Urban Planning and Design

Architecture and urban planning are at the core of creating ecologically and socially sustainable environments. The paradigm of human-centred design needs to be turned toward a more holistic and post-humanistic approach. The 27th IFHP Urban Planning and Design Summer School invites students and professionals in urban planning and design, architecture, and urban studies to elaborate on city spaces as places of being. Relativity, everyday practices and negotiations, rewilding, and new approaches to heritage are just some aspects of the inspiring field of possibilities.

Course leader

Tampere University’s School of Architecture and Aalto University’s Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering Group, in collaboration with the city of Pori (2023) and the International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP)

Target group

University students (bachelors, masters and postgraduates) from disciplines related to urban and spatial planning, and young professionals (urban planners, architects, sociologists, geographers and others dealing with the built environment).

Course aim

The IFHP Urban Planning and Design Summer School is based on an intensive workshop taking place in a Finnish case study city. This year we are collaborating with Pori, a coastal city in southwestern Finland. The workshop includes hands-on collaboration with diverse actors, such as professional designers and planners, stakeholders, and activists. Working in small groups, the participants create their own site analyses and design proposals that answer real questions emerging from the given site and its context. The projects are developed in a semi-realistic manner through interaction with planners and experts in planning education and research.

In addition to the workshop taking place in Pori, the course includes a two-day stay in Helsinki with high-quality lectures and a city tour, a study trip to Tampere, and social events.

Credits info

5 EC
The course entitles participants to five (5) ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits. For completing the course, the participant is expected to complete the individual pre-assignment, the summer school workshop, and the project done during it, as well as some reading and studying to be done before the course. Students may negotiate the credits with their university.

Fee info

EUR 620: The fee includes teaching, the travel cost to the case study city and the accommodation during the workshop period (August 16-26). The excursion costs and some social activities are also included in the course fee. Participants are expected to find their own accommodations for the first two nights of the summer school in Helsinki (August 14–16) and cover their travel costs to Finland as well as local travel and living expenses during their stay in Finland.

Scholarships

We are unfortunately not in the position to grant any scholarships or other subsidies.