What is Urban Development and Design?

Traditionally, urban design programs have had a limited view of the city as merely another large scale physical design exercise, ignoring the economic, environmental and political aspects of cities. At the core of our philosophy is the need to recognise that good design must respect these three crucial factors in urban design education. Our program is therefore dedicated to a complex, development based design approach to the organisation of city form.

Australia is uniquely placed to contribute to this process, and the city of Sydney offers excellence in academic expertise, technology and locale to anyone wishing to become involved in a new and exciting field of study - building the new world order - at the University of New South Wales.

The City of Sydney is a growing metropolis with many major urban design and development projects whether built or in progress such as: Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, the Pyrmont peninsula, the 2000 Olympic Games site, and various housing areas. The city has strong commercial links with Asia and many of its design and developmental professionals are undertaking work in the Asia region.

The UNSW Urban Development and Design Program

A one year full-time or two year part-time multi-disciplinary coursework program for a wide range of graduates from both design and non-design based disciplines with both Semester 1 and Semester 2 intake. An advanced study program examines the crucial relationship between urban development and design from an international perspective, but with particular reference to the rapidly developing Asia-Pacific region. The intensive one calendar year program involves two academic semesters of study plus a summer term and includes a compulsory field project based in a major Asian city. Graduates of the program from a planning-related background are eligible for membership of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).