Identify the principal formative periods of European urban design and planning

Assessment Information:

CA1 and CA2 are connected, so it is important to look ahead to CA2 (Field-Guide) and the topic and theme you wish to focus on for this, and use the CA1 (Portfolio) as a way of scoping the field-work.

1) CA1 The Desk-Top Study—‘Portfolio’—Assessment Brief

The Portfolio is a ‘desk-top study’ drawing together material relating to the topic and theme selected for CA2, the Field-Guide.The focus for the Portfolio will be discussed in class, and developed through the class-room sessions which includes students informally presenting their portfolio research and gaining feedback on this prior to writing up and submission.

The Portfolio should include annotated maps of the case-study locations/sites, as well as interpretative text explaining the theme being explored through these case studies of urban landscapes, citing relevant academic literature and addressing methodological tasks undertaken in the scoping work. References should be included in the text as well as a bibliography (using the Harvard system).

The topic for the Portfolio (and Field-Guide) is open but the subject matter and focus should be aligned with at least three of the following GGY2064 ‘learning outcomes’, as listed here:

Identify the principal formative periods of European urban design and planning;

Assess the contribution of particular urban designs and plans, past and present, to debates on how urban landscapes should be formed;

Understand social and cultural processes that shape urban landscapes, both in historical and contemporary contexts through case study examples and field-study;

Understand how historic urban landscapes are managed in contemporary contexts;

Critically evaluate what academics (ie. Geographers and historians), and practitioners (ie. Architects and planners), have written on urban landscapes;

Synthesise interdisciplinary concepts and ideas used in the study of urban landscapes.

The Portfolio must not exceed 8 pages of A4. Please ensure pages are numbered. Use annotations and extended captions for images, and ensure these are discussed in the text. The balance between text and images should be around 50:50. The Portfolio is worth 40% of the module mark overall. Deadline for submission of CA1 is Tuesday 4^th March 2025, by 23.59hr, via Canvas.

Deadline Tuesday March 4^th 2025, 15.30hr. Submit via Canvas, please submit as PDF

2)  CA2 The Field-Study—‘Field-Guide’—Assessment Brief

The Field-Guide (CA2) builds on the Portfolio (CA1) and is the field-based assessment for GGY2064 using information identified and gathered on urban landscapes during field-trips in Northern Ireland. Field-visits will comprise an itinerary to different urban locations, potentially Downpatrick, London~Derry, Armagh, Enniskillen and Drogheda, and so it is advisable that your Field-Guide (and Portfolio) focuses on at least one of these.

A Field-Guide is a ‘toolkit’ for aiding field-interpretation, identification and analysis, and not simply a description of sites. With this in mind, the Field-Guide should address a particular audiences’ needs (and identify who the audience is), and be instructive on what to look for in the field (ie which sites and where) and how these can be analysed and understood (ie with types, exemplars and tools). The Field-Guide needs to have a clearly defined topic and purpose (following CA1), combining local sites visited in situ, in the field, together with interpretative material, including information gathered during the field-trip (eg from museums, galleries, as well as through our local guides and with supporting, secondary material collected, such as maps and visitor information).

Exemplars of Field-Guides will be provided but have a search too and think about what works well. Creating a Field-Guide will test your knowledge and understanding of the topic, the localities, and an ability to synthesise different sources including field-evidence. It should include material gathered in the field, including photographs and sketches, observations, and supporting evidence such as maps and reading (referencing using Harvard). The Field-Guide must not exceed 12 A4 pages. Please ensure pages are numbered. Use annotations and extended captions for images, and ensure these are discussed in the text. Balance between text and images should be around 50:50. The Field-Guide is worth 60% of the module mark overall. Deadline for submission of CA2 is Wednesday 14^th May 2025, by 23.59hr, via Canvas.

Deadline Wednesday May 14^th 2025, 15.30hr. Submit via Canvas, please submit as PDF

Identify the principal formative periods of European urban design and planning

Assess the contribution of particular urban designs and plans, past and present, to debates on how urban landscapes should be formed