Master in Regenerating Intermediate Landscapes

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Program Structure

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The Master in Regenerating Intermediate Landscapes is structured around 4 modules and 8 courses during an academic year which is made up of two semesters. The first two modules take place during the first semester and give the student the necessary foundation in order to attend the next two in the following semester. The students may also decide to complete the program in two consecutive years. In this case it will be mandatory to have passed the first two modules in order to sign up in the two subsequent ones.

Module I. INTRODUCTION (10 cr. ECTS) includes two mandatory courses: Conceptual framework (5 cr.) and Introduction to the study and presentation of case studies (5 cr.) The student will learn the basic analytical and management concepts for contemporary intermediate landscapes; classify the main morphological episodes; identify, and communicate the main traits of a case study.

Module II. METHODOLOGY (20 cr. ECTS) has three mandatory courses:
Materials (8 cr.), Topics (8 cr.), and Tools (4 cr.). The students will learn about the basic components of intermediate landscapes and the main lines of research of contemporary regeneration projects; and the necessary tools in order to analyze intervention areas and efficiently communicate the regeneration scenarios.

Module III. CASE STUDIES (15 cr. ECTS) focus on significant regeneration projects in intermediate landscapes through two courses: Local case studies (10,5 cr) and International case studies (4,5 cr). The first is fieldwork and introduces de students to the detailed analysis of a local regeneration project directly from its management institution. The second course is mandatory and offers the student a holistic viewpoint of relevant international case studies from expert scholars.

Module IV. MASTER THESIS (15 cr ECTS), supervision and assistance in the development of the master thesis. This is the end of the academic program.

 

Syllabus and Subjects

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MODULE I: INTRODUCTION 6 weeks

1. Conceptual framework

• Theoretical framework. Main research contributions about intermediate landscapes.
• Historical framework. Background and evolution of intermediate landscapes.
• Political framework. Regional governance systems and bottom-up processes.
• Economic framework. Economic determinants of growth and sprawl.
• Social framework . Segregation and loss of social capital.
• Environmental framework. The impact of sprawl on the environment and human health.

2. Introduction to the study and presentation of case studies

• Phenomenology and classification. Contexts, morphologies and categories.
• Basic tools for case study analysis. Identification, interpretation and representation.
• Basic communication tools. Written and graphic presentation techniques.

 

MODULE II: METHODOLOGY 12 weeks

3. Materials

• Mobility networks. Morphological categories and regeneration strategies.
• Dispersed urban systems. Morphological categories and regeneration strategies.
• Open spaces in urban networks. Morphological categories and regeneration strategies.

4. Topics

• Culture. Heritage networks and pre-urban patterns.
• Ecology. Landscape and urban ecology from an integrated vision.
• Community. Design strategies addressed to strengthen the local identity.
• Mobility. Regional and local mobility from an integrated vision.
• Structure. Strategic physical vision as a decision-making tool.
• Ethics. Sprawl and social equity.
• Public health. Design, research and policies on healthy place-making.

5. Tools

• Information technologies. Spatial data management applied to regeneration processes.
• Communication technologies. Production of activating images of regeneration scenarios.
• Economy. Basic microeconomics for planners. Regional marketing.
• Planning. Planning and management tools for intermediate landscapes regeneration.

 

Module III: CASE STUDIES 9 weeks

6. Local case studies: Field Work

• Local intermediate landscape regeneration case studies.

7. International case studies

• Study of significant international cases studies in developed and developing countries.

Module IV: MASTER THESIS 10 weeks

8. Master Thesis

• Development of a regeneration proposal for an intermediate landscape. Integrated methodology of analysis, intervention and management.

Fieldwork

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The master program establishes 10, 5 credits for fieldwork which must be fulfilled by the students at leading institutions related to the development of intermediate landscapes. The fieldwork will enable the students to acquire first hand information on a relevant local regeneration project directly from the institution in charge of its management. This activity will be developed during the second semester of the academic program in order to enable the students to previously acquire the necessary basic skills. The study of relevant case studies, due to their quality and exemplifying character, will be very useful for the student’s thesis elaboration during the next module.

The external fieldwork is intended to allow the students to verify the complexity of the intermediate landscape development process, through two different tasks: (1) identifying their physical, economic, social and political traits from a unitary perspective, and (2) elaborating a critical analysis of the planning and management that this entails. This learning experience will be essential for their future professional development. In order to guarantee the viability of the fieldwork, UIC has established collaboration agreements with diverse institutions of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, as well as the necessary academic support in order to accomplish the tasks of advisory and coordination of the activities.