ED251 – Urban Places Seminar – Fall ’07 – John Kriken
Course Description
Instructor:Professor John Kriken, FAIA, AICP
Lecture Time:Friday, 10 am – 1 pm
Lecture Room:4th Floor Studio
Phone Numbers:415-409-6552 (studio
415-352-5860 (SOM)
Units:2
Email:
Office Hours:Friday 2 to 3 p.m. or by appointment
This course is mandatory for Master of Urban Design Students. It is elective for Urban Design students in city planning, landscape and architecture with consent of the instructor. It will meet for the first nine weeks of the fall semester only.
Urban design is concerned with place-making, with creating cities and neighborhoods that are comfortable, responsive, and enriching places for people to live, work, and visit. It is a holistic process that is about making better places for people than would otherwise be produces. This course introduces students to the Design of Urban Places program, to faculty resources, and to issues arising in current urban design practice. Subject matters include current contexts for urban design; the role or urban design in the development process; different urban design roles and levels of influence; public sector urban design; framework plans, design guidelines, implementation strategies and best practice principles.
Successful cities have come from advocating easily understood human values and principles that take into account the sensory qualities of environment and design. These principles can be applied universally, recognizing that they will vary by local culture, climate and geography.
Thesis Proposal
Over the course of the semester, each of the Master of Urban Design students will prepare a thesis proposal. The proposal will be presented to MUD professors at an arranged time at the end of the semester. Elective students will participate in discussions of thesis research topics.
Readings and Class Preparation
There are required readings for most weeks. Readings will be assigned the previous week.
Evaluation of Students
Participation in Class Discussions on theory and practice of Urban Design - 50%
Participation in Class Discussion on Urban Design research topics and student thesis proposals – 50%
ED251 – Urban Places Seminar – Fall ’07 – John Kriken
Course Schedule
Aug. 31Introductions and course work
The Missing Elements of City Design
The Role of Design in CityBuilding
Sept. 7Prepare a Review of Previous MUD Thesis for discussion of meaningful urban design research.
Sept. 14Principles for CityBuilding
-Sustainability; An Environmental Ethic
-Accessibility: The ease of moving and seeing
-Diversity: Variety and choice
Case Studies at the Regional Scale
Sept. 21Workshop on Thesis Research Topics
Sept. 28Principles for CityBuilding
-Open Space: The Preserve of Nature
-Adaptability: Accommodating Change
Case Studies at the City Scale
Oct. 5Principles for CityBuilding
-Incentives: Facilitating Change
-Wholeness: A sense of completion
Case Studies at the Neighborhood Scale
Oct. 12Principles for CityBuilding
-Compatibility: Consistency
-Density: Compactness and Proximity
-Identity: A Memorable sense
Case Study at the Building Element Scale
Oct. 19Workshop: What We Have Learned and What We Need to Research Further
Oct. 26Discussion of Final Student Thesis Proposal and Proposal Submittal
-Students will present their proposals to MUD faculty members.
NOTE: Dates may be rescheduled on account of studio travel plans.
ED251 – Urban Places Seminar – Fall ’07 - John Kriken
Master of Urban Design Thesis Proposal Outline
Use this form to complete your proposal.
1)Student’s Name and contact information:
a)Name:
b)E-mail Address:
c)Phone Number (optional):
2)Descriptive thesis TITLE:
3)Proposed Committee Members: (All members of your thesis committee must be members of the UC Berkeley Academic Senate, and at least two must be faculty members in the Graduate Group in Urban Design. Please list the home department of any faculty member outside of the College of Environmental Design.)
a)Committee Chair:
b)Committee Member:
c)Committee Member:
4)Description of Thesis Topic: Provide a 2-3 page description of the design thesis topic you will investigate that includes the following:
a)Discuss the design issue you are focusing on and why it is important. Briefly summarize ideas from the relevant academic literature and/or built design projects that set the theoretical context for your research and design proposals. Briefly discuss how your design thesis will build upon, go further than, or explore different territory than these theories and/or built design precedents.
b)Identify the site you intend to use for the design component of your thesis and discuss why it has been selected. Provide a context map, an existing site plan, and perhaps some photographs or sketches of the proposed site.
c)If there is a real client associated with your thesis project, identify and describe this client.
d)Describe the approach you intend to take in the design component of your thesis. (i.e. Will you be preparing a masterplan? An urban design.
5)Information Sources: Give the following information about your information sources:
a)Provide a list of the people or organizations you will contact, and describe your reasons for making the contact;
b)Provide a brief bibliography of relevant academic literature related to your thesis topic;
c)Provide a list of the map resources you will make use of in your thesis.
6)Thesis Tasks and Schedule of Work: Summarize the tasks you will undertake to complete your thesis, and provide a work schedule that indicates when each task will be undertaken and also milestone completion dates. Within the schedule, particular attention should be paid to field visits to your site and collecting base map data.
7)Outstanding Questions: Briefly discuss any unresolved questions you have about the thesis topic, your site, your design approach, etc.