Course detail

Urban Design History

FA-UVY-TEAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course Urban Design History presents the urban development of towns and cities (villages) in the historic and social context. The course introduces the students to the findings of historic, modern and contemporary development of towns and cities, and their spatial arrangement. In the seminars, students present and discuss the historical and social analysis of significant development periods of a selected town or city.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

2

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Department

Department of Urban Design (UU)

Entry knowledge

Not applicable.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The overall assessment evaluates the quality of the submitted seminar work and its presentation in front of the fellow students. The seminar work consists of a graphical and a textual part, the extent is specified in the written course requirements that the students will obtain at the beginning of the semester. The topic of the seminar work is to analyse selected development periods of a town selected by the students, or the teacher. Each development period can be consulted at the topic-related seminar.
The attendance at the seminars is compulsory, also when the students do not present their seminar work. Consultation of seminar works is possible during all of the seminars. The absences cannot be compensated, only excused in serious circumstances.
In the case of a student's apology and with approval of the subject guarantor, personal attendance may be substituted with online attendance in the classes.

Aims

The aim of the course is to provide the students with the knowledge of urban development of towns (and villages) in the historic, modern and contemporary period. The aim of the course is for students to apply and develop the basic knowledge when performing the urbanistic and social analysis of the development in a particular place. The attained knowledge will enable the students to learn the inseparable historical context of urbanistic and social development. The aim of the course is also to strengthen the critical thinking and rhetorical abilities of students when presenting and defending their work.
  • Students will acquire a complex overview of urban development throughout the history.
  • Students will be able to analyse the development of urban structure.
  • Students will understand the impact of socio-political phenomena on the development of cities.
  • Students will perceive and critically understand current urban development in context.
  • Students will strengthen their rhetorical skills when presenting and defending their work.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Basic literature

MUMFORD, Lewis. The city in history: its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. San Diego: Harcourt, 1961, xi, 657 stran : ilustrace. ISBN 978-0-15-618035-1. (EN)
NORWICH, John Julius. The great cities in history. London [England]: Thames & Hudson, 2009. ISBN 9780500251546. (EN)
SELYA, Roger Mark. Atlas of cities, edited by Paul Knox. Journal of Urban Affairs [online]. Routledge, 2017, 39(1), 142-143 [cit. 2022-12-05]. ISSN 0735-2166. (EN)
SITTE, Camillo a Charles T STEWART. The art of building cities: city building according to its artistic fundamentals. Mansfield, CT: Martino Publishing, 2013, xi, 128 stran : ilustrace. ISBN 978-1-61427-524-4. (EN)
WILSON, Ben. Metropolis : a history of the city, humankind's greatest invention. 2020. ISBN 9780385543460. (EN)

Recommended reading

Base map CR [online]. ČÚZK, 2023. URL: https://ags.cuzk.cz/geoprohlizec/#en (CS)
GEHL, Jan. Cities for People. Island Press, 2013. ISBN: 9781597269841. (EN)
Historical Maps Online. Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis Kft., 2023. URL: https://maps.arcanum.com/en/ (CS)
JACOBS, Jane. What We See (2010), ISBN: 9780981559315 (EN)
KWON, Miwon. One Place After Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity (2002), ISBN: 9780262612029 (EN)
LYDON, Mike, BARTMAN, Dan, GARCIA Tony, PRESTON, Russ, WOUDSTRA Ronald. Tactical Urbanism Short-term Action Long-term Change Volume 2 (2012) (EN)
LYNCH, Kevin. The image of the city. MIT Press, 1960. ISBN 9780262620017. (EN)
NORBERG-SCHULZ, Christian. Architecture: Presence, Language and Place. Random House Incorporated, 2000. ISBN 9788881187003. (EN)
OSWALT, Philipp. Shrinking Cities. New York: Distributed by D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, 2006. ISBN978-3-7757-1682-6. (EN)
PFEIFER, Laura. The Planner’s Guide to Tactical Urbanism (2013) (EN)
Presentation of old maps covering the area of Czechia, Moravia and Silesia. Ústí nad Labem: Geoinformatics laboratory Univerzity J. E. Purkyně, 2012. (CS)
WHYTE, William Hollingsworth. The social life of small urban spaces. Santa Monica, Calif.: [2007]: Direct Cinema [distributor], 2007, 1 DVD-video (59 min., 17 s.) : zvuk., barev. ; 12 cm. ISBN 1-55974-687-4. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme B_A+U Bachelor's 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Seminar

26 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer