Learning objectives
The course aims at providing theoretical and practical tools for the open space assessment and planning at the neighborhood and city scale.
At the end of the learning experience, the student is supposed:
- to acquire knowledge in open space assessment,
- to develop proper practical skills to approach open space analysis and planning using GIS techniques.
- to develop specific communication skills and be autonomous in further learning
Prerequisites
It is necessary:
- to have skills
in managing the composition of urban analysis documents containing cartography,
texts and images.
- the knowledge, acquired in the first level degree course, about urban and territorial analysis as well as urban planning.
Course unit content
The course deals with the topics of open space planning and urban ecology, providing methods and tools for the construction of a cognitive framework of the urban environment, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
The course tackles also the basic principles of human geography, sociology and economics of urban spaces, and explores the environmental and social value of public open spaces, the relationship among urban form, functions and the public space, and the planning instruments which deals with these issues.
The following topics will be treated:
- Transformability of urban open spaces in the contemporary city: urbanisation processes (along with economic constraints and social issues), urban morphology, land consumption and ecocity criteria;
- Open space assessment and planning with the support of GIS technology: assessing the quality and role of open spaces, the mutual setting of public and private sphere (synergies and conflicts), the public equipment as a reference of the community life and the public space ecological performance.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Main texts:
- Gehl Jan, 2015, Città per le persone, Maggioli, Bologna
- Gerundo C., 2018, L’adattamento delle città ai cambiamenti climatici, Federico II University Press.
- Lynch K., 1964 (1960) L'immagine della città, Marsilio, Venezia
- Musco F., 2009, Rigenerazione e sostenibilità, Franco Angeli, Milano
- Ventura P., 2018, La città nuova. Elementi di progettazione urbanistica, McGraw-Hill.
Topics covered by the course will be made explicit through educational materials in the form of further bibliographical and of slides and notes available in the Elly web page of the course.
Teaching methods
- Lectures on the cultural and technical issues of open space planning and analysis.
- GIS Exercises: Building a Relational Database in a GIS environment as a support to open space planning (software: Quantum GIS).
- Integrated design studio for the urban Regeneration of an urban block in a European middle-sized city (Parma).
Assessment methods and criteria
In addition to the delivery of the final project (see the corresponding entry in the Urban planning Studio for the Sustainable City), the course includes an intermediate delivery of the GIS database designed to support the analysis of the study area. The structuring of the GIS database requires a team work, and requires a brief technical report containing the technical specifications of the database.
Other information
Attending 70% of the lessons is compulsory for admission to final exam. Participating in GIS practical exercises in class is highly recommended. At the conclusion of the group work, the students will summarize the results in a poster that will be exposed and discussed during a seminar, on the themes of urban planning, that will take place at the end of the academic year.
