Urban Studies

The year 2008 marked a turning point in global historical settlement patterns; for the first time in human history the majority of people now live in urban areas. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s population will be urban. This course explores three interrelated policy and business trends associated with urbanism: Smart Cities, Liveable or Healthy Cities, and efforts to retrofit suburbia. Each of these trends has importance for enhancing our quality of life and addressing climate change. Each also creates unique business opportunities and policy challenges. The course critically examines these trends and their unique relevance internationally and for Ireland. Among other pressing contemporary topics, the course examines housing affordability and the effects spurred by the Covid pandemic, most notably the shifts towards working at home and shopping online, and how these concerns may impact for the future of cities.

This course introduces students to the foundational role land plays in urban development in Australia, including studying land management and city development over time. It examines the evolution of the built environment professions in Australia in relation to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal land knowledge, law, and practice. 

This course explores the different perspectives and concepts of urban and rural development including the process of urbanization, diverse population and demographic trends, urban planning, urban growth and decline, governance, natural environment concerns, sustainability, and the impact of globalisation. It examines theories and practices of community development both in rural and urban areas as well as their context and changes. The course also includes analysis of key issues such as rural-urban poverty, agriculture, education, social services, equal opportunity, migration and community dynamics, especially among marginalized and vulnerable families and communities in both urban and rural contexts.

This course explores spatial planning and environmental management within the context of civil engineering. It discusses the conceptual, methodological, and technical tools to integrate sustainability, spatial analysis, and infrastructure development into effective civil engineering practices. This course also examines the influence of environmental systems and urban services (transport, sanitation, waste, energy, and communication) on territorial planning, with a focus on sustainable development, regulatory compliance, and ethical responsibility.

This course introduces the fundamentals of urban design and planning through the analysis of contemporary urban structures and morphologies. Emphasis is placed on understanding the elements of urban form, historical growth processes, and the tools and terminology used in the field. 

This course examines the intersection of ethics and culture within the context of urban sustainability. It addresses ethical reasoning models, cultural identity, and moral dilemmas in contemporary urban life. This course critically analyzes real-world ethical challenges related to cultural diversity, social justice, environmental ethics, and governance in urban settings.

This course explores the structure, dynamics, and challenges of cities in Spain, Europe, and beyond. It discusses urbanization trends, growth models, and key indicators used to study urban systems. This course also examines contemporary issues in Spanish and European cities such as sustainability, mobility, gentrification, and smart city development while analyzing data sources and case studies to understand how cities evolve and adapt to social, economic, and environmental change. 

This course examines the relationship between society and the built environment, using a sociological perspective to analyze the city and urban phenomena. It discusses the main theoretical contributions and lines of research that have facilitated the interpretation and analysis of various social problems in the urban context.

This introductory course examines the causes of housing price fluctuations and their implications for urban life. It explores how housing functions both as an investment and a necessity, creating an owner–renter dichotomy with contrasting interests. The course analyzes the economic consequences of housing market swings, including negative equity, asset bubbles, financial crises, and affordability challenges, while considering broader impacts on living conditions, community sustainability, and urban policy. It explains the relationships between money, land, and housing; covers the factors that determine land and housing prices; identifies the effects of housing price fluctuations on financial stability and wealth inequality; describes how monetary and land policies influence housing affordability; and covers implications from the owner–renter dichotomy for housing policy.

This course approaches the city from an urban geography perspective. It repositions cities as a social construct, i.e., as the result of political, economic, technical, and cultural dynamics. It addresses the internal organization of cities, the mechanisms of differentiation between intra-urban spaces, and the social, political, economic, and environmental issues that this entails. Finally, it provides factual and theoretical knowledge (analytical frameworks, theories, concepts) to move from knowledge of urban facts and dynamics to an understanding of the processes that underlie them. This course opens up further study on intra-urban dynamics: processes of gentrification and impoverishment of territories, functional changes, demographic dynamics; the effects of these dynamics on urban organization and functioning: urban sprawl, spatial segmentation and mobility, theatricalization of city centers; and the construction of public problems: socially constructed identification of certain urban dynamics as problematic and requiring intervention by the authorities of the public powers. A minimum knowledge of the different types of intra-urban spaces (city center, suburbs, peri-urban areas) as well as the different types of cities and their functions is a prerequisite for the course.