Urban Design and Transportation Planning (UDTP)

Permanent Faculty: Maged Senbel, Larry Frank, Jinhua Zhao, Penny Gurstein

Adjunct Faculty (2011/12): Larry Beasley, Michael Gordon, Jay Wollenberg, 

The study of urban design and transportation as an integrated planning challenge is one of the fastest growing fields in North American planning schools. New urban design concentrations and degree programs are appearing in many schools, with a growing connection to transportation planning.  The combination of urban design and transportation objectives produces urban environments in which people can live, work, learn, play and recreate; all within a short walk or a transit ride. This is an antidote to the large lots of single-family homes that are a car drive away from everything, and that have come to characterize urban sprawl. Contemporary urban designers are conscious of the holism necessary for improving transit functions, public health, place-making, providing ecological services, and creating a lively public realm and livable neighborhoods. Urban design and transportation planning play a direct role in shaping the quality of life or urban dwellers.

The main objective of the UDTP concentration is to give SCARP students interested in urban design and transportation planning a set of fundamental theories, models and planning tools.  Faculty in SCARP have considerable expertise in urban design and transportation project evaluation and analysis, which provides students with an understanding of the principles that guide decision making.  Students further benefit from faculty experience in integrating research and theoretical knowledge into decision making processes.

Along with natural geographical barriers (water and mountains) the “urban form” of a region is largely the result of the transportation investments decisions that were made years ago.  Correspondingly, the investments made today, will shape the urban form of regions in the future.  Land use patterns respond to transportation investments – and determine the value of a given location – and can create a magnet for, or reduction of development.  Resulting travel and activity patterns influence air pollution, greenhouse gas production, energy consumption, physical activity levels, and impact things like obesity.  Transportation investment decisions made by politicians are often conceived and articulated into policy by transportation planners.

The linkages between transportation investment, land use, and environmental and health related outcomes are becoming more and more central to policy debates over how we should grow our communities, regions, and the extent to which auto dependence can be sustained. The choice between transit, highway, and pedestrian investments play a critical role in shaping the activity patterns of the young, old, and the disadvantaged.  The mode and location of a transportation investment can create or eliminate access to important destinations in the daily lives of area residents.

Curricular Focus

SCARP's program allows students to tailor their curriculum to their individual career aspirations. Students wanting to develop design skills can take a sequence of courses that develop both direct and indirect design skills. In addition to all of the substantive knowledge areas, urban design and transportation planners are increasingly interacting with the public and decision-makers through visual communication and oral presentation skills. The presentation skills that urban design students develop at SCARP cannot be underestimated in terms of their value in communicating ideas and developing successful planning careers.  

Students wanting to develop expertise in transportation planning are encouraged to supplement their coursework with internships and research activities in the transportation sector.  Students wanting to engage in transportation specific research can take advantage of the Active Transportation Collaboratory which supports a variety of projects spanning policy, technical, practical, and theoretical explorations. Research at the Urban Design Lab is focused on comparative analysis of different types of urban form.

Integrating urban design and transportation requires wide-ranging familiarity with basic physical planning practice, including: land use, site analysis, regional data analysis, infrastructure design, social policy, neighborhood planning, and economic development.  We are also focused in SCARP on how urban design and transportation planning interact with other sectors including the environment, energy, and public health.  Contemporary practice requires practitioners who are committed to involving the public in design decisions, implementing a sustainability agenda, and working with a variety of stakeholders to ensure that urban design meets the needs of local communities and the wider public.

All UDTP students are encouraged to seek a broad base of training across all areas at SCARP to help them become facilitators of interdisciplinary and multi-faceted discourse.  In addition to physical planning and transportation knowledge, successful urban design and transportation planners must also possess knowledge of land and housing market forces, project approval processes, financial analysis, real estate practice and the workings of the land development field.  Knowing if projects are approvable, marketable, and buildable is the foundation of pragmatic physical planning practice.

Preparation for Professional Practice

SCARP's UDTP prepares students for work in both direct urban design, in which they produce and develop designs, and indirect design, which deals with the guidance and regulation of the design product of others, which is typically undertaken by municipal urban designers and planners (e.g., writing design guidelines, reviewing design, facilitating participatory design processes, producing development standards, making recommendations to policy makers and councils).  Our recent urban design and transportation graduates have quickly found jobs in a variety of direct and indirect design positions working at a wide range of scales in both the public and private sectors as municipal planners, designers, transportation planners, project managers, project programmers, strategic planners, consultants and public participation facilitators. 

SCARP Courses in Urban Design and Transportation

Core Courses - These courses constitute the core of urban design and transportation and are highly recommended.  

Distinguished urban designers are often invited to teach the Advanced Urban Design Studio PLAN 587D (not offered 2011/12) to provide students with varied studio projects, points of view and issues of currency. The intent of this studio is to provide diverse, practical, current and professional experience while engaging Vancouver’s vibrant and thriving design and development communities. Please note that successful completion of PLAN 548L is required before registering for PLAN 587A, which in turn is required for PLAN 587B.

Other SCARP Courses - We recommend that students choose their electives carefully to supplement their core courses and to tailor their program to their specific needs.  Each student’s elective choices should be made in consultation with his/her primary advisor.  Below is a list of recommended electives.

Non-SCARP Courses Relevant to Urban Design and Transportation

The following courses are suggestions and do not represent the exact current offerings. Deparments frequently alter their offerings and we encourage students to independently check course availabilibity. Advisors would also be happy to consider other courses that students bring to their attention.

Landscape Architecture

Architecture

Geography

Commerce

Civil Engineering

Economics

ECON 480 Transportation - Economic characteristics of the provision of transportation services, both passenger and freight; the market structure of the industry and the economic impact of the varying degrees of public regulation and promotion within the industry; the role of economic analysis in resolving problems of Canadian policy.

Related Courses Offered at Simon Fraser University

Resource and Environmental Management

Urban Studies