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

This course unit offers students a deeper understanding of the complex and evolving landscape of future transport and mobility, encompassing technological, environmental, and social and policy dimensions. The transport systems of cities and regions are undergoing radical changes in the context of the emergence of disruptive technologies, new consumption paradigms, new
mobility solutions, and business models. These developments are socio-technical in nature and have profound implications for the built form of future cities and individual travel behaviours, as well as ensuring equitable accessibility and promoting sustainable mobility. In this course unit,
students will delve deeper into the unfolding technological transitions in urban transport, identify the social, economic and environmental forces driving these transitions and critically examine the implications for cities and their transport systems. The primary focus will be on the implications of new and emerging transport technologies, including AI-driven Autonomous and Connected Autonomous Vehicles (AVs and CAVs); various ICT-mediated mobility solutions (e.g.  ride-hailing/ride-sourcing); and new mobility concepts and paradigms, such as Shared-mobility and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). Students will engage with debates about the opportunities novel technologies present as well as the challenges they pose to urban and transport planning. Students will critically evaluate the evolving policy and regulatory response of cities in different contexts to the unfolding socio-technological transitions in urban transport. Taking a futuristic perspective, the course will equip students with the methods and analytical tools needed to envision, anticipate and mediate the consequences of new and emerging transport technologies and associated mobility services for urban areas in different geographic and socio-economic contexts. Ultimately, students on this course will be given the opportunity formulate forward-thinking, future transport and mobility strategies and plans, applying contemporary urban planning, urban design and transport planning thinking, concepts and principles.
 

-Advance students’ understanding of emerging and future trends in transport and mobility and evaluate their impact on transport systems and cities.
-Empower students to think critically and formulate forward-thinking strategies and policies that address the evolving needs of cities and regions in the context of new and emerging transport technologies and mobility services.  
-Foster students’ understanding of how to design and advocate for transport systems that contribute to wider urban sustainability imperatives, including reduced emissions and equitable accessibility for all members of society.

The course unit will be delivered through a variety of teaching and learning modes, including lectures, expert guest speakers, student-led interactive seminars, and student presentations. Student will attend one three-hour session per week. The lectures will be organized in two sessions. The first session, which is a one-hour-fifteen-minute lecture, will typically introduce core concepts, theories and debates about a topic. This will be followed by forty minutes of student-led interaction session to discuss assigned readings on the topic of the day. Students will also learn by completing project-based assignments individually and/or as a group.

Identify and explain the evolving landscape and ecosystem of transport technologies and mobility solutions, and their key drivers 
Identify and explain  emerging policy and regulatory response to future transport technologies and innovations in different contexts
Identify the challenges and opportunities in future transport and mobility planning, as basis to formulate a Future Urban Transport and Mobility Plan

Evaluate and explain the multiple-scale built-environment impacts of new transport technologies, using digital tools and spatial analytic models and techniques
Critically assess  new and emerging transport technologies and ICT-mediated mobility solutions and their implications for urban sustainability
Demonstrate an ability to appraise and discuss the wider social and ethical implications of new and emerging transport technologies

Apply analytical tools and foresight methodologies to envision and anticipate the consequences of future transport scenarios
Formulate, evaluate, and critically reflect on forward-thinking policies and strategies for future transport and mobility
Demonstrate research and analytical skills that are critical to professional practice and/or pursuing further research degrees.

Demonstrate visual presentation and communication skills that are valued in professional practice, through technical report writing
Apply digital tools and platforms to enhance digital capabilities for employability and professional practice
Demonstrate problem-solving skills through the practical project-based individual assignment.

Assessment 1: Transport Policy/Strategy Review: 800 words 30% weighting

Assessment 2: Formulation of Future Transport and Mobility Strategy for a city: 2000 words 70% weighting

Written feedback via Turnitin, within 15 working days of submission

Acheampong, R. A., Legacy, C., Kingston, R., & Stone, J. (2023). Imagining urban mobility futures in the era of autonomous vehicles—insights from participatory visioning and multi-criteria appraisal in the UK and Australia. Transport policy, 136, 193-208.

Acheampong, R. A., Lucas, K., Poku-Boansi, M., & Uzondu, C. (Eds.). (2022). Transport and mobility futures in urban Africa. Springer Nature.

Annema, J. A., Köhler, J., & Wee, B. van (Eds.). (2022). Innovations in transport : success, failure and societal impacts. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Banister, D., Hickman, R., & Stead, D. (2007). Looking over the horizon: visioning and backcasting. In Building blocks for sustainable transport: Obstacles, trends, solutions (pp. 25-53). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Batty, M. (2018). Inventing future cities. MIT Press.

Botello, B., Buehler, R., Hankey, S., Mondschein, A., & Jiang, Z. (2019). Planning for walking and cycling in an autonomous-vehicle future. Transportation research interdisciplinary perspectives, 1, 100012.

Collett, K. A., Hirmer, S. A., Dalkmann, H., Crozier, C., Mulugetta, Y., & McCulloch, M. D. (2021). Can electric vehicles be good for Sub-Saharan Africa? Energy Strategy Reviews, 38, 100722

Currie, G. (2018). Lies, damned lies, AVs, shared mobility, and urban transit futures. Journal of Public Transportation, 21(1), 3.

Curtis, C. (2021). Planning, transport and accessibility. Lund Humphries.
Finger, M., & Audouin, M. (Eds.). (2019). The governance of smart transportation systems : towards new organizational structures for the development of shared, automated, electric and integrated mobility. Springer.

Jiao, J. (2021). Shared Mobility. Elsevier.

Legacy, C., Ashmore, D., Scheurer, J., Stone, J., & Curtis, C. (2019). Planning the driverless city. Transport reviews, 39(1), 84-102.

Lyons, G., Rohr, C., Smith, A., Rothnie, A., & Curry, A. (2021). Scenario planning for transport practitioners. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 11, 100438.

Melander, L. (2018). Scenario development in transport studies: Methodological considerations and reflections on delphi studies. Futures, 96, 68-78.

Meyer, G., & Shaheen, S. A. (Eds.). (2017). Disrupting mobility : impacts of sharing economy and innovative transportation on cities. Springer.

Milakis, D., Van Arem, B., & Van Wee, B. (2017). Policy and society related implications of automated driving: A review of literature and directions for future research. Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, 21(4), 324-348.

Noussan, M., Hafner, M., & Tagliapietra, S. (2020). The Future of Transport Between Digitalization and Decarbonization Trends, Strategies and Effects on Energy Consumption (1st ed. 2020.). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37966-7

Ryley, T., & Chapman, L. (2012). Transport and climate change. Emerald.

Sperling, D. (Ed.). (2018). Three Revolutions : Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future (1st edition.). Island Press/Center for Resource Economics.