Town planning: culture and the methodology of regional, town and country planning

Duration

40h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Marc Goossens

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

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The course focuses on the following cross-disciplinary themes: art, sustainability and society.
By focusing on the creative, participatory and sensitive dimensions of urban planning, it provides the basis for a knowledge and culture of the art of building cities and territories. Sustainable and eco-responsible development is at the heart of the issues surrounding the production of housing and landscapes.

The course offers a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the key issues concerning the territory, city and landscape of today, using the insights, tools and methodologies of urban history, the human and social sciences, urban planning and landscape.

The focus is on the architect's role as a designer at the centre of a spatial composition project on a territorial scale. Architecture, urban planning and landscape are considered as a disciplinary continuum (the notion of landscape urbanism).

Careful description of the territory, of what is already there, is the first step in the process. Sustainable development is first addressed in its cultural dimension, based on the premise that it is by reassociating individuals and communities with their living environment around strong values that it is possible to establish and maintain new environmental balances (notion of inclusive landscape). History is seen as a living material used to define a forward-looking position.

In particular, the course aims to :

- provide the theoretical and cultural foundations needed to understand complex issues, to construct a critical discourse on the challenges of the city, landscape and territory, and to formulate forward-looking positions that engage society.

- define the notion of project, draw up a typology of projects and introduce the concepts of territorial project methodology, understood simultaneously at different scales and in different timeframes:

- develop specific modes of reasoning for the territorial project design process, operating in the complex reality of real environments;

- deepen the architect's knowledge of his central concerns: spatial composition and the project;

- to provide investigative tools that enable a wide range of knowledge, skills and expertise to be brought together in a multidisciplinary and inclusive approach to the project;

- learn to construct contextualised, project-oriented knowledge based on field and documentary research, by continuously comparing reasoned approaches with intuitive and sensitive approaches;

- describe the various tools used and define the areas and limits of their effectiveness, placing them in the context of different action strategies.

The first part looks at the concepts of urban planning, landscape composition and territorial action through the questions posed today by project approaches in urban, peri-urban and rural environments. Some of the major currents of current thinking on cities and territories are reviewed and critically debated.

The second part focuses on the trans-chronic and diachronic historical approach as a tool for revealing the territory and for forward planning. Reading and interpreting history enables us to understand the phenomena, reasons and mechanisms behind changes in the spatial configuration of areas (built-up and undeveloped spaces). It is a powerful tool for detecting the constituent structures and dicible and indecipherable logics that generate territorial continuities and coherence. History thus becomes a living material that enables us to develop a forward-looking perspective.

The third part of the course is devoted to: defining the notion of project and its different types, characterising a theoretical framework for territorial project methodology, distinguishing the different planning models, and the specific modes of reasoning used in project design, compared with traditional approaches based on segmented analyses.

A fourth part is devoted to the architect's specific contribution to the territorial project design process in relation to his specific knowledge, skills and modes of reasoning. In situ approaches based on observation, sensitive perception, investigation, description and reproduction in writing and drawing are compared with reasoned approaches based on the use of different types of documents.

The fifth part examines the various tools used to implement the territorial project, highlighting their fields of application, limits and conditions of effectiveness. They are tested against different action strategies. The Belgian and Walloon institutional and legal frameworks for spatial and urban planning are briefly described.

The sixth part is devoted to examining practices for the co-production of knowledge and citizen participation. Case studies are presented to illustrate the point.

The sequence of concepts covered in these six parts is organised to reflect the logic of the theoretical approach developed during the four-month term. It is adapted to meet the needs arising from the progress of the parallel exercise.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

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At the end of the course, students will be able to :

• understand the ways in which the urban environment is formed and evolves through processes of urban and landscape (re)composition ;
• demonstrate the impact of ideological and cultural currents of thought, and socio-economic and environmental factors, on the design and transformation of urban space and landscape through the project;
• develop a critical approach and formulate a reasoned discourse/project;
  situate the architect's work within an overall context of regional and urban planning and respect for the built and non-built environment;
• outline an action strategy and select the appropriate implementation tools.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

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Basic knowledge of the history of architecture and town planning, environmental science and geography;
Notions of morphological reading and culture of the major currents of thought in architecture and town planning.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

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The course comprises ex cathedra lectures, presented in the form of thematic modules.

An exercise set out at the beginning of the year is progressively carried out until it takes the form of a final assignment assessed as a final exam. This 'in progress' work provides a concrete framework for applying the concepts introduced in the course to real-life situations. Part of each session is devoted to a discussion based on observations, reflections or difficulties encountered by the students in their attempts to transpose and exploit the concepts introduced in the previous sessions.

A final seminar (limited group) creates a framework for open discussion based on an introductory statement prepared by the students. It aims to bring together the concepts developed and to cross-reference the different approaches introduced in the course around topical issues applied to a complex real territory.

Sessions are organised in the form of field visits to illustrate in situ the points made during the theoretical presentations. In order to organise the visits by small groups of students, some sessions will take place outside the free time slots (to be agreed with the students).

Short exercises in critical analysis of projects and processes in urban planning, landscape composition and territorial action are offered during the course sessions.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

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Face-to-face course


Further information:

As learning is based on teacher-student interaction, attendance at class sessions is required.

Recommended or required readings

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Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
- MyULiège


Further information:

Reference bibliography given during the course.

Assessment methods and criteria

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Written work / report


Further information:

Assessment is mainly based on a final assignment carried out by a small group of students and submitted on the date scheduled in the examination timetable. It focuses on mastery of the theoretical knowledge developed in the course, as well as on the ability to use it in a real (in situ) approach to territorial, urban and landscape design.

The precise assessment criteria for the final assignment are set out in the assignment statement distributed at the beginning of the course.

Part of the final mark (10%) is awarded on the basis of the student's active participation in the various course sessions.

The student may choose to get the work individually.

Work placement(s)

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No work placement

Organizational remarks

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The course is given in the second semester of the Master's programme (Q2 Master 1).
Location: see course timetable

Contacts

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Full professor: Marc Goossens, Faculty of Architecture, City, Territories, Landscapes (VTP)
Boulevard de la Constitution, 41 - B-4020 LIEGE

E-mail : m.goossens@uliege.be

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online