A lecture course designed to provide an overview of the physical planning and design of urban areas in the U.S. and Western Europe. The student is introduced to the literature and provided with an understanding of the theories, principles, processes and procedures of urban design. Specific applications in a variety of functional categories, such as housing, central business districts and other activity centers, are examined. 723 Methodologies of Urban Design 3 Credit Hours Methodologies for understanding urban form and its meanings include formal analysis, historical analysis, demographic analysis, social analysis and ecological analysis. Methodologies for shaping urban form and their implications include grappling with multiple scales simultaneously, interacting with multiple and sometimes conflicting clients and constituencies, drawing upon both theory and empirical evidence and computer simulation.
Urban design is practiced in many different ways.
Utilizing case studies and invited practitioners, this course exposes students to selected design and development processes, such as issues of real estate practice and law, issues of professional accountability and values, public policy, economic feasibility, influences of political and financial institutions, zoning and covenants, infrastructure, traffic engineering, phasing of development, environmental impact analysis and the regulatory system. The first studio applies selected issues, ideas and theories to the design and development of a new community, typically on a greenfield site in metropolitan Detroit. The second studio examines selected aspects of urban de sign and development, typically on an infill or brownfield site in Detroit. These aspects might include urban typology and morphology and urban design methodologies that utilize computer simulation techniques, community participation, research in environment and behavior or environmental sustainability, or real estate development practices. The annual Detroit urban design charrette provides a point of departure for the studio.