Bachelor's Programme in Urban and Regional Planning, 180 ECTS
First levelFacts
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Description
Urban and regional planning is about creating possibilities for sustainable developments, and includes problem-solving, networking and initiatives for reorientation. Environmental problems, ageing populations, national and international migration, regional imbalances, segregation and housing shortages are some of the important challenges for future planners. The planner identifies and analyses planning problems, estimates the consequences of decisions, suggests solutions and initiates and implements various planning projects.
Programme content and structure The Program in Urban and Regional Planner gives you both broad and deep knowledge of planning and its conditions. The multidisciplinary program has a social and humanistic perspective, i.e. social, economic and physical aspects of planning are integrated. The program is project-oriented and emphasis is placed on group work, report-writing and analyses. Fieldwork and excursions give you the opportunity to study planning problems and solutions in real situations. In semesters 1-2, you take Urban and Regional Planning I and Urban and Regional Planning II. In semester 3, you study economics or statistics, and in semester 4 and 5 archaeology, earth science, economics, economic history, environmental management, ethnology, human geography, political science, sociology and/or statistics. In semester 6, you take Urban and Regional Planning III.
Purpose and learning objectives The programme includes: – knowledge and understanding in urban and regional planning and understanding of applicable methodologies in urban and regional planning. – ability to search for, gather, evaluate and critically interpret the relevant information for a formulated problem and also discuss phenomena, issues and situations critically. – ability to identify, formulate and solve problems. – ability to present and discuss information, problems and solutions. – ability to identify the need for further knowledge and ongoing learning.
Degree and career options The programme in Urban and Regional Planning leads to a B.Sc. and gives eligibility to the Master’s level in Urban and Regional Planning and other Masters’ programmes. The job market for planners is good and work tasks for urban and regional planners can be found at all levels of society, in both the public sector (government offices, civil service, counties, municipalities etc.) and the private sector and interest groups and lobby organizations.
Area of interests: Human, Social and Political Sciences, and Law
Are you interested in human beings and society? How we function individually and together, what drives us, our learning processes, how rules and laws have been established, and how we interact with each other? If that is the case we have a lot to offer. This area of interest covers anything from Pedagogy, Psychology and Gender Studies, to Statistics, Political Science, Law and many other subjects. Their common denominator is the relation between human beings and society, independent analytical thinking and often an international perspective.
Subject
Urban and Regional Planning
Urban and Regional Planning is about shaping and structuring the future of society. Planners affect the structure of cities and urban life, the countryside and regional development, the economic situation and the environment, culture and population from social, economic and ecological perspectives. Planning takes place in the public and private sectors as well as within international organizations, such as EU and the UN.
The problems on which planners work require composite analyses. The need for such an approach increases with the increasing complexity of society. The problems are increasingly concerned with balancing different, sometimes contradictory, interests into functional and sustainable suggestions and proposals. Planning often takes place in the form of project work, where suggestions for plans are prepared in teams where different competences are represented.
Planning thus means determining the future while being aware of the fact that at the same time other possible futures are being prevented. It is therefore important to know how society has developed historically and how it works today within different areas, with regard to natural as well as economic and social conditions. A planner must have a broad general knowledge and the ability to merge information and knowledge from different specialist areas. A planner who is responsible for the planning process needs to have an overall view and an ability to see issues from multiple perspectives. For this purpose, there is ongoing basic and applied research where a number of different planning problems are analysed, ranging from individual suburban environments to international environmental issues.
Urban and regional planning may be studied as a three-year programme in the first cycle and in a two-year Master’s programme, or as single-subject courses. Do you want to have an impact on present and future societies? Then Urban and Regional Planning is the right choice!