705-112 Skills for Urban Planning and Design

It is assumed that students will have basic computer skills in Word 95/98, email, internet, spreadsheets (Excel). The subject develops students' ability to search for and analyse various kinds of urban planning data and to present material effectively in graphic form, in writing, in statistical form and in the spoken word. It covers simple computer-aided design (Autocad) and simulation (Photoshop); interpretation (and production) of topographic maps, plans and design concepts; aerial photography; introduction to desktop mapping (MapInfo); thematic mapping. Census and Statistical Data: time series and other statistical data sources (ABS), CData96 and CLib96. Layout and structure of reports and essays: critical reading and thinking; structuring an argument; public speaking and debating; organisation of information; audience orientation; visual support material principles of logic. Style, syntax and written expression. Introduction to GIS (Geographic Information Systems). Statistics for urban planning: data sources, sampling, questionnaires, variables, frequency distributions, generalisations, probability and sampling, binomial distribution, normal distribution, tests of significance, test hypothesis, chi-square distribution. Students will be introduced to and practise graphic communication and design skills in a series of studio-based exercises intended to apply the lecture material.

Weekly exercises including graphic communication and design, computer graphics, and the application or interactive web-based and other course material, the equivalent of 4000 words (80%), plus a one-hour class test in the last week of semester (20%).