Urban Economy

Code:

50123C5

Acronym:

50123C5

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
CNAEF	Architecture and Urbanism

Instance: 2022/2023 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Arquitectura (A)
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master Degree in Architecture

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIARQ	65	MIARQ	2	-	3	-	81

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

This course provides a set of concepts and frameworks to understand cities and urban development from an economic perspective. Economic phenomena impact upon cities in many ways, and cities are places in which synergies and tensions between the economy, society and the built environment are most visible. The course introduces principles and fundamentals of urban economics, together with contemporary discussions on the role of cities anchoring transnational flows and their role as centers of production and consumption. It discusses the extent to which urban economies can be managed, as well as the relations established with urban planning and transformative projects linked to urban rehabilitation, talent attraction, innovation and sustainability.

Learning outcomes and competences

Understand the relations between economic phenomena, the prevalence of cities and the production of the urban space.

Understand the key features of the contemporary global economy and its implications for cities as production and consumption sites.

Understand the economic mechanisms that structure land use patterns and the fundamentals of real estate markets.

Identify the actors, the organizing capacities, the types of projects and the dilemmas involved in managing the urban economy.

Understand the terminology frequently used in the discussion of urban economic affairs.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Introduction. The city from an economic perspective. Theories linking economics and urbanism.


2. Principles of urban economics. Cities as centers of production and consumption. Urban growth and decline.


3. The spatial structure of the urban economy. The bid-rent model and the urban location of firms and households. Limitations and extensions. The economic consequences of urban zoning and regeneration policies.


4. Housing – to which extent a different market? Demand, supply and housing values. From financialization to the negotiated city.


5. Cities in the knowledge economy. Economic globalization and the city economy.


6. Managing the urban economy. Actors, integrated approaches and organizing capacity.


7. Contemporary agendas, transformative projects and new urban economies. Urban economic challenges for the XXI century.

Mandatory literature

Michael Storper; Keys to the City, Princeton University Press, 2013
Luís Carvalho, Leo van den Berg, Hazem Galal, Peter Teunisse; Delivering Sustainable Competitiveness: Revisiting the Organising Capacity of Cities, Routledge, 2017
Philip McCann; Modern Urban and Regional Economics, Oxford University Press, 2013

Complementary Bibliography

Alan Harding, Talja Blokland; Urban Theory, Sage Publications, 2014
Arthur O´Sullivan; Urban Economics, McGraw-Hill, 2007
Richard Florida; The New Urban Crisis, Basic Books, 2017
Willem van Winden, Luis Carvalho, Leo van den Berg, Erwin van Tuijl; Creating Knowledge Locations in Cities, Routledge, 2013

Teaching methods and learning activities

Teaching and learning methods combine an expositive approach with incentives to the participation of students during classes. There is ample room for debate, and the course contents are illustrated with multiple examples. Topics are launched based on contemporary discussions and real-life situations (for example, based on newspapers´ articles, urban project announcements, statements by city officials or investors, observation of a building or city district) and further explored based on concepts and urban economic approaches. A field visit will take place to a transformative urban project with a strong economic dimension.

Students are challenged to prepare an essay, in which some of the contents of the course can be used to analyze and identify economic transformation drivers of a specific urban area (groups of 2 students). Moreover, as some of the economic terminology may be new for the students, a collective glossary will be co-created by students during the semester.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Exame	70,00
Trabalho escrito	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	45,00
Frequência das aulas	21,00
Trabalho escrito	15,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

In the regular season, students can pass by taking an exam. However, they may complement their exam grade by doing an essay. Also, students contributing to the collective glossary will get a bonus of up to 1 point in the final grade.

In the retake season, students may take a final exam.

Calculation formula of final grade

Regular season – 2 options:

1. Final Grade = classification in the exam, or
2. Final grade = 70% classification in the exam + 30% classification in the essay [if average grade is higher than the exam grade].

[In any case, students contributing to the collective glossary may get a bonus of up to 1 point on the (non-rounded up) final grade].

Retake season:

Final grade = grade in the final exam (100%).