Social-Ecological Urbanism

The master thesis direction Social-Ecological Urbanism is an urban design and planning direction engaged in the form and structure of cities and how their design can be used to

create urban environments that promote citizens health and wellbeing, but also increase biodiversity and reduce climate change impact. The understanding of the intriguing relation between the city as we design and materialize it and the urban life that it affords, is central for this direction. Literature, seminars and spatial analysis tools help you to assess whether your proposed design interventions contribute to the set goals in the thesis.

The thematic focus can differ across projects but what connects them is that the proposed design solutions simultaneously support social-economic goals and ecological goals. For example, projects that propose densification in support of walkability should also take into consideration the negative impact densification might have on biodiversity. This will call for innovative spatial solution that combine densification with urban greening. What further connects the projects is the combined design-analysis approach where the role of architecture and urban design to support e.g. walkability or biodiversity is made explicit. We believe that such a research-based design is required to live up to the great expectations of cities to contribute to a more sustainable future. Research-based design supports design decision with empirical evidence, tests proposals using advanced spatial analysis to deliver designs that are both esthetically appealing but also perform as is aimed for.

Primarily, master thesis projects should be design-oriented and, in line with this direction, base design choices on urban theories, empirical evidence and spatial analysis. We also support more theoretical thesis if they take a clear position in how this will affect the practice of urbanism. The scale of projects can range from a few urban blocks to city districts or a whole city.

The purpose of the preparation course is to develop and finalize your project plan. under the guidance of assigned examiner(s) and supervisor(s). During the preparation course, you explore specific theories and design methods associated with social-ecological urbanism. This will help you to, first, evaluate design alternatives using spatial analysis. Second, urban theories and empirical studies are discussed to develop a better understanding how the urban environment affects human health and wellbeing, ecosystem services, economic activities, etc. Next, this knowledge is actively used to steer the development of cities in directions of greater sustainability and resilience. The use of analytic tools such as GIS (Geographic information system) will for many projects be important and tutorials are available for those with no prior knowledge. The final deliverance in the course is a project plan.​

Independent of the type and scale of the project, the project plan will be evaluated based on a clear description of the problem you want to address, the knowledge gap, the research question related to that, the method you propose to help you find an answer and finally, a hypothesis in the form of the spatial solution. The thesis will be assessed by its design qualities, but especially the evidence base that is used for the design decisions or recommendations. This means that the thesis must give a well-argued spatial answer to the problem described where both theoretical and analytical arguments can be used to support design decisions.​

Besides a powerful title and relevant image or sketch, the choice for the type and scale of the project, the project plan should include the following:

• Problem description where especially the spatial dimension should be emphasized
• Background where the larger context should be described including knowledge gaps and relevance for practice
• General aim and specific purpose of the project (link to the ´problem description´ and ´background´)
• Delimitations (that is, what will not be addressed in the thesis)
• Theories, methods and tools that will be used
• Schematics drawings that provides an overview of your topic: spatial dimension of the problem and spatial strategies to address these problems based on theories or your own hypothesis
• Project references to clarify what kind of final product you have in mind
• Time schedule and students’ background and skills, relevant to the project (related to theories, methods and analysis tools)​