Foundation Studio

Description [what is the course about, aims, etc.]

The foundation studio introduces students to the practice of planning. The studio aims to develop students' capacity to observe and think; and equips them with the conceptual, analytical, and communication skills necessary for becoming a professional planner. This studio explores different urban components/dynamics relevant to planning by understanding the area/ward of the city. The studio makes students draw planning principles that can lay the foundations for planning as a ‘public function’. The purpose of the studio is to make students understand city components and importance of planning as a function that balances the needs of people, conflicting interests, and efficient public systems, with the broad goals of enhanced livability, sustainability and social equity.

Course objectives & structure

The studio aims to develop the students’ capacity to observe and think; and equips them with the conceptual, analytical, and communication skills necessary for setting the foundation, to become a professional planner. The Foundation Studio (FS) introduces students to:

  1. Urban activities and elements that function in the city at different scales and their presence at the area /ward level;
  2. How do these elements/activities manifest themselves in space at the local area / ward scales and their inter-linkages ;
  3. Learn to draw planning principles based on above understanding of activities and their sustainability;
  4. Attempt to link these planning principles to give inputs to existing plans/ planning legislations / byelaws and critically look at the existing planning framework

This studio explores different aspects/components of local/ward area to develop an understanding of the city. The students would understand elements of the local area relevant to the planning process through hands-on exercises. The different components of planning and the trade-offs that are likely to happen, when decisions of resource allocation particularly land / space are made. The purpose is to develop and draw planning principles that could be applied to any planning process and related policy guidelines.
Planning is about a rational and evidence based outcome; of a process that carefully balances the conflicting needs of people and maximizes efficiency in public systems within the given financial or administrative constraints with the broad goals of enhanced livability, sustainability and social equity. Students should expect to learn to develop basic principles relevant to urban planning, and engage in key debates in the profession as part of this studio.

Check list of foundational elements to be covered in the studio:

A) Housing:

1) Housing typologies, sizes; 2) Associated utilities; 3)Housing tenure; 4) Durability and cost (including affordability); 5) Production processes  in housing construction and provision; 6) Nature of housing & housing provision - public/private and PPP; 7) Building regulations- margins/set-back, FSI, etc

B) Infrastructure:

1) Different elements of physical  infrastructure at trunk and local levels (wired/networked or non-networked/un-wired) – water supply, sewerage & drainage, solid waste disposal, Electricity & street lights; Telecom 2) Different elements of social infrastructure – education, health; police stations, recreation- playgrounds, parks, etc. 3)Economic infrastructure – different types /levels of markets

C) Transport:

1) Different modes and their needs; 2) Road network and hierarchies- capacities, widths & cross sections; 3) space needs of different transport /street elements (including its design) 4) performance /impacts

D) Environment:

1) Natural resources & commons – air, water, biodiversity – their status; 2) their uses, pollution/degradation 3) treatment, sustainable practices

E) Land & Land Use:

1) Population and building densities; 2) Terrain & topography and its influences (including drainage & vegetation); 3) Land uses, building uses and their locations - including economic activities in private and public spaces (informal and formal) 4)development controls and carrying capacities

F) Governance institutions in urban areas and related legislations/municipal laws.

Learning Outcomes [statements about knowledge, skills and competencies of students]

["Learning outcomes are statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of a process of learning."  Further explanations on learning outcomes can be found here, here, or here.]

  • Qualitative skills (Observation, Interviewing, FGDs, participatory exercises, analysis of qualitative data & writing inferences from qualitative data)
  • Quantitative skills (Questionnaire design, master table creation-data cleaning & consolidation, forming bi-variate and multi-variate tables for different thematic domains, appropriate use of graphs and other visual diagrams)
  • Map making and visual presentation of maps
  • Report writing and forming arguments
  • Presentation skills

Student Workload [time a student is expected to spend on the course, both in hours and in ECTS (25 hours ~ 1 ECTS)]

[how does you institution calculate the workload of students for this course, e.g. in % of academic year; how would this translate into ECTS]

On average, a student is expected to spend a total of about x hours (~ ? ECTS) for this course, summing up all class time, reading time and time for assignments.

Course Structure [frequency, duration, format, etc.]

16 weeks, weekly sessions
design studio, field trips and in-class work
group work and individual work

A group of two faculty members will guide a group of twenty students. The group of twenty students will be divided in groups of ten each to explore and study one municipal area/ward. Each group of students will explore, identify, analyse and understand different dimensions, relevant to planning in a local area/ward, in order to draw planning principles. All groups will be multi-disciplinary and pre-decided. 10 wards/areas within Ahmedabad have been identified for the preparation above exercise.

Prerequisites [requirements for participation]

[Prerequisites for participation, e.g. this class has no prerequisites, limited number of places decided by ..., prior to enrolment course xy has to be completed]

Only for Master of Urban and Regional Planning first year students

Assignments [tasks, homework, tests, expected activities of students, etc.]

????

Grading [assessment criteria and their weight]

Stages  & details

evaluation
weights (%)

1. Observation and perception studies 4%
2. Understanding your ward/planning area
3. Need identification & analysis 10%
4. Comparative studies to identify and explore urban functions/activities
5. Compilation of an area/ward profile 16%
 Midterm assessment (subtotal 30%)
6. Consolidation of sectoral requirements 15%
7. Developing draft proposals 10%
8. Finalisation of draft proposals 15%
9. Final portfolio assessments 30%
Total 100%

Course evaluation [how does your institution evaluate the quality of the course]

Evaluation form

Last modified: Monday, 12 February 2018, 1:22 PM