Postgraduate taught 

City Planning MSc

Development Process URBAN5037

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • School: School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Credits: 10
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes

Short Description

Actors within the development process should strive to deliver places where people want to live, work, relax and invest. This course examines the nature of real estate development as a production process, the quality of the built environment and its relationship to broader social, economic and political forces.

Timetable

Classes to run in Semester 1 in 3 hourly blocks spread over six weeks with a 3 hour IT lab in week seven and one-to-one 15 minute meeting in the eighth week.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Assessment:

The course will be assessed through practical work, which will enable students to apply the main principles of real estate development by bringing forward and testing proposals for a specific urban development. This will be an individual report (maximum 2,500 words) which represented 100% of the course summative assessment.

Course Aims

The aim of this course is to understand the process of real estate development and its relationship to broader social, economic and political forces.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

In accordance with the specific and evidenced competency requirements of the accreditation bodies (RICS and RTPI), by the end of the course, participants should be able to:

■ illustrate and assess how the demand for housing, commercial and mixed-use development products and the supply of development opportunities are driven by social and economic change and political decisions;

■ explain the roles played by different actors in the development process and assess the potential for collaboration or conflict between them;

■ recognise the significance of development constraints and evaluate different ways in which they might be overcome;

■ apply policy and market research and analysis to selecting appropriate development products;

■ test alternative forms of site development in relation to their acceptability, marketability and suitability, and where appropriate, recommend modifications to enhance these criteria;

■ explain the values underlying interpretations of sustainability, and reflect on the contested nature of the concepts of economic, social and sustainable development and explore the implications for urban design policy, spatial planning and urban management;

■ evaluate effectiveness of alternative design approaches, and developments in the policy agenda that have emphasised the design/physical dimension of regeneration;

■ collect market research and analyse an array of information sources to select appropriate development products and determine how best to market them; and

■ present analysis and findings in written, verbal and graphic forms.

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, MSc City Planning & Real Estate Development, MSc International Real Estate & Management and MSc Real Estate is D3 or above.

 

University standard regulations apply for students on all other qualifications.