Conveners
T_08 EDUCATION AND SKILLS: Core Issues in Planning Curricula
- Turgay Kerem Koramaz (Istanbul Technical University)
T_08 EDUCATION AND SKILLS: Technology and Urban Futures in Planning Education
- Dafni Riga (Politecnico di Milano)
T_08 EDUCATION AND SKILLS: Transformative learning and gamification
- Dafni Riga (Politecnico di Milano)
T_08 EDUCATION AND SKILLS: Studio-based learning, interdisciplinarity and partnerships
- Andrea Frank (University of Birmingham)
T_08 EDUCATION AND SKILLS: Research-driven Cases and Analytical Insights
- Turgay Kerem Koramaz (Istanbul Technical University)
T_08 EDUCATION AND SKILLS: Excellence in Teaching Award presentation: Teaching Urban informality at University of Sheffield
- Philipp Horn
- Melanie Lombard
Despite the complex and interdependent nature of contemporary and future urban challenges, which certainly require a comprehensive and integrated approach, planning education needs to provide students with specific analytical and operational competences. Furthermore, the role of planners has evolved significantly in the past decades: no longer envisioned as all-powerful visionaries, they are...
One central challenge in planning theory education is connecting planning theory and practice. Planning theory literature is often difficult to comprehend, since its language can resemble an expert discourse, encoded and inaccessible to many readers (Thompson, 2000). Consequently, conventional lecture-based courses might not foster deep learning of planning theory. Furthermore, there are...
In this paper I look back on the process of writing a handbook, intended to introduce the discipline of urban planning to bachelorโs and masterโs students in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium). For many of these students, particularly those enrolled in programmes of architecture or geography, this handbook serves as their sole introduction to the field within their curriculum. The challenge was...
Since its beginnings more than a century ago, the discipline of planning has developed into an academic field relevant in research, teaching and practice. For a long time, however, planning was merely understood as a practical problem-oriented part of engineering work. It was "trapped inside a modernist instrumental rationalism" (Healey 1997: 7). In the 1960s controversial debates began about...
As planning emerged as a profession, the education and training of aspiring planners in universities has become a hallmark of this recognition. This has always involved debates and sometimes tension between the expectations of professional bodies (initially for architecture and engineering before the establishment of planning professional bodies) and the pedagogic principles of host...
In an era of increasing environmental volatility, socio-economic disparities, and demographic shifts, planning education, research, and knowledge transfer have become essential components of a robust response to contemporary urban and regional challenges. Traditional planning curricula often emphasize specialized technical skills in isolation from the interconnected realities of climate...
The emergence of the 15-minute city (Moreno, 2024) concept is closely linked to the climate crisis, particularly after the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21, held in Paris in December 2015. In that year, a consensus and adopted the Paris Agreement, a major international agreement aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. This agreement recognized the need to take urgent...
Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) refers to a methodology whereby students are invited to apply their knowledge and skills to address real-world problems. In planning education, this methodology has been adopted to several challenges such as urban sustainability transitions. In higher education institutes CBL is seen as a methodology that can facilitate student's critical thinking, generic and...
Challenge-based learning and responsible futuring approaches create empathic and collaborative learning opportunities by engaging students with real-world problem-solving through interdisciplinary, participatory methods. Challenge-based learning promotes experiential, problem-driven learning by engaging participants in real-world challenges. At the same time, responsible futuring ensures that...
Urban development and spatial planning are complex processes that require interdisciplinary coordination, efficient resource allocation, and long-term strategic thinking [1-2]. This paper explores the critical importance of project management as a discipline in addressing the challenges inherent in urban development and spatial planning. The study emphasizes how project management...
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted educational systems worldwide, including planning education in higher education institutions (HEIs). This disruption presents an opportunity to critically evaluate how higher education planning curricula can adapt to address contemporary global challenges, including climate change, social inequities, territorial fragility, and migration. For...
The limited attention of public policies and local administrations to risk management, combined with the lack of awareness among civil society, has led major international organizations to recommend innovative and effective communication strategies to engage communities in the critical issues shaping our cities, in order to encourage interest in the spaces we live in every day and to promote a...
This study explores the use of scenario-based design in spatial design projects and its contribution to the design process. In today's world, where uncertainties about the future are increasing, the impacts of dynamics such as the climate crisis, rapid urbanization, and technological transformation on spatial planning and design are becoming increasingly unpredictable. In this context,...
Planning has a major role in shaping the imaginaries of hopeful and resilient futures. In a world increasingly defined by polycrises, planning is confronted with the urgency for transformative thinking. Despite acknowledging the need for just and sustainable futures (Elmqvist, 2018), planning visions often remain technocentric or dystopian, maintaining the myth of human-nature separation and...
In the era of the Anthropocene, faced as we are with the harsh realities of global issues, including the collapse of ecosystems and climate breakdown, the need for a transformation of planning education and pedagogies is more urgent that ever (Frank & da Rosa-Pires 2021). In our rapidly changing world, in which cities play a central role for the sustainability of the planet, a different...
Planning education faces a persistent challenge: equipping planners with the knowledge and skills to navigate an increasingly uncertain and complex world. The discipline's boundaries remain fluid (Myers and Banerjee, 2005), and its intellectual foundations are interdisciplinary and ever-evolving (Davoudi, 2009). This complexity makes planning difficult to define, but it also fosters...
This proposal aims to provide a specific answer to the question posed in Track 8: Is it possible for the planning practices and pedagogies derived from developed geographies to become responsive to the planning experiences of the entire world?
This methodological and empirical contribution is based on feedback from an international cooperation workshop in urban planning that has been...
In light of the urgent environmental, social, economic, and political challenges of our time, urban design and planning education must evolve to equip future practitioners with transformative skills. This paper presents a pedagogical approach that foregrounds student agency, interdisciplinary engagement, and systemic thinking to prepare them for the complexities and urgencies of real-world...
This project, conducted in 2023โ2024 with funding from the Universities' Cooperation Fund, organized by the Minister of Universities, Industry, and Innovation in Iceland, focuses on strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration in planning education. The initiative examines the educational offerings and potential collaboration models among Icelandic universitiesโAgricultural University of...
The Basic Design Studio in Urban and Regional Planning education is designed as a means of developing creative thinking and spatial perception by considering design in the context of conceptual relationships. In this process, it is aimed to develop students' spatial thinking skills by deepening the basic components of design from an interdisciplinary field such as...
There is a pressing need to reassess, innovate and improve educational frameworks to prepare a future-ready workforce reflecting on the escalating global challenges. In pris contribution, we examine the pivotal role of industry-academia partnerships in fostering innovation in cross-border areas in the EU, focusing on initiatives designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge...
This study examines how innovative pedagogical practices can equip future generations with the skills and knowledge necessary to address the socio-economic and environmental challenges of our time. In line with the AESOP Track 8 "Education and Skills," this research integrates experiential learning and transformative teaching methodologies to foster critical and creative capacities in...
Major global environmental changes present mankind with challenges that can only be solved through the Great Transformation towards sustainable spatial development. The need for transformation arises in all systems such as civil society, the economy, and politics. Changes and upheavals not only occur in social coexistence and behavior, but also manifest themselves in the spatial structure,...
What do students need to know and be able to do to work effectively in the unfolding world of climate breakdown, and polarized challenges to governance? In our recent curriculum transformation, this question has been at the heart of our work in the School of Planning and Sustainability at the University of Northern British Columbia. In this paper, we present the theories that guide the work,...
Circularity, among others, has emerged as a critical paradigm for addressing contemporary environmental challenges in the built environment. Cities are under increasing pressure from climate change, resource depletion, and socio-economic inequalities, making circular spatial strategies essential for sustainable transformation. Achieving this, however, requires large-scale, cross-border...
As universities increasingly situate themselves as active agents driving changes in their urban setting and responding to climate change, their capacity to influence urban strategies, policies and community well-being also grows. At the same time, there is increased urgency to adapt the current curricula of spatial practice that equip upcoming design professionals with the skills and knowledge...
This paper explores the academic supervision of two masterโs theses addressing the complex challenges and opportunities associated with the urban transformation and rehabilitation of Marvila, a historically rich yet fragmented district in Lisbonโs Eastern Zone. Marvila is a compelling case study due to its juxtaposition of industrial heritage, historical worker housing, and contemporary urban...
The escalating planetary crises, including climate change, rapid urbanization, and social inequality, underscore the urgent need for transformative actions in urban planning. To address these global challenges, the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge co- production and cross-sectoral partnerships to create innovative solutions tailored to the diverse needs of communities is...
The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), administered by the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), is a campus-wide initiative that harnesses the expertise of UMD faculty and the energy and ingenuity of UMD students to help Maryland communities become more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. PALS is...
Planning education has evolved significantly over the last century, shaped by societal needs, technological advances, and pedagogical innovations (Frank, 2006). Its origins were rooted in addressing the challenges of industrialization, with early programs focusing heavily on spatial planning and physical design, drawing influence from architecture and engineering. Institutions such as the...
