The learning process is characterised by an integrated system of activities towards the concrete application of design principles, methodologies and techniques to real-life case studies’ projects development. The Urban Design and Urban Design Studio educational path is articulated in:

- the Module on emerging urban topics that aims to give the main conceptual reframing to understand urban phenomena and develop critical skills supporting the innovative and integrate solutions development;

- the Module on urban design toolbox that aims to provide the knowledge and the application of main theoretical references and methods of urban design process.

The Urban Design and Studio courses’ goals are integrated in the general learning objectives of the Master programme related to the understanding and practice of multi-disciplinary and multi-scale design of complex adaptive systems and the innovative solutions towards the urban sustainability. The Urban Design Course and Studio will provide the knowledge and instruments to support the development of robust and coherent design process among different design scales connecting architectural to urban and territorial scales.

At the conclusion of the course, the student knows the tools required to manage an urban design process and understands the complexity of urban systems; applies design skills to manage various types of urban transformation; is able to make choices and explain them.

Detailed learning outcomes:

DD1) Knowledge and understanding

The student:

- becomes familiar with complex urban systems and the related key and emerging issues;

- becomes familiar with sustainable, adaptive and ecological urban design principles;

- acquires technical and methodological urban design competences.

DD2) Applying knowledge and understanding

The student:

- learns and applies an integrated approach to urban design, including the whole transformation process and governance;

- develops a proposal for an urban master plan project;

- understands the local urban context and develops strategic/complex visioning (problem setting, resources identification/recognition, problem solving).

DD3) Making judgements

The student:

- acquires a critical approach to urban issues and the capabilities to activate synergies and connections among different disciplinary fields and different design scales;

- acquires the capabilities to activate synergies and connections among urban issues / challenges and design solutions.

DD4) Communication

The student:

- acquires / improves communication skills, team-work and individual critical capabilities;

- acquire/improve organisational competencies and co-production methods (workshops management).

DD5) Lifelong learning skills

The student is able to conduct autonomous research in scientific literature.

Emerging Urban topics module

The general focus for the 2019/20 Academic Year are Urban Resilience in urban regeneration process and the Universal Design principle. Urban Resilience is a key concept of international polices and strategies and requires significant and complex innovation in the Urban Transformation process, in terms of integrating social, environmental, economical and governances components towards the enhancement of resilience proprieties of urban complex systems improving the adaptability capability dealing/facing environmental (CC), social and economical stress and shocks. The Universal Design implies the design of urban environment that can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability.

The main topics of lectures and seminars of the Urban Topic Module are:

• Resilient cities and resilience principles for urban regeneration process;
• Adaptive cities: urban climate adaptive design including the nature based solutions and Urban Ecosystem services, water sensitive design;
• Urban innovation and strategic urban design: innovative topics for urban regeneration, multi stakeholders governance (from design to implementation and management of urban transformation)
• Public life: Public spaces design principles focussing on the principles of Universal Design (designing cities and urban places that include everyone), both in terms of design choices and as inspiring principles in the construction of a strategic urban vision.

Urban Topic module includes two individual tasks: the "critical review" task and the "mapping" task.

Critical review task

The critical review task has the aim to develop students skills in critical reframing of theoretical and scientific papers and light up the links between the conceptual reframing and their application in Urban Design process.

The papers selected are scientific paper (selected from scientific Journals) and in general, they present sections dedicated to conceptual reframing sections dedicated to methods application or Pilots case study implementation. Students have to fill the form provided in responding to specific questions (general on the paper and also specific points connecting the assigned paper topic to the urban design process steps). In order to support the process of “transfer” from the theoretical reframing to application in urban design process students have to identify 3 solutions connected to the issue of the paper assigned.

Mapping (an emerging urban topic) task

The objective of mapping task is to encourage students to approach the investigation of the urban context using methods and categories that focus on the relationships between people and their urban environment. The expected results are a more "intimate" knowledge (and involvement) of the urban context by the students, the identification and representation through synthetic methods of representation of phenomena related to the value dimension and to the cognitive/psychological sphere of the relationships between the individual (and therefore community) and the inhabited places.

Urban design toolbox module

The didactical framework for the Urban design toolbox module is the Ecological Urban Design process (NOOS - Not Only One Solution) as laid out in the Palazzo and Steiner (2012) textbook. The urban design process proposed will be considered as a guide for managing the urban design project development.

The Urban design toolbox module includes three didactical activities:

• seminars: to introduce the NOOS process, recap main techniques and methods for urban design and to present some cases and examples of applications in the urban design real process
• workshops: dedicated to the phases of synthesis; strategic vision; master plan; details and implementation. Workshop activities are based on the active involvement of students in presenting methods and organising debate and co-production activities with the class. In relation to each of the phases all useful materials will be shared and provided.
• Urban Master Plan project development: during the Urban Design Studio teams of students develop a proposal of Urban Master Plan.

LeccoLAB and the Urban Master Plan

LeccoLAB is an integrated learning process, launched in the AY2015/16, involving several courses of the degree courses activated in the Lecco Campus of Politecnico of Milano. The general process involves local stakeholders, external experts and students with the aim to support local communities in defining strategic urban vision and urban design proposals for the Lecco municipality regeneration.

During the Urban Design Studio students’ teams develop an Urban Master Plan proposal: the design process is articulated according to the main “NOOS” urban design process steps (during the semester students’ teams will present evaluated sub-tasks: knowledge, synthesis, concept plan or strategic urban vision, urban master plan).

At the beginning of the semester a “design brief” is provided including the main instances and requirements emerging form the local stakeholders involved (the Urban design master plan is coordinated with design processes developed in other courses) and local stakeholders will be involved during the semester during the Studio activities.

No specific pre-requisites

The evaluation of Urban Design course and Urban Design Studio is based on the pondered average among the evaluations of singles tasks developed during the semester.

Critical review task (individual task, kick-off at the beginning of the semester and submission deadline at the end of the semester, relevance 30% of final vote). The task evaluation criteria are: general accuracy and completeness of the work according to the task requirements, ability to summarize and originality in responding to the points of critical analysis, ability to link and integrate the ideas provided during the modules of the course and the ideas of the paper assigned (critical ability and learning of urban complexity issues), overall consistency between aspects of critical reading and the choice of solutions.

Mapping (an emerging urban topic) task (individual task, kick-off at the beginning of the semester and submission deadline in the middle of the semester, relevance 25% of final vote). The task evaluation will be based on the following criteria: general accuracy, completeness and compliance with the task requirements; consistency, originality and robustness of the investigation path/framework and of the proposed investigation method; clarity and comprehensibility of the materials delivered (effectiveness of the communication and synthesis capacity).

Urban Master Plan Task (team task, sub-task steps during all the semester and final dead line the last lecture/studio of the semester, relevance 45% of final vote). In relation to the Urban Master Plan Task the main assessment criteria are: quality of analysis and research; coherence in the design process and robustness of design methods application; innovation in design proposal development and integration in the urban strategic vision of urban emerging topics proposed during the Urban Topics Module; punctuality, quality and accuracy in deadlines and documentation submitted (including the capability of communication of the design proposals). Additional evaluation criteria are related to the aspects of coordination with the contents of the Course of Urban Design focussing on coherence and robustness of the project path, correct application of the methods presented in the lessons and integration (in the strategic vision and in the project choices) of the themes related to the module on urban complexity. All Urban Master Plan sub-tasks will be evaluated and the vote of each sub-task will be pondered in order to define the final mark of UD Urban Master Plan task The final evaluation of the Urban Master Plan Task includes also a component related to the individual involvement level (that will be based also on a procedure of peer-review of team-mates by each student).

The individual final vote proposed for Urban Design and Studio Course is based on the pondered average of all UD/UDS tasks: the “pondered average” resulting will be rounded (increased or decreased) in relation to the individual involvement and personal contribution during all the semester and in all the UD/UDS activities (e.g. the proactivity and the personal involvement in seminars/workshop organisation are all aspects that can increase the final individual evaluation).

In order to improve the final vote proposed, students have the option to sustain an oral exam based on the bibliography, the contents of lectures and the useful documentation published on Beep. During the oral exam the evaluation deriving from the pondered average could be improved but also decreased in relation to the individual preparation. The component deriving from the Urban master plan task (relevance of 45%) can not be modified with the oral exam.