Rethink the City 3.01

If you want to learn how the most recent theories in spatial justice, housing, resilience and design deal with the challenges around the world, this course is a good start.

Through a combination of short theoretical lessons, presentation of case studies, testimonies form practitioners and practical assignments you will learn how to develop a critical perspective about your urban environment and how to translate this knowledge into analytical tools and innovative urban solutions.

Is the just city framework applicable in cities with extreme socio-economic inequality? Can community-led housing initiatives provide effective solutions for households in need? How can resilience support development instead of perpetuating a disadvantaged condition? How can different ways to read and understand the city be incorporated in the urban planning and design process?

In this course we will debate alternative approaches of four urban themes, going beyond traditional urban strategies and policies:

Spatial justice
Spatial justice is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges of urban contexts in emerging economies.
Housing
Increasing demand in the global south calls for alternative approaches in housing provision and management.
Resilience
Understanding resilience not as a mere struggle for survival, but as an opportunity to build better urban environments.
Design
Planning and design tools should be able to incorporate cultural, physical, and socio-political variables to provide integral approaches.


In this course, academic urban planning expertise from TU Delft is used to formulate possible answers to these questions, and is applied in a range of challenging case studies from Ghana, Brazil, Chile, and China, among others. Rethink the City offers you a new perspective to understand and analyze the urban challenges of the global south.

This course was design for undergraduate and master students of architecture, urban planning and disciplines related to urban themes. Nevertheless, anyone interested on debating spatial justice, urban resilience, housing provision and design are welcome!

No previous knowledge in urban planning or global south is required, just your eagerness to learn!.