Development Planning Unit

The creation or modification of urban built environments that are socially acceptable, economically affordable and environmentally sustainable, pose an immense challenge for architects, builders, engineers, planners and other professionals. There is an urgent need for radically new approaches to space formation and transformation and ways of working and creative engaging with design in order to respond to rapidly growing urban populations.

For the first time in history, more than half of humankind lives in urban areas. While such urban growth is substantially transforming the planet, cities are shaped by liberalisation of policies and exogenous transformative marked lead forces that increment vulnerabilities of urban poor’s and marginalised communities.

On the other hand climate change and unpredictable and extreme events tend to be concentrated disproportionally in poorer urban districts with the least adequate provision for protective infrastructure and services. The principal driver of increasing loss of life as well as social and economic vulnerability is poverty (limiting individual, household and community investments) and exclusion (limiting public investments and services).

The result of these global, national and local processes is that cities, the planning of cities, and the design of urban spaces has become increasingly fragmented, while inequality and vulnerabilities have increased. Architects, town planners and other professionals concerned with the urban design are trained mainly to cater to the needs of a minority of the population. Rarely are they trained to address the problems of the poor, illegal or unplanned settlements, the absence of basic urban services, unhealthy and deteriorating environmental conditions, including natural disasters and extremely constrained resources. Elitist and compartmentalised education has inhibited opportunities for developing comprehensive and well co-ordinated approaches to urban development, which are of benefit to the majority of the population. Nor are they equipped to understand the complexities of market forces that drive real estate development and so are rarely able to participate in urban regeneration projects other than as style consultants, when they should be in the forefront of the emerging urban era, guiding urban development and design.

Objectives of the Course

The course aims to present a holistic process of design for development in cities within this context. It combines an examination and analysis of economic, social, cultural and spatial elements in the production of urban form and building with the principles of designing for development, which include affordability, acceptability, sustainability, participation and responsiveness. In particular, it links the methods and practice of 'design' with the complementary 'developmental' processes of action area identification, client promotion, stakeholder participation and project implementation.

The course is structured so that 75% of the taught components of the course are devoted to the core subjects of building and urban design; and 25% to a specialist option chosen from those available in DPU or the Bartlett. The core course modules provide the theoretical and methodological components of the course while the specialist modules allow students to examine different approaches and problems in accordance with their own particular interests.

The practical module in the first term offers the student the possibility to be engaged in a studio-type exercise: a project-based module that aims to provide an opportunity for students to acquire relevant concepts and skills relating to development, urban design and building construction, as well as more general skills such as verbal, written and visual presentation, analysis and synthesis, and to test the theory of building and urban design through practice.

For a description of each core and optional modules click on the link below

[Modules]

The course involves fieldwork (undertaken in recent years in India, Turkey, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Malta, Cuba, Lebanon, Cyprus, Malaysia and Pakistan), and an urban design exercise and design charrette in London, that allows students to put into practice some of the tools and techniques acquired during the course. In addition to the taught and fieldwork components, the course entails the preparation of an individual dissertation report during the summer, on a topic selected by the student. The course consists of reading, essay writing and individual and group project work, in the context of lectures, seminars, workshops, analysis of case studies and the field trip. Student performance is assessed through course work, examinations, and a dissertation report.

In further trying to present students with practical, real-life planning issues of the South, during the First Term (November) students attend an in-house 3-day workshop in Cumberland Lodge, Windsor with the rest of the DPU student body. This is a unique experience to work on an ongoing case study with experts from the field and, at the same time, socialise with other students. Moreover, since 2007, in the second term students attend an intensive Building workshop in Wales at the Centre for Alternative Technology leaded by Prof. Maurice Mitchell.

The BUDD Course Provides

Knowledge And Understanding Of:

Teaching/Learning Methods And Strategies:

Seminars, lectures and work in small teams (both inside and outside the classroom)
Integrative 2-3 day workshops.
Visits to specific London sites and projects
Subject-specific academic skills sessions
Overseas fieldtrip to a developing country and subsequent Report

Intellectual (Thinking) Skills:

The programme aims to help students:

Teaching/Learning Methods And Strategies:

Acquisition of skills 1 and 5 fostered in all modules, report work and other course activities (e.g. workshops and fieldtrip) that require understanding and responding to the basic needs of the urban poor and to the diverse demands of the more affluent in society, the conservation of historic built heritage, the high costs and intrinsic value of urban land, the scarcity of public sector resources, the delivery of infrastructure and services, with a particular focus on developing countries.

Practical Skills (able to):

The programme aims to help students:

Teaching/Learning Methods And Strategies:

Transferable Skills (able to):

The programme encourages students to:

Teaching/Learning Methods And Strategies:

• Camillo Boano, Course Director

• Isis Nunez Ferrera, Course Coordinator
  

• Cassidy Johnson, Lecturer
  

• Pushpa Arabindoo, College Teaching Fellow
  

• Nabeel Hamdi, College teaching Fellow
  

• Jorge Fiori College Teaching
  

• Ruth McLeod, College Teaching Fellow

Teaching inputs are also provided by guest lecturers and other DPU staff

Course dates

The course commences in September each year and lasts for 12 calendar months. Students who cannot devote a whole year to full-time study may enrol part-time over a maximum of five years.

Entrance Qualifications

Candidates should have a minimum of a 2:2 honors degree awarded by a university or polytechnic that is approved by University College London. Candidates who lack the required qualifications but have other relevant educational or professional experience may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

English language

Please note that all DPU courses are taught in English, therefore, you will have to show evidence of proficiency in the English language. There are a variety of English language qualifications that are acceptable.

Costs and fees

Tuition fees are fixed annually by University College London and are therefore subject to modification. The fee for this course for the 2010/11 academic year for overseas students is £16,120; PG Dip £10,950, and for European Union students  £8,210;
PG Dip £6,085. The fee covers the cost of all tuition and basic course costs, including field visits and the field trip overseas. Participants should allow approximately £950 per month to cover the cost of living, clothing, books and local travel in London.

Participants and Career Opportunities

BUDD is intended for professionals wanting to work on urban local area transformations, urban design, architecture and the improvement of neighbourhood infrastructure and services. BUDD focuses on taking a community-oriented, participatory approach to spatial design.
BUDD students have very varied educational and/or professional backgrounds and come from a wide range of nationalities. Indeed, such interdisciplinarity and multiculturalism are actively encouraged by the course, as we believe that they contribute to the richness and added value of the experience of studying at the DPU.

Although not limited to architects, it is aimed at those professionals who are (or would like to be) engaged with the built environment. BUDD focuses on taking a community-oriented, participatory approach to spatial design.

The skills that the BUDD Course provides arise directly from these objectives and include a wide range of participatory design and decision-making tools. The theoretical and empirical framework that underpins the course is covered by the modules of the first term, which are extended to a more practical sphere during the second term, but are really brought into their own during the practical field project in the third term. This important component of the course is part of the taught course which is also designed to apply and practice the learning of the first two terms. During the Course, practical design exercises are also carried out through the BUDD Studio to help develop the more conventional analytical, urban design and architectural skills of students.

The average number of students on the course each year is approximately fifteen women and men, facilitating positive learning and a close working relationship with members of staff.

The course equips and expects graduates to be able to work in NGOs or in local government – facilitating community organisations and households to improve their living conditions. 
There is enormous variety in the work BUDD graduates get into after the course. This ranges from work with UK-based organizations in the public, private and community sectors which focus on local as well as international development, architectural and urban design firms, to governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations which operate in a development capacity in the South. Recent BUDD graduates have also been employed by international NGOs and Aid and Development Agencies.

There is also variety in the geographic location of BUDD alumni: some decide to return to their home countries with the additional MSc qualification and knowledge and engage in the practice, teaching or research of urban development, urban design and architecture practice there; alternatively, former students have successfully sought employment in international development organisations away from their own countries.