentoring.

Field work (in Stavanger and UiS campus).

Course assessment

Course evaluation takes place according to the Faculty's guidelines.

Literature