Urban Design

Overview

Key facts

Guided by the imperatives of sustainability and resilience, the program conceptualizes cities as an extension of the ecological transect across the natural to human habitat, providing students with a range of experiences from rural to urban. 

Program Director Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, recognized for her foundational role in the development of the movement called the New Urbanism, leads the program that invites students to explore design, policy and management tools for place-making as a vehicle for improving quality of life in a variety of urban settings.  The impact of the built environment on health, retrofitting the suburban landscape, real estate development as community building, adaptation to climate change, and urban growth and revitalization, are topics prominent in course offerings and faculty research.

The Urban Design program from University of Miami begins in the fall each year with foundation courses in urban design and real estate development, in an Interdisciplinary approach structured by environmental, social and economic goals.  The spring semester intensifies students’ engagement with contemporary urban challenges such as climate resilience, healthy community design, and repair of suburban sprawl.  The summer semester provides a concluding experience that aggregates prior topics in an international setting that challenges the goals of sustainability and resource conservation. 

Goals

• To prepare students for professional leadership and lifelong learning in architecture, urbanism, and related fields. 

• To preserve and develop knowledge for the profession through research and practice. 

• To share knowledge locally and internationally through community service. 

• To promote building and community design goals of environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic sustainability.