Planning Systems and Procedures URBAN5157

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course focuses on the organisational, legal, institutional and procedural dimensions of city planning. It provides an in-depth understanding of planning systems and procedures. While special reference is made to the UK in general, and Scotland in particular, the course has an integral comparative dimension where international examples are considered.

Timetable

30 hours of timetabled on-campus teaching in Semester 1 delivered in 3 hourly blocks (1.5 hours lecture + 1.5 hours workshop), once per week, over 10 consecutive weeks.

Requirements of Entry

Mandatory Entry Requirements:

None

 

Recommended Entry Requirements:

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

A Group Oral Presentation (15-minutes) and short summary (500 words) of a city planning statement exploring the legal control of development written and developed in response to a site allocated in a land use plan (30%). An Independent Essay (2,500 words) critically analysing the relationship between planning concepts, planning law and policy, and implementation with the use of current examples from practice (2,500 words) [70%]

Course Aims

Planning Systems and Procedures aims to acquaint students with the nature, purpose, organisation and processes of city planning systems with a special focus on their institutional, legal and procedural components. The course will familiarise students with the planning systems and procedures in the UK in general, and Scotland in particular. The course critically engages contemporary planning practices, debates, controversies, issues, and concerns. It highlights planning as a state directed practice that seeks to give a geographical expression to economic, social, cultural and ecological policies of society within a spatial setting. The course recognises that, as a system of governance, spatial planning grapples with issues that involve complex geographical, legal, environmental, economic, social, and political factors. As such, Planning Systems and Procedures introduces students to the complex and contentious world of urban spatial planning.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Describe and critique the concept and practice of city planning and how development is legally control through the planning system.

■ Describe and assess planning law as it relates to legal and institutional frameworks.

■ Judge and formulate coherent arguments on contemporary issues in city planning and assess and contribute to key planning debates and the planning literature.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.

 

Minimum requirement for award of credit for students on MSc City Planning and MSc Real Estate Development is D3 or above.

 

University standard regulations apply for students on all other qualifications.