AR 121 - Urban Environments

Credit Hours: 3

In this course you will study the physical, social, political, environmental and economic forces that interact to create and influence change in rural areas, suburbs and metropolitan areas. Introduction to urban design and regional development theories and practices will examine connections between ideas, design and the built environment. Plans for controlled growth, designs for new towns, and growth/sprawl of existing metropolitan areas will be studied and analyzed. Students will be challenged to examine place making, to critically interpret the history of place and the forces that shape it. Involves: intensive reading, discussions and fieldwork.

Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

explain the primary forces that shape the origins of built environments;
discuss the historical origins of cities and urban forms;
define the key disciplines that are used to describe and understand global urban environments;
describe the core functions of urban environments (housing, land, work and transportation);
identify and analyze the drivers (social, political, economic and environmental) of change in urban environments;
explain the significance of the relationships among and differences between urban, suburban and rural areas; and
recognize the leading movements, individuals and historical forces that have shaped contemporary western urban environments and their influences in non-western communities

F (S)