The 1st cycle degree Degree in Town Planning and Urban Studies trains experts in the analysis , research and representation of cities, natural or natural environment, the environment and the landscape.
Their professional expertise is the basis for the preparation process of urban, territorial, environmental and sectoral plans drawn up by Public Administrations (Regions, Municipalities, Local Authorities) or by Private Agencies, Organizations and Companies.
The professional skills of graduates in urban planning and city sciences Town Planning and Urban Studies enable them to understand and interpret the processes of historical transformation of the territory and cities, peculiar skills necessary for the preparation of analysis aimed at the knowledge of the territorial resources and their state of conservation, of building stock (Both historic and contemporary) and of complex systems such as landscape and environmental ones.
Other skills of graduates include the social, political and economic components interacting with the layout of cities and territory, as well as knowledge in the use of strategic environmental assessment tools (VAS) and of the representation and management of Geographic Information System, nowadays among the professional skills most required by the Public Administration and in all cases of drafting complex territorial projects.
The degree course, in summary, has the following objectives:
a) training of experts capable of:
a1) addressing the use of new technologies (Computer Science, CAD, GIS, Telematics) for the analysis, description, interpretation and evaluation of territorial and environmental transformations;
a2) using in professional practice principles and techniques aimed at the knowledge of elements for the recovery of historic centers and for urban and territorial upgrading;
a3) using in professional practice principles and techniques aimed at the knowledge of the elements for the protection and enhancement of the cultural and environmental heritage concentrated and diffused in the territory;
b) training of professionals who may be used by public administrations in the control, management and evaluation of the processes of transformation of the city and the territory and in the preparation/implementation of complex programs, with particular reference to the European Union indications and instruments and to the use of EU economic resources and European development policies.
Training in the field of territorial and urban planning must take into account the great changes (from the wake of the environmental question on a planetary scale, to the globalization of economic and cultural dynamics, to new forms of conflict) which intercept the demand for planning, putting a strain on the ethical foundations, the disciplinary statutes, the theoretical and methodological apparatus of planning. These changes affect the labor market and the emergence of new professional profiles, as well as the questions, citizenship rights and social needs to which the planning "culture" must be able to respond.
To achieve these goals, the degree course proposes a set of theoretical-practical teachings aimed at understanding urban and territorial phenomena and at constructing principles and methodologies useful for the cognitive approaches also grafted by practical experiments aimed at the acquisition of cultural apparatus and operational techniques. The lines of action of these teachings include urban themes as well as of social sciences themes, related to procedures and techniques that are specific to territorial and urban planning. Along with theoretical teaching courses, specific courses are developed pursuing experimental actions, training students through experimental practice and simulation of planning processes. These courses are called workshops and are generally focused on topics related to the city, territory and the environment. In these courses, students see the application of the experimental reasons of their future profession, which will be further deepened through practical activities, during the internships in the third year of the course.