source: Ron Kasprisin
The Certificate Program | Admission | Curriculum | Program Faculty | For Current Students | FAQ for Students | Wolfe Endowment
Urban design is both a product and a process.
As a product, urban design ranges in scale from parts of an environment, such as a streetscape, to the larger wholes of districts, towns, cities, or regions. Urban design is manifest in all aspects of the physical environment, including form, space, movement, time, activity patterns, and setting. The urban design of a place involves what the place looks like, how it feels, what it means, and how it works for people who use it. Among other things, the urban designer is concerned with the sensory and cognitive relationships between people and their environment, with how people's needs, values, and aspirations can best be accommodated in built forms.
As a process and a conscious act, urban design involves the art of shaping the built landscape which has been formed over time by many different actors. Urban design is not primarily an individual's act, but is a civic, collective activity. The clients of urban design, public and private, may be specific or multiple. Urban design tasks may have definite ends or be ongoing, and implementation may or may not be under the designer's whole or partial control. Urban design is a profession and field of study concerned with design ideas and possibilities, with community choices and decisions, and with the urban development process. In short, it has to do with the processes for shaping environments and with the experiential quality of the physical forms and spaces that result.
The contemporary social and physical problems of the urban environment are complex and overlap many fields, as do the solutions. For design and planning professionals to deal comprehensively with urban design in this context necessitates a special interdisciplinary education. The Urban Design Program provides for this specialized training through the collaboration of the College's three professional programs: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design and Planning.
The Program was first developed in the late 1960s. It has evolved in response to demands for knowledge and skills in the professional marketplace and in the face of growing specialization of architectural and planning education, to maintain the natural and necessary link between the fields. Today the program is a vital, integral resource in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, operating both as a specialization and as an enrichment program. It provides a framework for graduate students to specialize in urban design as part of their professional education. As such, this two-year program (which runs concurrently with the student's degree program) leads to the Certificate of Achievement in Urban Design awarded with a Master's degree in Architecture, Landscape Architecture or Urban Planning. A one-year program is available for students holding a Bachelor of Architecture or a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (five-year Professional Degrees) and wishing to earn a Master of Architecture or Landscape Architecture with a Certificate of Achievement in Urban Design.
Also eligible are students in the professional five-year program in Landscape Architecture (BLA), the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Urban Design and Planning, and the Ph.D. in the Built Environment.
For those students in the College who do not wish to specialize in urban design, the Program offers coursework opportunities to enrich their education.
The Urban Design Program offers a rich and unique combination of resources to students:
- A diverse faculty from architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design and planning, who specialize in urban design and who are committed to teaching as well as active involvement in research and consulting activities.
- A curriculum designed to provide students with broad knowledge about theories, methods, and processes of urban design, and with experience in research as well as professional practice.
- Interaction with fellow graduate students from the three professional programs of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, who come from a variety of schools and countries to study urban design.
- The resources of one of the country's leading universities. Urban design-related organizations outside of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning include the Coastal Resources Program, the Institute for Environmental Studies, the Schools of Business, Law, and Public Affairs, the College of Engineering, and the Departments of Geography, Anthropology, Psychology, and others in the College of Arts and Sciences.
- The Northwest, the Puget Sound region, and the City of Seattle offer a livable place that is growing, building, and planning in many innovative ways, thus providing the student with an unique laboratory to learn from and to experience, through employment, the professional activity of urban design.
The Program introduces students to the fundamental theories, methods, and substantive content of urban design. To provide a base for professional knowledge and a generative source for the future, training in urban design practice focuses on design and process. Strong emphasis is given to the process of designing and to the problem-solving contributions of designers. Understanding the qualitative product of design, the urban environment, constitutes a second focus. Our graduates develop the following abilities:
- To conceptualize, define, and analyze design problems and opportunities at the urban scale.
- To develop urban design concepts, principles, criteria, and programs.
- To analyze and evaluate the performance of design projects and policies.
- To understand the processes which generate urban form.
- To synthesize and manage strategies for implementation in urban design involving public and private development actions.
- To work successfully with the public and the planning and design professions that shape the urban environment.
- To contribute creatively to the resolution of urban problems through design.
The Urban Design Program at the University of Washington is a reflection of the geographical setting of the greater Seattle area, the experience and interests of the faculty, and the directions unfolding in the profession. Concerns, long manifested by the faculty in urban design, lie in regionalism and the evolution and mutation of urban form. Emphasis is placed on understanding the phenomena of place-making and the connections between site, people, culture, and the urban built response. Research interests in contextualism and continuity, the role of types and styles in design, the town as artifact, and sources of regional identity reflect the Program's orientation. Cross-cultural comparisons are included as an important means to learn and to carry out research.
To support this orientation, the Urban Design curriculum does not involve the design of large-scale architectural projects. Not solely directed to the design of downtown settings, it also includes urban and suburban neighborhoods, suburban towns, small towns, and rural areas.
The Rome Program: Undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in urban design are encouraged to participate in the Architecture in Rome Program under the direction of Astra Zarina, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design. The program is focused on the evolution of Rome's urban form through first-hand introductions to its history, topography, and morphology. The city's more modern quarters are also the subject of group research into the realities and potentials of Rome's growth and development.
The Civitá Program: The Program is offered every other year to graduate and undergraduate students who wish to focus on the study of Italian Hilltowns. Under the direction of Professor Zarina, students review the geography, morphology and history of hilltowns. Specific design problems address the experiential quality of the towns as well as the renovations necessary for their preservation.
The Great Britain Program: The Department of Landscape Architecture offers the Landscape Architecture in Great Britain Program in alternate summers, under the direction of David Streatfield, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design. The location of the course changes. Previous programs have been based in London, Oxford, York, and Edinburgh. Within a focus on the designed "landscape," the program emphasizes historic landscapes, landscape preservation, urban open space, or countryside planning, depending on the background and interests of participating students.
Other Opportunities: Students have also arranged foreign studies in other countries, such Japan and Denmark, regional excursions to Alaska, and an ongoing exchange program with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
The Urban Design Certificate Program is open to students in the MArch, BLA, MLA, MUP, and PhD programs in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, who show promise of achievement in urban design. Candidates for the Certificate in Urban Design typically have a physical design background, and hold an approved undergraduate degree in architecture, landscape architecture, environmental design, or urban planning with a design emphasis. Alternatively, and with approval of the Director, an equivalent background may be obtained during residency in the College. Courses are available to help students develop design awareness and basic skills in conceptualization and integration skills, including coursework in graphics and communication techniques and introductory studios.
The Program normally requires seven quarters of study. Applicants without sufficient design background should anticipate spending additional time (one to three quarters) at the University of Washington.
Candidates without a physical design background may, in unusual circumstances, be awarded the Certificate of Achievement in Urban Design where a specialized program of advanced study in urban design (research, history, law and implementation, urban development) has been approved by the urban design faculty.
Applicants to the Program must meet the general requirements of the Graduate School and the requirements of the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, or Urban Design and Planning. The appropriate home department prospectus gives detailed information on admission and scholarship requirements. A department prospectus may be obtained from the graduate program assistants: Architecture Box 355720, archinfo@u.washington.edu; Landscape Architecture (all materials are on the web); Urban Design & Planning Box 355740, udp@u.washington.edu; Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Urban Design & Planning Box 355850, jeanp@u.washington.edu; Ph.D. in the Built Environment (all materials are on the web); University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.
Candidates who intend to pursue a program of studies in urban design should state this objective clearly in the statement of purpose required in the application to the selected home department.
In summary, applicants will be eligible to participate in the Urban Design Program if (1) they have been accepted for graduate work by the Department of Architecture, Landscape Architecture or Urban Design and Planning, the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, or one of the College's Ph.D. programs, and if (2) they possess or gain the necessary physical design abilities prior to participation in advanced (final year) urban design studios.
Upon acceptance in any of these participating programs, students interested in obtaining a Certificate in Urban Design must complete a Statement of Interest for the Program. This can be done during the first week of instruction of the two-year programs or any time during the first year of the three-year programs.
After students have taken their second urban design studio, they will be scheduled for an Urban Design Review in which their work and objectives in the field will be discussed with members of the Urban Design Program faculty. The purpose of the review is to assess candidates' preparation for advanced studio work and to help them to chart the remaining course of study in the Program.
The Urban Design Certificate curriculum allows students to concentrate their study and research in urban design while they fulfill the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Urban Planning, the Ph.D. in Urban Design and Planning, or the Ph.D. in the Built Environment.
The curriculum in urban design normally consists of seven quarters of work concurrent with the student's degree program: six quarters devoted to a combination of studios, lectures, and seminar courses, and a final quarter devoted to the master's thesis.
A required core curriculum is complemented by mandatory courses in four areas to provide the student with a firm grounding in theory, methods, and practical skills. Special emphasis is placed on studios where a variety of topics and approaches to urban design are offered as opportunities for the student to synthesize and apply knowledge obtained in other program courses.
Students must have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average for all urban design course requirements in order to obtain the certificate. To fulfill the certificate requirements, the thesis topic must have an approved urban design component and the student's committee must be chaired by a member of the urban design faculty.
Summary: 12 to 15 credits of work that does not overlap with courses required for the degree. The lists below include a mix of courses required for the degree and supplementary urban design courses to include: 5 core requirements, 3 Urban Design studios, 6 courses from the mandatory course areas, student review, master's thesis
Urban Design Core (five courses)
- Introductory Course:
- Arch 590--Urban Issues in Design (MArch, MLA students) or
- L Arch 362--Landscape Design in Urban Contexts (BLA students) or
- UrbDP 470--Introduction to Urban Design (any) or
- UrbDP 500--Survey of Urban Planning (MUP students)
- UrbDP 479--The Urban Form
- Arch 561--Urban Design Theory
- UrbDP 580--Legal & Administrative Framework for Planning
- Thesis Preparation:
- L Arch 571 Seminar on LArc Research (MLA students)
- UrbDP 512* Research Seminar (MUP students)
- Thesis proposal review and approval (BLA, MArch)
- Urban Design Studios (three studio courses)
Students must take three urban design studios from those designated by the Urban Design Program each quarter, at least one of which must be from outside the student's home department. Studio numbers range from Arch 500-505, L Arch 403, L Arch 503-505, or UrbDP 507-508. See below for examples of previously offered studios.
- Mandatory Course Areas (six courses)
In addition to the courses in the core curriculum, a total of six mandatory courses in the areas listed below are required of all urban design candidates, and are selected by the student in consultation with program advisors.
- Urban Form and History (1 course)
- L Arch 450--History of Environmental Design in the Pacific Northwest
- L Arch 451--History of Environmental Design on the West Coast
- L Arch 498*--History of Urban Design
- UrbDP 598*--American Urban History
- or approved equivalent
- Urban Design Methods (2 courses)
- Arch 483--Design of Virtual Environments
- Arch 593/UrbDP 574--Residential Design
- L Arch 341**--Site Planning
- UrbDP 470--Introduction to Urban Design
- UrbDP 498*--Site Planning
- UrbDP 598*--Pedestrial Travel, Land Use & Urban Form
- UrbDP 598*--Urban Design Studio Methods
- or approved equivalents
- Planning/Quantitative Methods (1 course)
- PubAF 527--Quantitative Analysis
- UrbDP 420--Database Systems and Planning Analysis
- UrbDP 422--GIS in Planning
- UrbDP 500--Survey of Urban Planning
- UrbDP 510--Theories and Methodologies of Planning
- UrbDP 520--Quantitative Methods in Urban Design and Planning
- UrbDP 530--Land Use/Transportation Models
- or approved equivalents
- Urban Development (1 course)
- One more course from either Planning/Quantitative Methods or Urban Development (above) (1 course)
* 498 and 598 course numbers will be changing.
** Master's and PhD students who wish to count 300-level courses toward the certificate must additionally take 1 credit of directed study in addition to the course.
- Master's Thesis/BLA Capstone Project/Ph.D. dissertation
(committee chair must be urban design faculty; approved urban design subject area)
The following excerpts from some of the urban design studio problems illustrate the types of issues, problems, and expectations in this important dimension of the curriculum.
Cascade Neighborhood Development Plan--Working with the Cascade Neighborhood Council, develop a Neighborhood Resource Map, a Neighborhood Vision Map, and design a series of projects which illustrate the physical livability and the financial feasibility of possible development in a mixed industrial, business and low- to moderate-income residential area.
Central Area Economic Development--Investigate the feasibility and contribution of economic development proposals for the Central Area of Seattle, an area ill-defined geographically, functionally, economically, and visually, which is also suffering problems of social, economic, and physical deterioration. Provide a master plans, specific site project designs, and implementation strategies for the area.
Edges and Increments: Urban Villages--Investigate edges as indicators of connections between built form and investigate the process and state of incremental development-both critical patterns and relationships-within the University District and Northgate, two of the proposed urban villages located within the City of Seattle.
Intervention at Interbay--The application of mixed-use, transit-oriented development to an underutilized industrial and maritime area of Seattle, using concepts from urban villages, Traditional Neighborhood Design, and Pedestrian Pockets, stressing both building and urban typology.
"Soft Cities"--Landscape Design of Communities--Investigation of methods and techniques for developing physical design and implementation strategies to create "liveable communities," concentrating on existing or infilling communities by investigating how "good" community design is achieved in the political process, and focusing on rebuilding communities to enhance walking, bicycling, car pooling, transit and high occupant vehicle travel through densification, mixing uses, adding facilities, restricting access, etc.
The Town Within the City--An Architecture of Place for the Magnolia Neighborhood Business District--A case study exploring the importance of the neighborhood business district for community life appropriate for a post-functionalist view of the city, focusing on the relationships between people, place, and work, generating new architectural typologies that will further a sense of community, countering the current fragmentation and specialization that current "metro-imperalism" exemplifies.
The faculty provide opportunities for multidisciplinary research in a number of areas including:
- Urban Design Theory and Methods
- History of Urban and Environmental Design
- History of Housing and the Built Environment
- Urban and Suburban Form Analysis
- Community and Preservation Design
- Comparative Urbanism
- Design and Planning for Pedestrians
- Analysis of Place
- Urban Design With Comprehensive Planning
- Race, Class, and Gender in Community Design
- Urban Design: Reshaping our Cities
- Master-Planned Communities: Shaping Exurbs in the 1990s
- Streets as Public Properties
Students have produced more than 220 theses in urban design since 1968. The following is a sample of recent thesis research completed (a complete list of theses submitted for the certificate program is available here):
- Implementation of a pedestrian safety crosswalk program in Seattle. Jennifer R. Hefferan (MLA 2002; Chair Moudon).
- Pedestrian street regulations in an emerging urban center: future directions for Northgate in Seattle, WA. Nicholas Speros Pergakes (MUP 2002; Chair: Moudon).
- The new urbanism and critical regionalism: a grounded theory analysis of regionalist design. Michael E. Schuler (MUP 2001; Chair: Ryan).
- Development simulator: a tool for architects and urban designers. Doddy Samiaji (MArch 2991; Chair: Rolfe).
- Water community revitalization: an urban design project for supporting water transportation in modern Bangkok. Sitt Therakomen (MArch 2001; Chair: Rolfe).
- An urban design framework for the University Gardens, Seattle: an opportunity to bring together urban design and architecture in the University District. Benvenuto Bortolazzo (MArch 2000; Chair: Oschner).
- The continuity and transformation of urban street walls: a study of physical elements that contribute to retail districts' design. Thanasorn Kamolratanayothin (MArch 1999; Chair: Ochsner).
- Brother, can youS paradigm? Architecture, infrastructure, and community, Bronx, New York. Saul Manuel Golden (MArch 1977; Chair: Pyatok).
- Re-using urban land: a new neighborhood of housing and industry at Terminal 46. Craig W. Hanson (MArch 1996; Chair: Kelbaugh).
- Environmental design process for the urban and rural fringe. Christopher E. Craig (M.U.P. 1996; Chair: Kasprisin).
Information about the Urban Design Program faculty
For further information or to receive this information in printed format, write:
Interdisciplinary Certificate Programs
University of Washington
Box 355740
Seattle, WA 98195-5740
phone: 206-543-5996
e-mail: neile@u.washington.edu
Introduction to the Certificate Programs |
Historic Preservation Program
Department of Architecture | Department of Landscape Architecture | Department of Urban Design and Planning
College of Architecture and Urban Planning | University of Washington
last updated October 6, 2004
