Urban Environment Quality and Planning

Code:

MPPU005

Acronym:

PQAU

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Spatial Planning and Urbanism

Instance: 2015/2016 - 1S (of 21-09-2015 to 18-12-2015)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Spatial Planning and Urban Project

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MPPU	20	Syllabus since 2011/12	1	-	6	48	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

JUSTIFICATION:
The planning practice requires a solid background on environmental quality, both from an urbanistic and a biogeophysical perspective.

OBJECTIVES:
To educate, promote awareness and training for observation, planning and management of urban spaces. Promote the understanding of the nature of the major environmental issues in urban areas in order to preserve the overall ecological balance of cities and metropolitan areas.

Learning outcomes and competences

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Knowledge: the key qualities of urban public spaces in cities and major biogeophysical phenomena that contribute to the balance of the urban ecosystem.

Application: methods and techniques of observation and analysis of urban space.

Analysis: the main components of the public space in cities.

Summary: the quality factors of the urban environment.

Assessment: urban and environmental quality of existing and designed urban spaces.

Project: intervention on an urban scale and intra-urban scales covering the urban PDM, PU and PP.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable

Program

The nature of the ambient conflicts in the contexts urban and regional. 
- Techniques of Comment in Urban Planning; - Concept of permeability (physical and visual)dos urban spaces; 
- Importance of the interfaces public-private; 
- Concept of variety - forms, uses and factors: economies of scale and space specialization. 
- Concept of legibility; 
- physical Forms and standards of activity - difficulties to the reading of the urban spaces; 
- Concept of robustness-polyvalence; 
Analysis of the robustness to the great e to the small scale. 
- Concept of wealth of the urban spaces felt Importance and paper of the diverse ones in the perception of the city. 
- Concept and importance of the personalization of the public and private spaces; 
The Territorial Planning as instrument of control of the quality of the environment. 
- Indicating of quality of the urban environment; 
- Advantages and disadvantages of the planning - particular case of the fulfillment of the Principle of the Paying Polluting agent. 
Joint of the planning with the instruments of the environment politics. 
Ambient qualification and urban sustainability. 
- green Structure and sustainability; 
- Principles of the sustainable urban management.

Scientific contents 70% Techological contents 30%

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SYLLABUS COHERENCE WITH THE CURRICULAR UNIT'S OBJECTIVES:
The practice of urban planning requires a solid background in the fields of environmental quality, both in urbanistic and  biogeophysical perspectives.

Mandatory literature

Hugh Barton, Marcus Grant and Richard Guise; Shaping neighbourhoods. ISBN: 0-415-26009-4
Bentley, I; Alcock, A; Murrain, P; McGlynn, S; Smith, G; Responsive Environments, Architectural Press; New edition edition, 1996. ISBN: 978-0750605663
Michael Hough; Cities and natural process. ISBN: 0-415-12198-1
PPS Inc; How to turn a place around: a handbook for creating successful public spaces, Project for Public Spaces, 2000. ISBN: 978-0970632401
Francis Tibbalds; Making people-friendly towns. ISBN: 0-415-23759-9
Williams, K; Burton, E; Jenks, M; Achieving Sustainable Urban Form, Routledge, 2001. ISBN: 978-0419244509

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures using audio visual facilities. Discussion of the main themes and issues in group. Monitoring and review of the initial exercises and of the main pratical course case study with field visits if appropriate. Presentation (group and individual) and class discussions of the progress of the work according to the established schedule.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE COHERENCE BETWEEN THE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND THE LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Application of observation methods and techniques and analysis of urban space. Analysis of the main components of the cities public space. Synthesis of the quality factors of the urban environment. Evaluation of urban and environmental quality of existing and designated urban spaces. Project of interventions on an urban and intra-urban scale covering the Municipal Master Plan, Urban Development Plan and Detailed Plan.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	60,00
Frequência das aulas	60,00
Total:	120,00

Eligibility for exams

Achieving final classification requires compliance with attendance at the course unit, according to the MIEC assessment rules. It is considered that students meet the attendance requirements if, having been regularly enrolled, the number of absences of 25% for each of the classes’ types is not exceeded.

Calculation formula of final grade

Pratical component - assignments, reports and presentations (in group 10% and individual 90%) - 50%

Theoretical component - Final Exam or Individual Essay - 50%

Examinations or Special Assignments

The final exam (theoretical component) can be substituted by and Individual Essay in case students prefer this assessment option.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Special written exam covering both the theoretical and the practical components.

Classification improvement

The student may choose the second call to improve the grade obtained in the theoretical exam in the first call, or to deliver an improved version of the individual essay, provided the initial version was submitted on the date of the first examination call.

 

Improving the grade of the distributed assessment component, corresponding to the practical work, involves an oral exam.

Observations

Estimated working time out of classes: 4 hours