Under-Graduate Programme of Studies

 

• Urban Planning, Regeneration & Development(compulsory course of 10th semester)

The basic goal of this course is to promote critical thinking and comprehending of the basic characteristics of urban planning, as well as the urban regeneration and development strategies. In addition, a familiarization with some of the newest ideas in the field of international urban planning is offered.

 

• Planning Theories (compulsory course of 3rd semester)

The content of this course refers to the presentation, explanation and critical review of theories on planning, as articulated by theorists of Urban and Regional Planning or as they have been and keep being implemented through policies on space. This is an issue particularly timely, because at an international level we have reached a point where theory 'returns' in close connection to implementation after long periods of catalytic dominance of practice.The course refers to the following issues: theory-practice connection - typologies of planning theories,  introduction to planning theories, rationality and decision, definitions and planning processes, models and roles of planning, systems theory and rational theories (comprehensive planning), alternative forms of planning, 'pop' urban studies, why we plan and other questions, the issue of meaning - the semiotic dimension and analysis of the importance of moral values regarding the role of the planner.

 

• Place Marketing (elective course of 5th, 7th & 9th semester)

The expediency of the course is the combination of issues of urban planning, spatial planning and development (i.e. the three basic directions of DPRD) through a modern perspective. The geographic dimension of place marketing concerns mainly regions and the cities (in the latter there is talk of city marketing). More specifically, the course intends to the succession of the following learning outcomes: the acquisition of knowledge about place marketing, which constitutes an innovative subject for the Greek field of planning, the understanding of contemporary issues and concepts related both to place marketing and the marketing field in general, the composition of proposals for the strategic promotion and publicity of places, and the synthesis of integrated marketing plans.

 

• Tourism and Leisure Planning (compulsory course of 9th semester)

The aim of the course focuses on students who are interested in working as planners, or in organizations dealing with tourism and leisure activities. More specifically, the course intends to the succession of the following learning outcomes: the acquisition of knowledge on issues related to tourism and culture, the understanding of contemporary issues and concepts regarding tourism development, the elaboration of proposals for tourism activities and the critical evaluation of the relevant measures, plans and policies.

 

• Planning and Management of Special Events (elective course of 6th, 8th & 10th semester)

The objective of the course concerns mainly two levels:

a) the level of the opportunity of the students to get to know something new, with a high indicator of active participation,
and b) the level of taking advantage of the previous knowledge, combined with a deeper cultivation, in connection with the professional field.
The expediency of the course is the combination of issues of Planning and Development (i.e. the three basic directions of DPRD) through a modern perspective. The geographic dimension of PME  mainly concerns medium and large the cities. More specifically, the course intends to the succession of the following learning outcomes: the acquisition of knowledge on issues related to special event planning and tourism, the understanding of contemporary issues and concepts related to the organization of special events, the analysis and evaluation of the impacts on the hosting cities, the composition of proposals concerning the hosting of special events.

 

The Laboratory of Tourism Planning, Research & Policy runs the MSc "Tourism & Cultural Planning & Development" -in cooperation with the UTH Department of Economics.

 

Participation in MSc "Urban & Regional Planning"

 

• Planning and Space Theory (compulsory course of winter semester)

The objective of the course concerns mainly two levels: The subjects covered by the course concern the theoretical approaches to spatial planning on the scales of the city, the metropolitan area and the region. Indicatively, the course analyzes and presents the following aspects: planning and space typologies and theories, the evolution of the urban planning ‘schools’, comprehensive planning, systems theory, structuralism, radical theories, liberal theories, pragmatism - realism, equity planning, postmodernism and new urbanism, new urban landscapes of the postindustrial city, the connection between urban morphology and urban tourism, the concept of place identity in the era of a globalized economy and of a multicultural society, space - time relation, communicative rationality - collaborative planning, complexity / chaos theory, planning and the markets, moral values​​, space and semiotics, the representation of the city in cinema.

 

• Urban Policy (compulsory course of winter semester)

The course covers a central subject to urban planning, which also has a special significance for regional planning due to the interaction of urban and regional planning policies. It analyzes in depth a number of issues which cover many components of urban policy and which have played an important role in shaping the current urban reality and/ or are expected to significantly affect the evolution of urban space in the coming years. The lectures concern the  following topics:

1. The classics of urban theory  and international urban policy till 1940

2. The international postwar urban policy

3. Regulatory and strategic plans

4. European Union and urban policy

5. Urban social problems and planning

6. Urban governance

7. New trends in urban space policies

8. Environmental urban planning.

 

• Special Topics in Spatial Policy (compulsory course of summer semester)

The topics that are analysed are revised on a yearly basis. For the academic period 2012-13, the course approached the topics below:

1. Enviromental Urban Planning and Climate Change

2. Urban Sprawl and Off-plan Constructions

3. Social Cohesion and Competitiveness

4. Spatial Cohesion of the European Union

5. Greek Urban Policy during the last 20 years

6. Greek Key Priorities for the new programming period of EU Cohesion Policy (2014-2020)

7. Causes of Shrinking Cities

8. Cultural Tourism in Magnesia.

The main aim of the course is the in-depth analysis of special -theoretical or practical- spatial topics. These topics can be of either timeless importance or particular relevance in the current period. By the end of the course, highly specialised knowledge and sharpening of critical thinking will have been acquired  by the post-graduate students.

 

• Leisure Activities & Urban Regenaration (elective course of summer semester)

The course sheds light on scientific subjects such as: strategic planning, competitiveness and city marketing, the set-up of criteria for a sustainable urban regeneration, creative cities, mega-events, protection of the cultural heritage, leisure planning in cities. The basic element of  the course is the inter-disciplinary approach of the spatio-temporal dimension of the complex phenomenon of leisure time (tourism-culture-sports-entertainment).