Urban Design Theory Essay writing

Essays are a major form of assessment at university. Through essays, you develop your understanding of discipline-specific content, strengthen your critical thinking, and develop your ability to translate that thinking into a persuasive written form.

This assignment assesses your understanding of the following Unit Learning Outcomes:

1) understand the historic development of the city and the social, cultural and economic forces at work in its evolution

2) appreciate the range of urban design theories put forward in attempting to explain the city and the broader frameworks within which these theories exist

3) understand the substantive and emerging challenges faced by the contemporary city from the point of view of urban designers

4) demonstrate both critical thinking in the analysis of academic literature and competent written skills in presenting an opinion

Essay Prompt

In an era where the allure of the 20th-century suburban ideal diminishes, cities worldwide grapple with pressing challenges. Sprawling urban landscapes face issues ranging from entrenched reliance on fossil fuels to climate change-induced crises like wildfires and floods, along with widening socio-economic disparities.

This assessment invites students to envision a novel city anywhere across the globe and articulate the urban design theories and strategies they would employ in its design. This proposed intervention could take the form of redevelopment or expansion of an existing city or an entirely new city…”’ Students are expected to select a core urban design theory taught in the unit, such as New Urbanism or Modernism, and apply it to their proposed city location, offering inventive solutions to the multifaceted challenges faced by emerging urban centers worldwide. The essay should also demonstrate how the design would align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with specific attention to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The central query guiding their exploration is: ‘How can an urban design theory contribute to addressing current environmental, societal, economic, or infrastructural challenges encountered by cities on a global scale?

The selected urban design theory must be a core theory taught in the unit

 (e.g.

Arcadian Modernism

The City Beautiful

Modernism

New Urbanism

Green Urbanism

Landscape Urbanism

Climate Sensitive Urban Design

Dubaification)

The essay must be clearly structured with introductory, body and conclusion sections, written in fluent prose (i.e. no bullet points) and closely referenced (using Chicago – Notes & Bibliography). The essay should be up to 1,500 words, and the number of words should be written below the title. Please note that text over the word limit will not be marked.

Your essay should be illustrated with a simple linework diagrams and/or a collage depicting how your selected urban design theory could be deployed to mitigate your challenge. Diagrams can be drawn using paper pens or a digital pen and drawing software. Diagrams should be clearly labelled to explain their key features.

Urban Design Theory Essay writing

In your essay, you must:

1. Identify the location, population capacity, and primary focus(es) (e.g. administrative, industrial, residential, resort) of your future city development.
2. Outline the context of this development and justify your choice of location.
3. Identify urban design theories that you would apply in the master planning of the city.
4. Explain how the application of these theories to the design of your city would allow it to address UN Sustainable Development Goals.
5.  Refer to at least 5 high quality, peer reviewed academic sources

The essays are marked concerning:

1. Structure: Clear paragraph purpose; Develops a strong argument throughout; Identifiable introduction and conclusion
2. Analysis: Reference to theories encountered in the unit; Evidence of more profound examination of themes/ ideas beyond secondary sources; Presents own argument (originality)
3. Diagrams: Presents a spatial understanding of theories encountered in the unit
4. Clarity of written expression
5.   Appropriate referencing and scope of sources

You can also refer to the following documents in the Resources section:

• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Atlas for the End of the World (information about global biodiversity and urban impacts)
• Map of Global Climate Risk Zones from IPCC data (Refer to page 6 of

Bolleter, Julian, Bill Grace, and Robert Freestone. “Preparing Australia for a potential surge in environmental migration.” Australian Planner 58, no. 1-2 (2022): 11-24.)

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