Certificate in Urban Design

About this programme

Planned outage: Beginning Nov. 1, you will not be able to access the USask admission application and event registration system for up to six days. Learn more . The Certificate in Urban Design provides students with an understanding of the relationships between design thinking, the visual arts, the built environment, and the social and spatial conditions that drive the production of urban space. Over half of the courses are taught in a studio format, which supports applied experiential, conceptual, and skills-based training through making. You will learn how to apply a user-centred design thinking approach to the creation of urban spaces. You will acquire skills in visual arts, urbanism and place-making, and you will work collaboratively with other students to apply what you have learned to real-world urban design challenges in order to better understand the production and societal impact of urban spaces. This interdisciplinary team taught class will start by dismantling the notion that the practice of design is simply about making something look good and then move on to an examination of how professionals from a wide range of disciplines use design thinking principles to achieve goals ranging from making a better widget to building a better world. The evolution of urban design will take shape through analysis of urban form, streetscapes, open spaces and architecture. Students will engage in graphic analysis, design exercises, discussions with local experts and community members, and the use of computer-aided design software tools and techniques. Working as teams, studen