Urban Design Education: Analysis of Educational Methods with Emphasis on the Framework of Social Responsibility

there is a need for educational studies due to the 21st-century paradigm shift in higher education toward the social responsibility of universities and the changing challenges of urban design and planning. This article aims to provide the background for redesigning and adapting the educational program of urban design to the social responsibility approach, and it also identified the current teaching and learning methods applied in urban design master’s programs.

the study reviews the university social responsibility and urban design pedagogy literature to propose a social responsibility-based model for urban design education through expert discussion.

with regards to pedagogical approaches, there are four teaching-learning methods, including traditional education, project-based learning, service-learning, and sustainable education. Besides, the social-responsibility-based model for urban design education includes four steps, namely, values, management, practices, and impacts.

the fundamental difference between this approach with the current educational approaches of urban design is the matter of morality so that its underlying philosophy should be considered responsibility toward society and the environment, regardless of time and place boundaries.