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This module aims to stimulate critical thinking about space and place as the basis for action or intervention: one cannot 'plan' or 'develop' cities without first understanding how they work, and the social, political, economic and environmental contexts in which planning operates.

This is achieved through an introduction to relevant concepts, analytical frameworks and theories from across the social sciences:

· urban sociology/urban geography [Term 1 / Pillars of Planning A];

· urban politics/public policy [Term 1 / Pillars of Planning A];

· urban & regional economics/economic geography [Term 2 / Pillars of Planning B];

· real estate studies / finance and economics of development processes [Term 2 / Pillars of Planning B];

· political ecology / environmental studies [cross-cutting]

in order to understand the spatial dynamics of cities and key processes and actors of urban change and built environment development.

Although a theory led course, introducing the social science knowledges which act as the pillars of planning, it is not a purely 'theoretical' course: we will maintain a focus on the identification of planning problems, and we will critically reflect on the policy challenges, interventions, tensions and trade-offs, which are generated by the combination of processes studied in the module.

Through the module, we expect students to:

- develop a good understanding of key processes and actors of social, political, environmental and economic change in contemporary cities and regions - and of their interplay;

- acquire a sound working knowledge of key concepts, analytical frameworks and theories that are relevant to understand those processes, drawing from the fields of urban & regional economics/economic geography; real estate studies / finance and economics of development processes; urban sociology/geography; urban politics/public policy; political ecology;

- develop a sensitive understanding of the economic, financial, social, political, and environmental contexts that shape and influence planning processes, debates and policies, and of the eminently political nature of planning;

- develop a critical appreciation of the policy interventions and mechanisms devised to deal with such processes - more specifically reflecting on the interacting and sometimes conflicting roles of state, market and civil society actors in the development, management, planning, control and regulation of urban space and change in the built environment;

- develop their research, analytical, writing and critical thinking skills by exploiting a variety of sources related to relevant theories and frameworks to understand urban change and associated planning processes and challenges through a variety of assessment methods.

The module is delivered through a series of 20 lectures. The first 10 lectures, in term 1 [Pillars of Planning A] interweaves theory and knowledges from sociology and political sciences. The second term’s 10 lectures [Pillars of Planning B] considers the economic dimensions to planning, introducing economic knowledges relevant to planning at a variety of scales and in a variety of contexts from real estate finance and economics (including factors such as scheme viability) through to urban and regional economies.