Urban Design (URB D)

This is an archived copy of the 2022-2023 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

View PDF

Any experimental courses offered by URB D can be found at: registrar.iastate.edu/faculty-staff/courses/explistings/

Expand all courses

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, culture, and infrastructure through urban design projects set in Midwestern cities. Students learn, interpret, and propose design interventions to address urban challenges related to changing socio-political, economic, and environmental contexts. Field trips.

(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.

Cr. R. Repeatable.

Prereq: enrollment in the Urban Design program
Special topics and guest speakers. Offered on a satisfactory-fail basis only.

Cr. 3.

Prereq: URB D 502
Research expands and integrates discourse and design findings from various Urban Design degree courses. Students develop independently-defined research to produce a comprehensive and conclusive final document that incorporates text, visuals and/or other media.

(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 emerging trends and practices in urban design using a range of current media communication platforms. Course will be conducted in a combination of lecture, seminar formats. Graduate level readings, discussions, research, and development of projective scenarios.

(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, processes, and analytics. Project and exercises utilize traditional and contemporary approaches to drawing, modeling, and mapping, as well as desktop publishing tools.

(3-0) Cr. 3.

Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
This course examines how socio-political and economic forces shape the contemporary built environment. The course highlights various methods urban designers use to affect change and, in turn, how these impact stakeholders and communities. Students develop critical awareness of the impact of their decision making on the city.