HKU Moodle

1. Course Description

This course reviews the theoretical frameworks for the understanding of urban and regional development processes. It analyses the economic, spatial and socio-political dimensions of urban and regional activities. The dynamics of urbanization in the global production system, the relations between capital accumulation, competition and cooperation between cities, and the rise and decline as urban agglomerations and regions will be discussed.

Note: Some lectures will be delivered by URBP6002 (Prof. Yang and Dr. Lo).

2. Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)

Through this course, the students should be able to:

1. Understand urban and regional planning’s general character, and the relationship between them.
2. Understand how spatial, historical, ecological, sociocultural, economic, institutional, and political forces and processes shape urban and regional planning.
3. Appreciate urban and regional plans’ connections to broader national and global development strategies, processes and networks.
4. Appreciate different theoretical frameworks to read urban and regional planning. These frameworks include philosophy, sociology, history, post-colonial studies, etc.
5. Initiate actions for problem-solving within urban and regional planning frameworks.

3. Course Themes

URBP7009 will explore the following themes in addition to the themes explored in URBP6002. Endeavour to relate these themes to your discussions, group presentations and essays.

 Scale

Explore the relevance and limits of more conventional frameworks of how the ‘regional’ and ‘urban’ are defined and distinguished from each other. What socioeconomic, cultural, infrastructural or political conditions created their definition and the ‘regional-urban’ division? Is it a scale issue? Furthermore, what is the human-scale when theorising about or planning for a region?

 Equity

A region has many urban centres and/or rural areas. Each centre or area has its own demography, topography, ecology, economic drivers, infrastructures, etc. Each may have competing interests with each other. Each may have its own relations to the overarching regional plan. The rural-urban divide is an example. While regional plans generally have good intentions for better integration and equity, these differences may still create inequity. How might these urban centres or rural area, and their interests, be better considered in a regional plan? Or, how can regional planners better communicate the necessity of cohesion to a region’s different centres?

Context

Discuss the relevance and limits of ‘Western’ approaches to urban and regional planning, when applied to Asia. In this regard, we can examine differences in how space and scale are uniquely conceptualised in Asia. What sociocultural, economic factors produced these spatial differences. Can these differences generate different ways to think about the relations between the State, the region, the urban centres, and rural areas? In short, how to contextualise planning concepts and practice for Asian cities.

Teaching Strategy

This is a core course for all students in the M.Sc. Urban Planning Programme (Regional Stream). It is the second Studio in the degree, following Semester 1’s “Spatial Planning & Urban Design Studio”.

This studio provides students with all the essential trainings and experiences in comprehensive urban planning practices from the strategic level to community level.  There are two major emphases:

1)     Students are required to learn and reflect on the important theories, concepts, methods, systems and practices in strategic and community planning.

2)     Students are required to apply the theories, concepts and methods in a studio project by   working with the community and relevant stakeholders throughout the process to develop sustainable, balanced and integrated plans that can incorporate and inform policy directions in the upper tier strategic plans. 

The studio is conducted in two parts which span over two semesters: 

·        Part 1 (Semester 2, Jan – May 2025) enables students to enhance their understanding of the concepts, approaches, processes and tools of strategic and community planning. Planning theories, values in planning, public interest, and ethics will be explored and applied in this studio. The knowledge and skills will be applied to undertaking a comprehensive baseline review for the chosen study area to identify planning challenges and opportunities for improvement.  As an input to the review, community engagement on envisioning will be undertaken to find out the needs and aspirations of the local community and stakeholders.

·        Part 2 (Semester 1, Sep – Dec 2025) Findings from Part 1 will provide the basis for plan formulation in Part 2 of the studio where students will generate urban planning options to address the issues identified.  Evaluation of the plan options will be undertaken including a sustainability assessment and conducting a community planning workshop to seek feedback in arriving at the final recommendations. Presentations of the recommendations and responses to queries/critiques are integral parts of the study process and mark the completion of the studio. 

Students will work in teams under the supervision and guidance of teaching staff who are practicing urban planners/ designers with extensive experience in strategic and community planning, and/or experts in sustainable development and sectoral planning issues.

In each studio year, a specific area in Hong Kong will be chosen for students to work in teams, simulating a consultancy/ task force situation involving multi-disciplines, developing and applying effective research and appraisal skills in literature review, data collection, policy evaluation, qualitative/quantitative analyses of planning and development issues, community engagement/stakeholder consultations, formulation and evaluation of options, and to formulate robust, balanced and integrated recommendations. Learning through active participation and intensive interaction is the key part of this course. Field trips/ study tours/ site visits are essential and compulsory parts of the experiential learning process in this studio.

URB7008 Course Objectives

This studio is designed to:

·        Enhance students’ understanding of the complex multi-faceted nature of strategic, community, sectoral and neighbourhood planning.

·        Apply planning theories, methods and techniques to formulate and stimulate creative and innovative planning solutions for a “real life” case.

·        Familiarize students with current planning and development issues in Hong Kong and to relate these to regional and international experiences.

·        The choice of studio topic would require students to deepen their understanding about planning and development in the other GBA cities, particularly Shenzhen.

·        Strengthen students’ understanding of the relationships between planning policies, different development models, built form and socio-economic conditions they result in.

·        Incorporate the perspectives of the community and relate these to spatial planning responses through working with the community.

·        Prepare students for professional teamwork in simulated project management circumstances.

·        Guide students to proceed from fact finding, interpretation, analysis, evaluation to policy/plan making and formulating implementation proposals.

Advanced Technology Applications (Sessions 1, 2 and 3)

teaching materials

This a project-based studio which focuses on the theories, methods, techniques and practices of spatial planning and urban design. Students will experience the process of spatial planning and urban design development from a comprehensive baseline study to an improvement proposal. This studio provides students the opportunity to practice and explore the design, graphics skills and presentation techniques in delivering their findings and ideas. Students will participate in teamwork to develop leadership, collaborative, organisational, time management and interpersonal skills.

To achieve the learning outcomes, the studio comprises lectures and critique sessions exploring the issues of historical and cultural background, identification of the users’ needs and their relationships to the functions of built form, and investigation of the overall physical values and characteristics within a specific spatial context. Students can acquire an awareness of spatial appreciation and visualisation through carrying out a comprehensive baseline study and model making exercises.

Another component of this studio focuses on urban design principles and techniques that shape the built environment and give cities a competitive edge in positioning themselves through successful place making. Fundamental principles of urban design and place making within an urban development context will be introduced and explored with examples and development of a spatial improvement proposal. The proposal is expected to highlight the significance of scale, appreciate the existing context, improve the three-dimensional spatial configuration, enhance the urban design and fabric, and address the needs of all sectors of the community.

Assessment: 100% continuous coursework assessment