290109 PS Contemporary Challenges in Urban Development (2018S)

This course focuses on contemporary issues in urban development processes and strategies in urban policies. Starting with public and theoretical debates on cities (mostly in Europe and the US), Vienna will serve as an “urban laboratory” to examine these topics on-site, from various perspectives, and in a contextual manner. Perspectives of urban development will be discussed at different spatial levels and will be explained by theoretical concepts and empirical evidence. Theoretical concepts discussed in this course will cover the economic and sociodemographic dimensions of urban transformation as well as aspects of urban governance and ecological transition.

This course truly benefits from the daily relevancy of urban development for society, policy, environment, and economics. Therefore, the link between theoretical approaches and society is provided by discussing issues of urban development within the domains of public and academic discourses. Applied fieldwork and analyses, including qualitative interviews, visual analysis, observations, or GIS analysis and mapping aim at putting knowledge and skills acquired in this section into practice. The methodological design is based on a comparative case study analysis (Donaucity and Danube Canal). The empirical work is part of the practical assignments in Urban Analysis III.

The following aims should be reached:
• Gain an overview about the current issues of urban transformation processes in European and North American cities
• Identify and analyse the local context by focusing on the relevant actors networks and political framework conditions
• Strengthen the ability to analyse and to present specific research questions in an independent way
• Apply adequate methods to answer research questions
• Practice the communicative skills and competences necessary for dealing with planners and politicians
• Improve the academic writing skills that contribute empirical results to an academic debate