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Second Major / Minor
in Urban Governance
Objective
We live in a rapidly urbanizing world where the time-space dimensions have been compressed by the rapid development of new cities and urban re-development. The land use and urban form of cities have been substantially shaped by different priorities in urban development, among other factors. The urbanization process and the development of modern cities have brought tremendous impacts on both the physical and human geography of contemporary societies. The increasing degree of urbanization around the world has prompted questions over the long-term sustainability of cities and extended urban regions. The pursuit of sustainability in cities, in both developed and developing countries, has forced a reassessment of the form and pattern of urban development, governance, planning, and management. The broad spectrum of courses included in this programme will provide students with a systematic understanding of the basic approaches and key theories of urban governance, planning, and management. Students will receive thorough training in the application of such knowledge to urban governance, planning, urban environmental management, and transport planning issues in Hong Kong, China’s mainland, and the East Asia region. They will be prepared to pursue careers in the fields of urban governance, urban development, urban planning, urban environmental management and transport policy and planning.
Learning Outcome
The Urban Governance programme aims at providing students with:
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Identify and familiarize themselves with the basic approaches and key theories in urban planning and management, sustainability of cities, and social and public policy-making
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Apply the basic approaches and key theories in urban planning and management, sustainability of cities, and social and public policy-making
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Analyse, interpret and reflect upon the urbanization process and the development of sustainable cities, and their impacts on and relationships with civil societies in the modern world
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Demonstrate and develop a working understanding of the role and influence of urban governance on public policies, along with economic, social and cultural development in the modern society
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Effectively apply a range of transferable skills in academic, professional and social settings
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Contribute towards the improvement of the well-being of citizens in urban areas
Programme Structure *4-year Cohort
Disciplinary Major (single or double) or Minor in Urban Governance
(For new 4-year cohort of students admitted in 2012-2013)
No. of Credits
Component
Major
Minor
(a)
Introductory courses
(i)
Disciplinary
(ii)
Pre-requisites*
6
12
6
-
(b)
Advanced courses
(i)
Core courses
(ii)
Disciplinary electives
(iii)
Capstone experience
18
30
6
12
18
-
72
36
*
Candidates who opt to declare two major programmes offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences should avoid selecting overlapping pre-requisites.
Candidates who wish to declare a MAJOR (72 credits) or MINOR (36 credits) in Urban Governance must complete:
(a) Introductory courses
(18 credits for major; 6 credits for minor) - to be taken in Years 1-2
(i) One disciplinary course from the following list:
Applicable to 2018-19 intake and thereafter
(ii) Two pre-requisite courses from the following 6 units, but not more than one from a single unit (12 credits):
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Faculty of Social Sciences
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Geography
-
Politics and Public Administration
-
Psychology
-
Social Work and Social Administration
-
Sociology
(b) Advanced courses
(54 credits for major; 30 credits for minor) consist of the following components to be taken in Years 2-4.
(i) Core courses (18 credits for major; 12 credits for minor)
Candidates who major in this programme should take three courses (6 credits each, with a total of 18 credits), and candidates who minor should take two courses (with a total of 12 credits), from the following ‘Core course’ list. Once the core requirements are fulfilled, other courses from this list may be taken to fulfil the elective requirement:
(ii) Disciplinary electives (30 credits for major ; 18 credits for minor)
Candidates who major in this programme should take at least 30 credits of disciplinary elective courses from the course list below (also refer to the remarks in the core course list for elective requirement), whereas candidates who minor in this programme should take at least 18 credits of disciplinary elective courses. The following courses are grouped under three major themes. Students are free to specialize within one theme or select courses from different themes. In course registration, students are advised to pay special attention to the pre-requisite requirement (if any) of individual course as specified in the syllabus.
Candidates who major in this programme are strongly advised to take one of the following methods-related courses, which are listed in each of the three major themes.
Applicable to 2016-17 intake and thereafter
Applicable to 2016-17 intake and thereafter
(1) Urban Planning & Transport Management
(2) Sustainability & Development
(3) Urban Economy & Society
(iii) Capstone experience (for major only, 6 credits to be taken in Year 4)
Applicable to 2016-17 intake and thereafter
Candidates who major in this programme must complete one of the following courses:
*
The GEOG4001 course is a compulsory capstone experience course that all Urban Governance majors must take to fulfill the programme requirement. In the event that this compulsory field trip needs to be cancelled due to travel restrictions and/or other unforeseen circumstances, the Department would inform students and they would be allowed to take one of the other capstone experience (CE) courses including “GEOG4003 Honours dissertation” or “GEOG4004 Directed project in geography” (6 credits) to fulfil the CE requirements for graduation.
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In the event of time conflict with other required academic activities, the candidate can apply for deferring the overseas field trip participation towards the end of Year 4 of study before graduation (see the GEOG4001 course description for details).
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For students who are double major in both Geography and Urban Governance, they have the following four options to fulfil the capstone experience (CE) requirements for both declared majors:
Option 1 - Take ‘GEOG4001 Overseas field trip’ (6 credits) to meet the CE requirement for the declared Geography major, and take ‘GEOG4004 Directed project in urban governance’ (6 credits) to meet the CE requirement for the declared Urban Governance major.
Option 2 - Take ‘GEOG4001 Overseas field trip’ (6 credits) to meet the CE requirement for the declared Urban Governance major, and take either ‘GEOG4002 Directed project in geography’ (6 credits) or ‘GEOG4003 Honours dissertation’ (12 credits) to meet the CE requirement for the declared Geography major.
Option 3 – (Applicable only to the event that “GEOG4001 Overseas filed trip’ has to be cancelled in an academic year due to travel restrictions and/or other unforeseen circumstances). Take ‘GEOG4003 Honours dissertation’ (12 credits) to meet the CE requirements for both the declared Geography and Urban Governance major.
Option 4 –(Applicable only to the event that “GEOG4001 Overseas filed trip’ has to be cancelled in an academic year due to travel restrictions and/or other unforeseen circumstances). Take ‘GEOG4002 Directed project in geography’ to meet the CE requirement for the declared Geography major, and take ‘GEOG4004 Directed project in urban governance” to meet the CE requirement for the declared Urban Governance major.