Urban Development

Code:

PRODEC070

Acronym:

DVU

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Ciivil Engineering -Territory Planning and Environment

Instance: 2023/2024 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
PRODEC	6	Syllabus since 2007/08	1	-	5	45	135

Teaching language

Portuguese and english

Objectives

The main objective of the curricular unit is to provide students with in-depth knowledge of contemporary urban dynamics, having as main references the recognition of the importance of urbanisation in the current development processes and the different theoretical perspectives that have been analysing these dynamics.

The proposed pathway is based on three keys: change, which brings with it the need to re-define the "city" and the "urban"; the planetary and variegated nature of the changes; the tension between the dynamics of competitiveness and cohesion.

Learning outcomes and competences

Development of capacities for in-depth knowledge and interpretation of current urban development processes, their determining factors and their variegated nature.

Development of critical analysis skills of the scientific debate on "urban studies".

Development of skills of organisation of scientific texts, communication of the research produced and discussion among peers.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Introduction to the problematic. Urban development: the contexts of change. The global and variegated nature of urbanization processes. Global transformations and the city: the debates around global cities and 'new' spatialities. Urban innovation and competitiveness: urban territories and innovation in the context of 'knowledge economies'. Urban development between competitiveness and cohesion: competitive capacities and social and spatial fractures in urban territories. The role of urban governance.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SYLLABUS COHERENCE WITH THE CURRICULAR UNIT'S OBJECTIVES:

The importance of globalisation and other social and economic processes of change, as well as the acknowledgment of the tension, in that context, between dimensions of competitiveness and cohesion are important elements of the actual debate on urban development.

Mandatory literature

Neil Brenner; New urban spaces: Urban theory and the scale question, Oxford University Press, 2019. ISBN: 9780190627195
Parnell, Susan & Sophie Oldfield (Eds); The Routledge Handbook on Cities of the Global South. , Routledge, 2014. ISBN: 9780415789509
Pallagst, Karina; Wiechmann, Thorsten & Cristina Martinez-Fernandez (Eds) ; Shrinking cities: international perspectives and policy implications, Routledge, 2014. ISBN: 9781138952874
Musterd, Sako & Zoltán Kovács (Eds); Place-making and Policies for Competitive Cities, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. ISBN: 9780470675038
Cucca, Roberta & Costanzo Ranci (Eds) ; Unequal Cities: The Challenge of Post-Industrial Transition in Times of Austerity, Routledge, 2017. ISBN: 9780367873288

Complementary Bibliography

Michael Storper; Keys to the City: How Economics, Institutions, Social Interaction, and Politics Shape Development, Princeton University Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780691143118
Bohland, Jim; Davoudi, Simin & Jennifer Lawrence (Eds) ; The Resilience Machine, Routledge, 2018. ISBN: 9780815381136
Miraftab, Faranak & Neema Kudva (Eds) (2014); Cities of the Global South Reader, Routledge, 2014. ISBN: 9780415682275

Teaching methods and learning activities

The teaching methodology combines the structured presentation of the main topics of the curricular unit, the research and discussion of relevant bibliography and the development of a written assignment (in a format similar to that of a scientific article). It is a methodology centred on the students, who assume a central role in the research, presentation and critical analysis of the relevant bibliography and in the definition of the specific topic of their work, and in the processes of discussion among peers.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE COHERENCE BETWEEN THE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND THE LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The structured organization of the curricular unit contents and the active teaching methodologies adopted allow the development of advanced knowledge, theoretical research and research communication competences that are fundamental in this study cycle.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

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

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	3,00
Frequência das aulas	36,00
Trabalho escrito	39,00
Total:	78,00

Eligibility for exams

According to the rules defined in the PRODEC's Regulations.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final classification is the classification of the written assignment (100%).

Classification improvement

An improved classification can be obtained by presenting and discussing a reformulated version of the written assignment.