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Urban Design

This is an archived copy of the 2016-2017 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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The Master of Urban Design (M.U.D.) is an advanced, interdisciplinary program of study that focuses on contemporary challenges of urbanism at local, regional and global scales.  The program is geared toward students with previous professional degrees in architecture (BArch, MArch), landscape architecture (BLA, MLA) or planning (BSCRP, MCRP, MUP), and relevant professional experience.  The program draws faculty from these and other related disciplines within the college and university. Graduate students can also pursue the following duel degrees that are offered in the College of Design: M Arch/M.U.D., M CRP/M.U.D., and M L A/M.U.D.

In this three-semester (summer, spring, fall), 36-credit degree program, students integrate design into the understanding and framing of urbanized environments by engaging directly in a community of inquiry and practice--learning to create more adaptable, flexible and resilient cities and regions within the context of a changing world.

Through this program, students will:

  • gain knowledge of new practices, technologies, and methods of urban design.
  • learn advanced thinking skills and integrate concepts, ideas and approaches in a team-based, interdisciplinary design process, and
  • acquire knowledge and skills that support professional leadership in research and design work focused on local, regional and global issues in the contemporary built environment.

 Application information is available at

http://www.design.iastate.edu/urbandesign.php

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Courses

Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduates:

(3-6) Cr. 6.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission
Analysis and observation of urban morphology and culture with urban design projects set in local cities of the United States. Students with learn skills to observe and interpret urbanism as they develop processes for designing cities concerned for both physical form, ecological principles and human activity.

(1-10) Cr. 6.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
Students develop proposals for urban design interventions in an international context at multiple scales using investigation, analysis, observation, and interaction. Field trips.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission
Focus on the historical role of planning and urban design in the shaping of North American cities and regions, from the colonial period to the late twentieth century. Examine the legacy of planning and design by exploring the intersection of geographic space, politics, and policy. Investigate the factors and the processes that produce the built environment.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing, senior classification with instructor permission.
Introduction to the ways that urban designers think about the city with a focus on how history, theory, and a wide range of contextual factors inform urban design practice. Field trip.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
Study of contemporary theoretical texts that address the process of urbanization and the challenges of urban design in a global context. Course will be conducted in a combination of lecture and seminar formats and requires graduate level readings, discussions and research.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
An exploration of contemporary urban design methods derived from significant urban projects and (re)development initiatives. Selected case studies to articulate and evaluate methods for implementing urban design goals and objectives in a variety of urbanized contexts. Case studies will build on a combination of analytical research, lectures, student presentations, and field trips.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
An introduction to visual representation tools and techniques for generating and communicating urban design concepts and analytical research. Projects and exercises will utilize traditional and contemporary approaches to drawing, modeling, and mapping, as well as desktop publishing tools for print, web, and presentation graphics. Field trip.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
This course examines how political-economic forces shape the contemporary built and social environments and the way urban designers respond to these forces. The course highlights various methods urban designers use to create change and, in turn, how these affect stakeholders and communities. Students develop critical awareness of existing social, political and economic systems; understand the impact of the decision they make, and the methods they use, on the city and these systems.