Master of Urban Design

Students will undertake introductory abstract design exercises in the first half of semester providing the foundation for a major urban design proposition and the development of that proposition for end of semester assessment.

This subject covers an introduction to a broad range of urban design issues and design approaches which may include: the scope, opportunities, complexities and responsibilities of urban design; urban design issues, elements and systems: analytical and design skills for generating and testing alternative approaches to the urban design development of specific sites; the role of urban design within a given spatial, social, economic and political context.

The studio sessions are augmented with lectures and seminars in other subjects devoted to current urban design practice and theory.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Students will undertake a series of in depth, critical and propositional studio-based design esquisses or exercises leading to a major exploratory urban design proposition. Their design proposition will investigate one or more key urban design issues or approaches in depth.

This subject touches on a range of urban design issues and design approaches including use of urban analytics in the design process, the scope, opportunities, complexities and responsibilities of urban design; urban design issues, elements and systems: analytical and design skills for generating and testing alternative approaches to the urban design development of specific sites; the role of urban design within a given spatial, social, economic and political context.

Students will undertake a series of studio-based design esquisses or exercises leading to a major exploratory urban design proposition. Their design proposition will investigate one or more key urban design issues or approaches in depth.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores contemporary theories and modes of critique relating to the design of the urban public realm. Emphasis is on how urban physical form responds to the economic, cultural, political, social, aesthetic and natural forces of an urbanised area. Assignments and class papers require students to critically engage with a broad range of theoretical positions, and relate them to local conditions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This aim of this subject is to study the legal framework within which urban planning takes place, and the ways that local provisions (e.g. ‘Planning Schemes' in Victoria) are prepared and administered to implement plans. The subject focuses on the legal frameworks and mechanisms used in Australia, with particular emphasis on Victoria. There is some critical comparison with alternative approaches used in other jurisdictions.

The intentions of the subject for students are threefold:
1. To understand the basis of key statutory processes and subsequently be able to undertake key entry-level statutory tasks that are of value to practitioners.
2. To develop skills that can be used for ongoing learning in statutory planning and planning law.
3. To critically consider existing planning processes, and ways they might be changed to achieve better outcomes.

The subject begins by establishing the role of regulation and laws in the processes and governance of urban planning, and the objectives that statutory planning seeks. The possible tensions and conflicts between these objectives, and the different approaches that might be adopted in dealing with these are considered. Through the lens of statutory planning, the challenges of climate change, recognition of indigenous cultural heritage, and professional ethics are examined alongside the pressures of ongoing population growth and development that seeks overall social, economic and environmental goals.

The main processes and roles of Victorian statutory planning process are covered in detail, addressing the amendment of planning schemes, permitting processes, scheme administration and reviews (appeals). Finally, the relationship between these urban planning systems and other regulatory systems, such as Commonwealth environmental legislation and indigenous processes are examined, before turning to the question of possible reforms.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores planning and policy making for productive and competitive urban settlements by investigating the economic drivers, activities, and interrelationships of cities and regions. You will examine how making and moving of goods, services, and jobs shapes the vitality, structure and governance of cities and regions. Complex planning issues, requiring judgements about the competing demands of economic development and social needs, are associated with the growth and decline of sectors and places in their particular urban contexts. Various economic perspectives and examples are used to show and interpret how urban activities and sectors – such as manufacturing, transport, services, recreation, and creative activities – have locational and network impacts within and between cities. Special attention will be paid to comparative analysis and innovation in developing cities and regions, and to the implications of market failures and inequalities produced by economic development activities, and to crucial socio-economic agendas including Indigenous issues.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces students to the theories, skills and tools used in strategic planning, from problem identification and site analysis; through demographic, economic, and social background research, including GIS; identification of alternatives and policy development; to creating an implementation, monitoring and evaluation plan.
There is a strong international comparative emphasis to this subject, including a focus on 'the real world' of governance in relation to ongoing debates about inclusive, socially just and environmentally sustainable cities.

This subject involves a site visit (field trip) which will run in place of the lecture and tutorial in week three. The site visit is an assessment hurdle requirement and students will be required to cover the local public transport costs.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Students will undertake a series of in depth, critical and propositional studio-based design esquisses or exercises leading to a major exploratory urban design proposition scheme. Their design proposition will investigate one or more key urban design issues or approaches in depth, whilst demonstrating a thorough understanding of the broader implications of their proposal.
This subject integrates a range of urban design issues and design approaches including use of urban analytics in the design process; parametric urbanism; complex adaptive systems; Pareto efficiency; the scope, opportunities, complexities and responsibilities of urban design; urban design issues, elements and systems: analytical and design skills for generating and testing alternative approaches to the urban design development of specific sites; exploring the potential the role of urban design within a given spatial, social, economic and political context.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is the culmination of each student's studies in Master of Urban Design. It will consist of a number of autonomous studio groups offering a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate an original approach to design synthesis in urban design, which is based on research and critical thinking. These studios will offer an interdisciplinary experience, and in some cases students may be working alongside others in a parallel design discipline.

Students will be expected to demonstrate mastery of conceptual engagement with the shaping of urban space, design resolution, and aesthetic expression.

With course coordinator approval, high-achieving students may undertake the Urban Design Thesis as an individually supervised design investigation. Similarly, under exceptional circumstances and with course coordinator approval, the Urban Design Thesis may be undertaken as a written thesis (see ABPL90067).

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores different understandings and expressions of social exclusion and inclusion in the city; what these contested concepts mean for urban planning; and how professional practice can respond to fashion inclusive cities. Case studies, working policy and theoretical perspectives are used to highlight key features of planning for inclusive cities, including for specific population groups like youth, Aboriginals, the disabled, older persons, refugees and women. Students will examine the lived experience of disadvantage in the city, analyse urban issues through different theoretical lenses and study relevant urban policy and project responses to promote inclusive cities.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores ways to achieve global housing equity in informal settlements. Urbanisation and densification are the two most powerful processes that impact the quality of life in cities. While cities offer better opportunities through education, healthcare, employment and transport, poorly planned urbanization reinforce the already present challenges of poverty, informality, affordable housing, climate change, and inequity. As one billion urban residents lack access to affordable and secure housing and basic services, urban informality continues to challenge current approaches to urban development.

The Cities Without Slums subject will provide students with intellectual and creative tools to explore and explain the process of urbanization, the importance of housing, policies that give rise to slum formation and the persistence of slums. Specifically, this subject will:

• equip students with a critical mindset to analyse emerging ‘best-practice’ over the years and the roles of institutions in influencing and/or formulating national urbanization, housing and slum upgrading policies.
• engage students in making use of practice-oriented research, to employ case studies from around the globe and explore government-led, community-led, and community/local government partnership approaches to slum upgrading and the delivery of land and provision of basic services in the context of urban governance.
• help prepare students to effectively examine cross-cutting topics that underwrite inclusive and sustainable, well-managed cities, including regulatory frameworks, security of tenure, housing finance, land use and transport interaction and linkages, and affordable house designs.

The widening participation and collaboration that is happening between and across the public and private sectors as well as with civil society and the urban poor communities is an acknowledgment of the diverse roles actors and agencies can play, both in the Global South and the Global North, in shaping better cities for all.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Informal settlement is a process of citizen-driven architecture, urban design and planning that has become the primary form of urban development in cities of the global South. It is a mode of urban production that operates without state authorization yet always in complex relations with formal state control. This subject will provide an introduction to the theories and practices of informal settlement together with a critique of various modes of professional engagement with the challenges of upgrading substandard conditions. The class will engage with the following questions and issues:

• where do informal settlements emerge in relation to the formal city and why?
• How are informal settlements designed and planned in terms of street/laneway networks, building typologies, density, functional mix and public space?
• How are informal settlement practices and forms geared to the livelihoods of the urban poor in terms of informal transport and street trading?
• How does informal settlement relate to sub-standard outcomes including tenure insecurity, services, overcrowding and overdevelopment.
• What professional engagements with upgrading and redevelopment practices are possible.

This is a fundamentally interdisciplinary subject that connects architecture, urban design and planning with landscape, property and construction. There will be scope for students to explore disciplinary specific topics within the subject.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides a coverage of the different systems significant in the design of buildings, which are described in terms of 3 interlocking systems: human, mechanical and natural systems.

Human Systems
• Concepts of environmental comfort: heat, light and sound
• Occupational Health, Safety and Environment
• Post-Occupancy Evaluation

Mechanical Systems
• energy efficiency, alternative energy sources and energy management
• active solar heating and cooling systems;
• electrical, telecommunications, transportation and building management systems;
• air-conditioning system designs; refrigeration, heating and air handling plants;
• façade design, natural ventilation and mixed mode systems;
• displacement ventilation, evaporative cooling and radiant cooling systems;
• special servicing conditions
• acoustical design and noise control

Natural Systems
• passive design techniques for buildings
• waste and water treatment techniques, WSUD (water sensitive urban design)
• green infrastructure and ecological services
• integrated greenery – green roofs and vertical greenery

Sustainable building standards like Green Star and NABERS will also be introduced and used in the discourse of the lectures.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores computational design and optimisation as methods for generating, evaluating, and refining architectural design proposals. Students engage with parametric modelling, rule-based systems, and algorithmic thinking to develop computational workflows that are both iterative and performance-oriented.

Topics include pseudo-randomness and parametric logic, structural and environmental optimisation, and the use of optimisation algorithms to explore design variations and support informed decision-making. Emphasis is placed on integrating computational techniques into architectural design processes, bridging conceptual thinking with technical execution.

While little to no prior experience with computational design is assumed, students are expected to independently learn the required tools and platforms (e.g., Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper). The subject moves at a fast pace, and active engagement with the technical content is essential for success.

Students will learn core computational design techniques, frame design problems computationally, apply optimisation and machine learning methods, and critically examine the interplay between design thinking and design computing.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino

Prescribed software tools
Image editing software
Vector editing software
Layout software

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

Urban design is concerned with the shaping of public space at multiple spatial scales from lanes, streets and squares to the neighbourhoods and districts of the larger metropolis. Urban codes are the institutionalised principles governing the formation of public space, including morphology and forms of expression. This subject emphasises the development of urban design knowledge that is of value to urban planners and other related professionals, while critically reflecting on urban design as it is practised. Students will develop understandings of the nature of urban design, and the roles of other professionals in relation to it. The fundamental qualities of urban places are examined from an urban design perspective. These understandings form the basis of skills development in using urban codes as planning tools to achieve desirable urban design outcomes. An integrated program of lectures, studio workshops, fieldwork, and teamwork provide the basis for developing urban design understandings. Students will undertake hands-on urban design work, while reflecting critically upon the role of urban design, and the manner in which planning and urban design are interconnected.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on impacts of digital technologies on professional practice and services. It explores issues such as emerging forms of professional practice, status of professional knowledge and skills, use and value of digital information in design, and digital fabrication and assembly of contemporary buildings. The subject involves guest lectures by practicing designers and case studies of real projects.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces graphic skills appropriate to design and building. These skills are taught through a series of constructed and freehand drawing assignments essential to the design thinking process. Graphic skills are developed through tutorials and lectures which are held in the studios and outdoors. Emphasis is given to the development of orthographic and perspective drawing, delineation and representation of form and volume.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This elective focuses on integration of geospatial data into iterative, procedural, rapid, large-scale design modelling, using a range of emerging tools including GIS, 3D modelling, CIM (Civil Information Models) and associated scripts and plugins. In this subject you will develop methods to model and interact with complex built form, difficult terrains and integrate social, environmental, and ecological data into your design decision-making.

This subject offers an opportunity to build upon prior skills and interest in areas such as biomorphic form making, 3D printing, photogrammetry, agent-based simulation, particle systems, material networks, online mapping, GIS analysis, motion graphics and performance-based design. It is recommended for students of urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk Civil 3D
Autodesk 3Ds Max
QGIS (Opensource)
Prescribed software programs with a cost
Chaos Group Vray
Prescribed software tools
Layout software

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject provides students the opportunity to undertake a vocational placement accompanied by academic objectives that is supervised by a Melbourne School of Design staff member. The vocational placement will enable the student to gain applied experience and reflect on the experience, both theoretically and in an applied manner.

This subject is available to students who have no more than 100 credit points outstanding within a Melbourne School of Design coursework masters or double master degrees, with the exception of the Master of Urban and Cultural Heritage (MC-UCH).

Students are responsible for identifying a suitable work placement prior to enrolment. Details on the steps required to set up the Vocational Placement are detailed here: https://edsc.unimelb.edu.au/graduate/subject-options/internships-vocational-placements.

The suitability of the host organisation must be approved by a subject coordinator. Approvals and formal agreements should ideally be completed not later than 2 weeks after the start of semester.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces the concepts of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its application in landscape architecture, urban planning and development. It will:

• introduce the origin and development of GIS respect to landscape architecture, urban planning and development;
• introduce basic GIS concepts, data structure, data format, and data management;
• introduce fundamental GIS operations such as digitising, overlay analysis, spatial analysis, hydrological analysis, 3D analysis, etc.;
• address key issues of applying GIS in planning, design and development, such as landscape capacity and suitability analysis, urban heat island analysis, water sensitive urban design, property management, etc.;
• place how GIS will facilitate site analysis, inform decision making and improve efficiency and productivity in planning, design and development.

The subject will be delivered through lectures/guest lectures, lab tutorials, workshops and practical sessions synthesising dominant themes in this fields of using GIS as tool to achieve sustainable design and ecological landscape planning.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
ESRI ArcGIS Pro

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores the notion of resilience and its application to the planning, design and management of urban settlements at various scales. The notion of resilience is related to the capacity of systems to adapt to disruptions without them changing to entirely different states, which in the case of human settlements often results in catastrophic consequences for the inhabitants. The subject will explore approaches for enhancing existing settlements, as well as creating new ones, to be better prepared to confront future environmental changes, both predicted and unpredicted, as they occur, with a focus on changes associated with climate change, such as increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, as well as more gradual changes, such as rising sea levels. Students will explore ways of decreasing the vulnerability of urban settlements to these types of risks and while at the same time promoting sustainable development through planning and design interventions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides insight into the design briefing process for a range of facilities, with a specific focus on learning and health environments. Key issues addressed include how to effectively engage with users/occupants of buildings, collect data about their organisational objectives, activities and spatial requirements, and strategically link such information to the work of architects and other design consultants.

The subject examines evidence-based design, effective planning processes that include stakeholder engagement and consultation, change management, spatial literacy, and workplace cultures and pedagogies. Participants will develop skills associated with developing strategic briefs that translate organisational objectives and patterns of activity into spatial requirements, including affinity and relationship diagrams.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Demographic ageing is creating a shift in how to think and define homes, cities and public spaces. This subject explores feasible and sustainable approaches to keep the older segment of the population physically and socially active. Innovative changes in design can lead to significant advancements in service delivery, transportation models and homes that allow people to age in place. In addition, design principles for dementia and palliative care are a few of the many concepts that help minimise stress on people as they age and their families. Students will explore these topics and develop their own ideas about the way design can optimise the ageing process for comfort, security and overall well-being.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The implication of climate change on the liveability of cities is becoming increasingly apparent. This seminar explores the issue of heat and thermal comfort in the design of the public domain.

This intensive is open to design students (architecture, landscape architecture and urban design) and planners. We will explore the potentials of contemporary digital tools (simulation, Rhino and grasshopper) and data (including sensors and real-time) combined with current theoretical writings crossing climate change science, cultural studies and digital design to develop innovative design and planning responses.

Students will research and explore a range of techniques including data capture, the use of simulation software and engage critical analysis of design precedents to produce a design proposition for a site in Melbourne which responds directly to the issues of a warming climate.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk Simulation (CFD)
Grasshopper
Ladybug tools
Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino
Prescribed software tools
Image editing software (e.g. Affinity Photo)
Vector editing software (e.g. Affinity Designer)
Layout software (e.g. Affinity Publisher)

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

Placemaking is a worldwide movement focusing on the process, development and design of public or shared semi-private places through the active participation of the citizens. The aim of placemaking is to achieve place attachment which is linked to positive citizenship, health and safety. This subject outlines and critiques the placemaking process in relation to the long-term benefits of place. The subject is based on case-studies, and provides lectures and practical exercises on the critical steps of placemaking. Topics include: governance and community engagement strategies, negotiation processes, place evaluation, integrating nature into place and the economics of place. Different models for placemaking will be explored such as tactical urbanism, guerrilla urbanism, creative placemaking and regenerative placemaking. The subject has been written by the Place Agency Consortium, a group of five universities working towards enhancing place co-creation capacity in students and industry.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject prepares students for environmental management roles by providing them with the principles of how human impacts on the environment might be detected and managed. The principles will be placed within the legal and social contexts of environmental impact assessment. At the completion of the subject, students should understand three aspects: prediction of the kind of changes that might occur with human activities; the design and implementation of proper monitoring programs that can detect changes; and assessment of those changes. Additionally, a strong emphasis is placed on the practical implementation of principles.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Environmental sustainability issues are often complex, controversial and associated with uncertain conditions. Multiple individuals and organisations may have an interest or stake in the problem, may have relevant expertise or resources, or may contribute to decision-making and management. Developing, implementing and evaluating pathways for sustainable futures thus often requires cooperation across institutions, sectors, and communities. Private, public and not-for-profit sectors; local, national, regional and global jurisdictions; disciplinary, practitioner, local, and Indigenous knowledges: these all have different commitments, priorities, and ways of working. How do we successfully translate and collaborate across these areas, and how does this support transformational change for sustainable futures?

As highlighted by Sustainable Development Goal 17 (Partnerships), the collaborative capacity of individuals and organisations cannot be taken for granted, and instead requires the careful and critical development of a specific set of professional competencies. In this subject, students apply critical and reflexive thinking to professional practices that are crucial to leading effective partnerships for environmental sustainability, and which are highly valued in environmental sectors. Incorporating perspectives and practices from a range of environmental professions and disciplines, the subject develops students’ capacity for building, maintaining and evaluating partnerships in applying environmental expertise to decision-making and action for sustainable futures.

The subject focuses on the following questions:

• What kinds of partnerships are important in integrating environmental expertise and applying it to decision-making and action for sustainable futures, and why?
• What are the challenges for environmental professionals in developing such partnerships and collaborating effectively across organisations, sectors, forms of expertise, and communities?
• What skills and strategies can assist environmental professionals in developing, leading and maintaining effective partnerships with positive outcomes?
• How can we evaluate and learn from the collaborative processes and outcomes of partnerships?

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject is a critical and creative introduction to some of the contemporary tools and techniques that are required in the practice of urban design. It connects a theoretical backdrop to the practices of urban designers, as well as those of related built environment disciplines like architects, landscape architects, urban planners and strategists, and urban technologists.

It emphasises links between ideas and practice — particularly focusing on the various ways that urban change is produced or emerges — including fieldwork techniques focused on Melbourne’s Central Business District. It also explores various ways of graphically representing change, dynamics and evolution of urban environments, systems, and places.

The subject involves a group design exercise, called Incomplete City. This design studio-like ‘sprint’ runs through the middle weeks of the subject, and involves the creation of a city from scratch, produced by working in small teams which ultimately come together in the form of a giant collective drawing, developing collaboration, participation and visualisation skills as well as understanding new forms of urban infrastructure and technology.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is a two week intensive design studio held typically on the first two weeks of July. The workshop will be run by visiting staff from the Architectural Association, School of Architecture, UK as well as teaching staff from MSD. The subject introduces students to contemporary digital design techniques, toolset and workflow, striving for innovation in design resolution. Design briefs are wide ranging from urbanism intervention to 1:1 material systems, refer to subject’s website www.projecttoria.com, usually published 1st week of April. The studio runs a unique vertical system where students develop project with their peers and is supported by a public program of seminars, lectures, design reviews and exhibition of outcome. All projects are conducted in group work. This subject is run concurrently with AA Visiting School (Graduate) subject. This subject provides opportunity for undergraduate student to develop design skills in a graduate school design studio environment.

Pre- teaching:

Students will be required to undertake online learning modules or attend a workshop for specific software used during the subject. This usually take place one week prior to the start of the subject.

Incidental costs:

Students will be required to purchase modelling and exhibition materials for the course excluding software; cost approx. $250 to $350 per person. Subject may have off campus activities with incidental cost for travel and accommodation - detail will be published on the subject’s website www.projecttoria.com, usually published the first week of April.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino
Prescribed software tools
Image editing software (e.g. Affinity Photo)
Vector editing software (e.g. Affinity Designer)
Layout software (e.g. Affinity Publisher)

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

Subject has a quota of 45 (this quota applies to the combined enrolments in ABPL30063 and ABPL90386)

View detailed information in the Handbook

Food security is of growing concern globally. While much of the focus is on agricultural and logistic industries, professionals in the built environment must understand how their own work affects food security issues and how design can contribute to enhancing food security locally.

By engaging in collaborations between institutions around the world, this subject will allow students to gain a range of local perspectives on the challenge. Students will learn that global problems often require very local solutions that can be informed by applicable lessons in other locales.

In particular, students will develop a depth of knowledge regarding food security and the implications for the built environment, develop their abilities to explain the theoretical foundations of this issue and will select and apply appropriate methodologies when designing for food security. These learnings are useful for design more broadly.

This will be a multidisciplinary elective, in which students will work with experts from disciplines collaboratively to learn about different approaches to address the similar issues across the globe. The goal of this subject is to develop each student’s ability to listen and learn from peers while drawing on the global body of research; additionally, the subject will be an opportunity to establish future collaborations and research activities.

Students from the partner institutions will be working in mixed teams. They will focus on data collection, analysis, and interpretation to develop proposals and communicate these to target audiences. They will be asked to communicate by means of an information campaign in the form of videos, pamphlets, or posters, describing challenges, threats, and solutions regarding food securities.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In recent years, there has been a greatly increased interest in the impacts of the built environment on health and wellbeing. At present, spatial inequalities in regards to access to jobs, affordable housing, social services, and healthy food results in a greater burden of disease for particular social groups and in particular geographic areas. Many of the health problems in cities today, including obesity, violence, and depression, are linked to poor residential and recreational environments, lack of access to jobs and social services, and low social cohesion. Urban decision-makers like planners and designers influence physical, social, natural, cultural, and economic environments. They therefore have a key role in ‘planning health in’, rather than ‘planning health out’, of communities.
This subject will provide a local and international background into current policies and practices related to pursuing health and well-being objectives as a central part of urban planning work. It will cover: the influence of planning over key health determinants, international good practice, the current legislative framework, and Health Impact Assessment. A strong skills focus will ensure that planners, designers and other professionals are able to assess existing sites, plans, and policies from a health perspective.

View detailed information in the Handbook

A series of case studies will be conducted in one or two cities of an Asian country (chosen from China, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan), over two intensive weeks.

Case studies are to be carried out in groups. They will cover a range of property, construction and infrastructure topics including project inception, project finance, project valuation and appraisal, urban planning policies and permits, project procurement and delivery, construction planning and management, construction technology and services, construction methods and equipment, construction and leasing contracts, and associated legal matters.

Candidates are required to arrange and pay for their own travel, accommodation and incidentals. The travel cost is estimated to be about AUD 3000 (AUD 1200 for travel and AUD 1800 for accommodation, food, local travel and incidentals). One preferred/ recommended budget accommodation option will be provided.

Note:

• Travelling time: 29 June-10 July 2026
• The student will receive a $500 subsidy in 2026

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores skills required for transport planners who wish to improve the economic, environmental and social performance of urban transport systems. It draws on international experience and research to articulate the principles and practical techniques in two key areas:

• Public transport planning and network design; and
• The preparation of regional multi-modal transport plans.

This subject includes a half-day field trip involving use of public transport services in a chosen suburban region of Melbourne. This trip will be undertaken in small groups in week 3 and is a hurdle requirement. Students will require a valid Myki card, and the cost will not exceed a daily ticket in Zone 1.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores the politics of transport planning in cities and regions. It examines recent examples of transport planning in Australian cities and globally with a particular emphasis on how patterns of mobility and automobility have come to influence transport planning decisions. A dilemma is exposed between the political-economy and social desires to maintain automobile-dependency and the challenges this presents for ecological sustainability and social equity in the contemporary city and region. Urban transport politics brings to the foreground the changing roles of the public and private sector in the funding, construction, maintenance and operation of urban transport networks and the implications this has for the city and its people.

The subject examines a series of case studies that showcase the politics of transportation planning. Case examples will enable students to explore in-depth recent examples that showcase the changing political, economic and governance landscape shaping transportation planning. This includes such case studies as: contested tollway and light rail projects in Australian cities and internationally, the rise of car-sharing platforms and the anticipated roll-out of autonomous vehicles.

The subject is delivered in seminar form with readings, lectures (occasional guest lectures) and presentations from students. Students are encouraged to bring their ideas and views into class discussions

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject was previously known as Urban Sustainability and Climate Change.

Human activity has altered the earth's natural environment significantly. This has resulted in biodiversity loss and warming of the earth’s climate, the implications of which are often distributed unequally. Organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have documented the risks associated with continued climate change. This has given rise to international agreements such as the Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5oC. While there are increasing commitments by nation states to address this international goal through the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, actions to date have not been to the scale, and at the pace necessary to achieve it. The role of cities and urban activities in contributing to this goal must be enhanced, and the international goals translated across levels of policy.

This subject will provide students with an understanding of the key factors contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss, and their centrality to urban planning and broader built environment activities. Students will critically analyse the complex interrelationship between environmental processes, climate change, urban change, sustainability goals and urban planning policies. Current urban planning issues including: sustainability, climate change, resilience, and vulnerability; will be critically analysed and applied to current and future urban problems arising from climate change (e.g. sea level rise, urban heat). Local and global examples will be drawn upon. The subject’s learning activities will equip students with the capability to propose urban planning solutions to address climate change – through both the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and adaptation to unavoided impacts – to facilitate urban sustainability. Consideration of the equity and justice implications of proposed solutions will be facilitated.

Through completion of this subject students will be provided with exposure to cutting edge urban planning approaches to address and solve climate change and sustainability problems. Students will be well prepared to take elective subjects which focus in detail on environment, resilience and sustainability topics. A field trip to a site of interest to climate change and sustainability within Melbourne will be undertaken to embed learning in a real world urban planning example.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject was formerly called Transportation, Land Use and Urban Form

This subject examines the linkages between transport systems and the growth and form of urban regions. It introduces the theories linking transport systems to the urban footprint, and reviews some empirical analysis of those theories. The subject also traces the evolution of theories connecting transport and land use as they have evolved over time. The timeline of this subject begins in the 1950s and extends to the present.

This subject also introduces some of the tools used to evaluate and manage land use and transport systems, introduces strategies for integrated transport and land use planning, and examines empirical evaluations of these strategies. Major debates in the topic area are addressed. The subject develops students’ ability to apply and critically analyse the theories, tools, and strategies used in transport and land use planning, and to propose alternatives and innovations to those strategies.

This subject is taught in a seminar format. The format will include two hours of weekly guided discussion during which students are expected to have prepared to discuss several readings. There is also a one-hour lecture in which major skills-based topics are explained. These include accessibility modeling, the four-step transport model, and benefit-cost analysis.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Current practices of urban and regional planning have emerged as a human response to the range of circumstances surrounding settlements over time. This subject provides students with a grounding in the main theories of planning over the last two centuries as a means of understanding present-day planning practices and debates in an historical context. Accordingly, students will develop understandings of the contexts in which planning emerged as a response to concerns with a range of circumstances over time. These include: public health, technological change, environmental degradation, economic development, social justice, and conceptions of order and aesthetics. An integrated programme of lectures, readings and tutorials provide students with the materials to answer a series of related questions that chart the development over time of planning. The evolving responses to the enduring questions of planning, such as: ‘what is planning; why plan; how to plan; and what or for whom do we plan?’ are charted over time. The Australia response, in an international context, is emphasised to provide a critical lens upon current Australian planning, providing a basis for subsequent subjects in the Masters of Urban Planning Program.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject concerns housing issues. The provision of housing is presented as a complex system of interplay between construction, finance, real estate and bureaucracy (and others). It considers the challenge of providing good homes to all within the context of consistent under-supply over decades and a policy preference for private sector delivery.

This subject has four components

1. The structure of housing provision. The roles and interplay between parts of the housing system including how markets work; the roles of developers, financiers, consumers and government; how the housing market works; supply, demand, role of property developers and the role of banks (including the growth of financialisation).
2. The contribution of housing form and planning for housing to the workings of cities.
3. The implications of market failure for certain population groups.
4. Low-income housing policy (e.g. social housing).

View detailed information in the Handbook

Urban governance and citizen participation influence both the structure of the planning process (e.g. who participates, and how and when they participate) and the built environment outcomes produced from this process. All practitioners who work in local and regional environments (built, natural, social) need to be aware of the strategies and techniques that can be employed to elicit involvement from the public and private sector, and the modes of governance that shape citizen and stakeholder participation at different scales of government and at different points in the planning process. This subject will impart to students the skills involved in encouraging and managing participation in the overall governance and planning of urban regions.

These skills include:

• Understand the concept of urban governance
• Understanding the influence of different forms of urban governance on processes of citizen participation
• Understand the nexus between the public and private sectors and civil society in planning for and managing cities
• Understand the role of local, State and Commonwealth government, the private sector and civil society in delivering and financing infrastructure and services
• Encouraging and managing citizen engagement using different participatory tools
• Understanding and assessing different characteristics of urban conflict
• Negotiation, mediation, consensus-building between government, the private sector and civil society in complex situations with deep value differences
• Have insight into comparative governance contexts through case studies from other countries
• Evaluation of citizen participatory processes

There will be considerable reliance on hand-on exercises based on case studies from Melbourne and around the world. The subject aims to be relevant to urban and social planners, landscape architects, urban designers, architects, property professionals, community developers, and environmental activities.

This subject replaces ABPL90315 Urban Governance, and was previously known as Participation and Negotiation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Cities are home to more than half the world’s population. Climate change is increasingly impacting urban areas, with urban populations exposed to more severe and frequent heatwaves, extreme weather events, flooding, bushfires, sea level rise and other climate change impacts. Climate change and urbanisation impact urban environmental systems, biodiversity, food production and water supplies. Addressing the increasing urgency and magnitude of climate change and environmental issues facing cities, towns and urban settlements globally is a high priority for urban planners and policy makers.

The subject focuses on urban environmental policy and planning to address the impacts of urbanisation and climate change. It includes environmental policy and governance from the global to the local levels, engages with Indigenous perspectives and environmental justice, and provides case studies of environmental planning issues and responses. Topics such as nature-based solutions, biodiversity and habitat, urban water management, waste and energy are presented and discussed in an integrated manner addressing policy, planning and implementation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Cities are responsible for more than 70% of energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The operation of buildings alone represents around 40% of energy use in many developed economies. Reducing energy use and transitioning towards zero greenhouse emissions in the built environment is therefore critical to sustain the Earth’s ecosystems and the general environmental equilibrium of the planet. This is further recognised by the UN sustainability goals, namely Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. With a growing world population, most of which going to live in cities, addressing this current and upcoming challenge is paramount.

The aim of this subject is to equip students with the skills and knowledge required to analyse, quantify, visualise and improve the energy performance of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities, at different scales of the built environment, towards zero greenhouse gas emissions.

This subject is designed to capitalise on the multi-disciplinary nature of participants. As such, it uses active discussions, interactive problem solving, peer review and group work, among other teaching and learning activities. In addition, the major assessment task is designed to allow for a significant amount of flexibility as you will be able to determine the focus of your own assignment. You will also be able to vote to determine subject content towards the end of the semester.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject sets out the key mechanisms by which land use planning can reduce the risks associated with human settlements located in bushfire prone areas. It begins with an overview of bushfire as a natural hazard that occurs in particular landscapes, and the ways that human settlements interact with these to result in spatial and locally particular risk outcomes.

The ways that urban planning mechanisms can influence risk levels in bushfire prone areas are explored. First principles of planning intervention techniques are set out, followed by a detailed explanation of relevant elements of Victorian planning processes. Current regulatory approaches suitable for the treatment of bushfire risk in Victoria are a core learning outcome for the subject, in parallel with developing understandings of the inter-relations between building, planning, response and land management agencies related to bushfire risk reduction.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Environmental Sustainability is one of two core subjects for the Master of Environment degree. This subject provides students with a strong foundation in interdisciplinary understanding of critical environmental sustainability issues, and how and why they have emerged, in the context of policy, management, and governance across scales and sectors.

Exploring environmental sustainability through an interdisciplinary lens, this subject considers concepts and principles fundamental for understanding the complex nature of the environmental crises facing humanity and, in turn, for developing solutions. Environmental Sustainability will cover:

• The fundamental earth system processes that provide humanity’s life-support system;
• The conditions that have led to the Anthropocene, and its implications for life as we know it;
• Global and local environmental challenges, including for biodiversity, water, energy, and food, in relation their natural and social environments;
• Complex social-ecological systems and their role in contributing to and solving critical environmental sustainability issues;
• Different perspectives, and the influence of worldview, values and beliefs on sustainability;
• The role of individuals, governments, business and innovation in building a sustainable future; and
• Management, governance, and social-ecological issues for achieving environmental sustainability.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject will introduce students to the range of perspectives on urban planning systems and cultures offered by different disciplines. In a first half, political science, geography, history, business and urban planning disciplinary approaches to the aims and methods of comparison of urban planning systems will be examined. In the second half of the subject, a series of case studies of the main features and legal basis of different national planning systems and cultures of particular nations will be presented depending on staff availability and expertise. These national case studies are intended to illustrate the contrasts that exist in planning systems and cultures across the global north and south. The subject is intended as the basis from which to explore the other subjects available in this specialization.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Cities are at the heart of global challenges, from climate change to health, inequality and economic development, and have become active participants in proposing solutions to address these.

This subject focuses on city leadership, the institutions and trends that underpin it, and a set of strategic skills needed to deliver effective urban governance in the wake of these international challenges. The business of managing ‘who gets what, when and how’ in cities is becoming an increasingly complex and multilevel job that goes beyond the purview of locally oriented urban managers. Instead, it is intertwined with the agendas and influence of private sector, academia and community groups. The politics and governance of cities is changing the world over: from a leadership and brokering role played by private actors, the emergence of entrepreneurial and global cities, to different dynamics in emerging regions in the South, and the importance of international agendas and geopolitics in influencing the future of cities. The course offers students a space to engage with these changes, learn practical leadership skills, and do so in collaboration with expert partners who will collaborate with University lecturers in the delivery of the course content.

City Leadership stimulates students to engage with these themes by offering practical, hands-on, tools for ‘new’ urban management for students pursuing both public and private sector careers. It puts an emphasis on responsibility and collective leadership as key skills for today’s urban practitioners, whilst encouraging sound academic research in urban governance. The course is designed to build capacity with students to take up leadership as a ‘strategic’ activity in urban governance with an explicit international focus to support the development of a globally oriented practice of city leadership

View detailed information in the Handbook

ABPL90066 MSD Research Project Short (12.5 points) is designed to produce a 5,000-word (or equivalent) ordered, critical exposition of knowledge gained through the student's own efforts, demonstrating a sound understanding of a topic of their choice. Regular meetings with a supervisor allow the student to obtain advice and guidance for completion of an independent study. Material prepared in ABPL90135 Analytical Methods is expected to form an integral part of the final research report:

NOTE: In addition to meeting all prerequisites, students are required to identify a willing and available supervisor, and, obtain written approval from both the subject and course coordinators prior to enrolment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject surveys some methodological approaches that are relevant to analysis of urban systems and urban planning processes. Students will be equipped to analyse both primary and secondary data, understand and apply essential principles of both qualitative and quantitative methods, and identify the context for their appropriate use. Students will be trained to critically assess shortcomings of data sources and methods, and consider the impact this has on the conclusions drawn. Overall, the subject facilitates the development of skills and knowledge regarding the use, collection, analysis, and representation of information. This will be utilized in future subjects and practice as planners. It is divided into three parts:

Part 1. Universal Concepts in Research

Part 2. Quantitative Research

Part 3. Qualitative Research

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject illustrates the body of work and research which links human behaviour to the design of the built environment. It explores the history of this research with a focus on interactions between humans and the physical environment in diverse urban settings. A case study approach is taken to develop insights into ways human environment interaction can be understood and how such information used to inform the evidence-based design of the built environment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Environment/Behaviour Methods for Design examines a range of research methods and methodologies that designers can use to inform their design thinking. This subject is geared to planning and design students who want to learn E/B research field methods and their application for use in their studies (e.g. site analysis, thesis research) and later professional work. Students studying landscape architecture, urban design and planning will benefit from the tool box of evidence-based environment behaviour (EB) methods covered in this subject in which they learn how to use the various methods to study how people, and groups of people, use, perceive and think about built urban spaces to inform their design and planning decision-making. Methods covered in this subject are primary those derived from environmental psychological, which have been developed over many years for addressing a range of environment behaviour research questions. Students will develop a working knowledge of these various research methods and their applications, with a focus on urban environments and their users’ needs and preferences. The subject encompasses lectures, case studies, readings and individual projects and includes, but is not limited to, exploring methods for behavioural mapping and systematic observation of spaces, measuring responses to visual stimuli, user surveys and interviews and a wide range of other useful methods, both qualitative and quantitively, that can be used to explore human/environment interactions within the context of real-world urban environments. Methods for collection and analysis of data, representing the findings and their translation into design decision-making are also covered.

View detailed information in the Handbook