MPlan Planning

This course has normally included an overseas field trip in year 4, which is an optional part of the course. Please note there is a student contribution towards the cost of the trip depending on the location.

We are committed to attracting and supporting the very best students from all backgrounds to study this course.  

You could be eligible for cash bursaries of up to £2,500 to support your studies. 

Find out about our funding opportunities

• Issues of analysing international planning systems through a comparative perspective
• Definitions and conceptual concerns regarding international planning terminology
• Historical foundations of planning practice, including legal, administrative and institutional frameworks
• European approaches to planning as well as EU trans-European planning policy
• Planning within a devolved UK policy environment
• North American planning practice, governance and institutional frameworks, issues of localism, and zoning control
• Asian planning policy and the development of hybrid approaches to planning practice within Asian countries
• Planning practice in the global south and the role of informal planning systems
• Country-specific case studies from Europe, Americas and Asia
   

• To provide a grounded theoretical understanding of how the planning system and legal arrangements are shaped by the social, political, administrative and economic contexts.
• To utilise a cross-national comparative perspective to develop critical thinking skills related to how planning policy and practice travel across different contexts.
• To examine planning approaches and their underlying design concepts in selected countries drawn from Asia, the Americas and Europe covering the global south and north.
• To develop the critical skills and logical reasoning to appraise different types of planning arrangements.
• To develop a more informed understanding of how to assess and engage in spatial planning practice under different socio-economic and institutional contexts.
   

Lectures, Seminars, and Presentation

Have an understanding of how planning systems are shaped by different spatial contexts, judicial-legal frameworks and socio-cultural traditions.

Familiarize with the principles, design and practice of planning systems in different countries.

Appreciate the value of cross-national learning regarding both its potential and limitations while respecting the diversity of culture, values and ideologies of planning.

Presentation skills, group working, writing skills

Develop the skills of comparative analysis, logical reasoning, and applied evaluation through the presentation and the assignment.

Group oral presentation (15 minutes) and accompanying written brief on the international diffusion of ideas  (20%)

Individual essay (2500 words) on international planning frameworks (80%)

Presentation - Immediately following presentation and written feedback within 15 working days via VLE

Individual Essay - Written feedback provided within 15 working days and by personal appointment 

Booth, P. (1995) Zoning or discretionary action: certainty and responsiveness in implementing planning policy, Journal of Planning Education and Research,14 (2): 103-112.

CEC (1997) The E.U. Compendium of Spatial Planning Systems and Policies. Luxembourg: Office for the official publications of the European Communities.

Healy, P. & Upton, R. (2010) Crossing Borders: International exchange and planning practices. London: Routledge.

Newman, P. & Thornley, A. (1996) Urban Planning in Europe. London: Routledge.

Sanyal, Bishwapria, (ed.) (2005) Comparative Planning Cultures, Routledge, London.

UN HABITAT (2009), Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, Planning Sustainable Cities, London: Earthscan.