University College London (UCL)

Building and Urban Design in Development MSc

Teaching and learning

The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc is delivered both inside and outside of the classroom so you can discover methodologies and frameworks for a critical participatory, community-based, highly reflexive approach to urban design. On campus, the course will be taught through a wide range of teaching techniques including lectures and seminars that are delivered by academics, development professionals, architects, urbanists and planners, and through reading discussion forums, individual and group assignments, and design-based studio work.

In an increasingly digital world, our students also create outputs that are published to The Bartlett Development Planning Unit website, our series of Housing Stories blogs which originate from our ‘Housing Policies: Practical Dimensions and Alternative Options’ optional module, the Urban Design Manifesta, and videos produced for the ‘Engaged Urban Design’ practice module.

In partnership with local organisations, networks of communities, social movements and artist-activists, slum dweller federations, universities and governments alike, we take learning one step further in our annual overseas practice engagements. Here, our students explore different tools, concepts and ideas in urban design in a Global South context.

The course is assessed through coursework (essays), design work (individual and group projects), written examinations and the 10,000-word dissertation report. All assessments are specifically designed to test and consolidate the learning and skills development in each module. Such learning is incremental and supported by one-to-one and group tutorials.

In terms 1 and 2, as a full-time student, you can typically expect between 9-12 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. Each teaching week, you will have two-hour face-to-face encounters on campus in all core and optional modules. Each teaching week, you will also have one three-hour practice module encounter on campus.

Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, as a full-time student you will typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using your remaining time for self-directed study and completing assignments. We expect full-time students to commit an average of 40 to 45 hours of study per week reviewing online resources, completing module activities, engaging in wider reading and working on their assignments.

In term 3, you will complete the overseas practice engagement. The duration of this engagement will depend upon travel arrangements with partner organisations but is typically around two weeks overseas. In term 3 and the summer period, you will complete your own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with your dissertation supervisor.

Modules

Full-time

The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc is delivered over three terms when taken in one academic year. In Terms 1 and 2 you will study compulsory modules which make up 75% of the taught component of the course (equivalent to 90 credits) and provide you with the theoretical and methodological foundations to become an urban design and development practitioner. The remaining 25% of the taught component of the course is dedicated to a range of optional modules on offer, allowing you to combine your learnings with your personal interests in Terms 1 and 2. The practice module, where we complete the overseas practice engagement, runs across Terms 1, 2 and 3.

In Term 4, ie the summer term, you will focus on your dissertation which is a research project that you will conduct independently, complemented by support from a dedicated dissertation tutor. The dissertation gives you the opportunity to focus on an area of the course that most interests you. The research that supports the production of your dissertation should rely on secondary sources of data and/or primary sources of data that can be accessed without field survey work (for example internet or archival data sources). Conducting this independent research builds your skills in planning a research project, reviewing literature, and using the knowledge acquired during the taught component of the course to review evidence, develop an argument and communicate and justify your findings. The dissertation is submitted at the end of Term 4.

Part-time

The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc is delivered over two years when taken part-time.

In Year 1, the taught modules are delivered in Terms 1 and 2 and you will study:

• Critical Urban Theory and Design
• Engaged Urban Design.

In Year 2, the taught modules are delivered in Terms 1, 2 and 3 and you will study:

• Spatial Design Practices, including travelling for fieldwork as part of the overseas practice engagement.
• Dissertation.

In Year 2, you will also have a choice of optional modules which can either be:

• 1 x 30 credit optional module, or
• 2 x 15 credit optional modules.

In Term 4 of Year 2, ie the summer term, you will focus on your dissertation which is a research project that you will conduct independently, complemented by support from a dedicated dissertation tutor. The dissertation gives you the opportunity to focus on an area of the course that most interests you. The research that supports the production of your dissertation should rely on secondary sources of data and/or primary sources of data that can be accessed without field survey work (for example internet or archival data sources). Conducting this independent research builds your skills in planning a research project, reviewing literature, and using the knowledge acquired during the taught component of the course to review evidence, develop an argument and communicate and justify your findings. The dissertation is submitted at the end of Term 4.

Flexible

The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc is delivered over a period of two to five years when taken on a flexible basis. You may structure your core and optional modules in any format you wish, noting that the practice module and dissertation must be taken in your final years of study.

The dissertation is a research project which you will conduct independently, complemented by support from a dedicated dissertation tutor. The dissertation gives you the opportunity to focus on an area of the course that most interests you. The research that supports the production of your dissertation should rely on secondary sources of data and/or primary sources of data that can be accessed without field survey work (for example internet or archival data sources). Conducting this independent research builds your skills in planning a research project, reviewing literature, and using the knowledge acquired during the taught component of the course to review evidence, develop an argument and communicate and justify your findings. The dissertation is submitted at the end of Term 4.

Additionally, the Development Planning Dissertation Fellowship scheme links students to reputable international NGOs, project partners of ongoing research at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, and development consultancies who have defined several topics that could potentially form dissertation options. If you feel that the topics match your own interests, then this could potentially become one route to follow in undertaking a dissertation. There are a limited number of possible titles, and so a competitive application process will determine a partnership between a student and the organisation. If selected, you will complete your dissertation with the relevant supervisor for that fellowship. Whilst the scheme can lead to research collaborations, internships and employment, these are not compulsory commitments beyond your dissertation.

Compulsory modules

• Critical Urban Theory and Design
• Engaged Urban Design
• Spatial Design Practices
• Development and Planning Dissertation

Optional modules

• Post Disaster Recovery: Policies, Practices and Alternatives
• Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities
• Housing Policies: Practical Dimensions and Alternative Options
• Society and Market: Private Agency for Development
• Critical Ideas of Development: Conceptions and Realities
• Contemporary Approaches to Development Management
• Managing the City Economy
• The Political Ecology of Environmental Change
• Urban Environmental Planning and Management in Development
• Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
• The City and its Relations: Context, Institutions and Actors in Urban Development Planning
• Urban Development Policy, Planning and Management: Strategic Action in Theory and Practice
• Transport Equity and Urban Mobility
• An Introduction to Public Economics and Public Policy
• Housing as Urbanism: Housing Policy and the Search for Scale
• Industrialisation and Infrastructure
• Economic Policy Evaluation Tools
• Gender in Policy and Planning
• Communication, Technologies and Social Power
• Urbanisation and Development
• Health, Social Justice and the City 1
• Urban Health and Development Planning Strategies 1
• Urban Health and Development Planning Strategies 2
• Health, Social Justice and the City 2
• Social Policy and Citizenship
• Social Diversity, Inequality and Poverty
• Sustainable Infrastructure and Services in Development

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development.

Fieldwork

UK-based engagements

In Term 2, as part of our core module 'Critical Urban Theory and Design', and within the framework of an urban design exercise, our students undertake fieldwork in London and the UK, in partnership with a local stakeholder. Since 2012, the main focus of our investigations across our UK practice engagements in the module has been on East London and its post-Olympics Transformation. We have partnered with local institutions and organisations operating in Silvertown, North Woolwich, Albert Island, and Custom House, in London's Royal Docks area, at the South-Eastern end of Newham’s so-called ‘arc of opportunity’. We have also dug deeply into a contested regeneration process driven by Newham Council’s (and the Mayor of London’s) vision of a hub for international investment driven by sustainable technology, business parks, and housing.

Overseas practice engagements

In Term 3 of the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc, you will carry out an overseas practice engagement as part of the practice module which is an immersive experience of urban design where you will gain hands-on experience in a Global South context to become reflexive development practitioner.

Each year, our Building and Urban Design in Development MSc students engage with issues raised by partners and communities in a local context. To date, we have engaged with partners and communities in Brazil, Colombia, United Kingdom, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, India, and Turkey on themes spanning the decolonisation of spatial practices, mapping living heritages of diaspora and queer communities, migration, the co-production of housing, contested urbanisms and conserving Romani culture.

The fieldwork component takes place in Term 3.

Ultimately, our students encapsulate their research findings and recommendations moving forward in written reports. These research outputs operate beyond academia and can serve partner organisations at the same time as building a portfolio for your future career.

What this course will give you

UCL has been ranked ninth best university in the world for the second year in a row, marking UCL’s 13th year among the top 10 universities worldwide (QS World University Rankings 2025), and situated within London, the best student city in the world (QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2025). Across the university, UCL’s students and faculty are tackling grand challenges, ranging from climate change to fast urbanisation to planetary displacement.

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit’s postgraduate courses are supported by international agencies, and national and provincial governments, and the Unit sits within The Bartlett, UCL's Faculty of the Built Environment, which is ranked #1 in the world for Architecture and the Built Environment, and remains #1 in the UK for the tenth year in a row (QS World University Subject Rankings 2024).

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit is an international centre concerned with promoting sustainable forms of development, understanding rapid urbanisation and encouraging innovation in the policy, planning and management responses to the economic, social and environmental development of cities and regions, especially in urban cities of the Global South.

Through the core modules of the course, you will be introduced to methodologies and frameworks for a critical participatory, community-based approach to urban design that is grounded in London-based and overseas fieldwork, and through the optional modules on the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc you can take advantage of the expertise within The Bartlett required to research, understand, design, construct and operate the buildings and urban environments of the future. You can also choose to study optional modules from across wider UCL.

Not only will you be studying course content that matters both to your future career and to the spatial justice of urban contexts in the Global South, but you will also gain access to an active and growing alumni network, exchanging knowledge and skills with like-minded individuals from across the globe who are experienced in the realms of urban design and development planning.

The foundation of your career

94% of graduates from The Bartlett Development Planning Unit were in work or further study 15 months after graduation and are working in 52 countries around the world (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-21).

The Building and Urban Design in Development MSc draws strong connections to professional networks through our teaching and research activities, including our overseas practice engagements where we partner with communities and organisations in international contexts to address urban design issues and opportunities, and through involvement in ongoing research projects led by academics of The Bartlett Development Planning Unit. Research projects focus particularly on displacement and migration (for example, ‘Refugees and the politics of urban space’), disaster risk reduction and recovery, housing policy and planning.

The critical thinking, action-research, spatial analysis, design, and creativity skills nurtured in our students on the course are in demand in a variety of sectors around the world including:

• NGOs
• Aid and development agencies
• Social movements
• Community-led organisations
• Government organisations
• Urban think tanks
• Public agencies and institutions
• Architectural, planning and urban design practices.

Our graduates may become planning and design officers, managers and consultants for international agencies (including the World Bank, UN Habitat, UNRWA, JICA, IOM), regional and local councils (including London Councils of Westminster, Islington, Brent, and Southwark amongst others) and private firms (including ARUP, Public Practice, and Peabody). They may join or start charities and grassroot initiatives at local and international level (including Catalytic Action), as well as work for the Ministry of Housing, Infrastructure and Transport in UK or global equivalents.

Our course also inspires graduates of the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc to pursue further research at PhD level and to develop their own independent design practices.

Employability
To work within architectural and urban design practices, NGOs, aid and development agencies, social movements, urban think tanks, and public agencies and institutions in a way that responds to climate change, disasters, displacement and colonialism, we will equip you with critical thinking, action-research, spatial analysis, design, and creativity skills through core learning on the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc. Department-level workshops will also integrate you with students of the other master’s courses at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit.

Boost your employability through core and optional modules

Our core modules have been designed so that you will be encouraged to critically reflect on the epistemology of urban design in development, and locate contemporary practices in urbanisation, capitalism and democracy with a focus on citizen engagement processes for shaping the built environment. Our optional modules give you the opportunity to reflect on the evolution of housing policies and explore how interventions can produce pro-poor development outcomes, including in the case of disaster risk and recovery in urban areas. Putting theory into practice, we bring together these reflections in a studio-based and design research pedagogy – collaborating with a network of real-world institutional partners.

Explore current debates and issues in international development and planning

The Development Workshops will introduce you to the current debates and issues surrounding international development and planning. Through lectures, short films, and group discussions you will discuss key topics in urban development, urban equality, drawing on post- and de-colonial insights. Through a roleplay methodology in the Development Workshops, we will encourage you to mix with your peers across our seven master’s courses across The Bartlett Development Planning Unit and “step into the shoes” of a multiplicity of stakeholders involved in planning and decision-making. This will help you and your peers explore your intersecting identities and interests whilst fostering empathy with the narratives of development stakeholders and acknowledge the complexity of real-world planning processes.

Partner with international development organisations in a dissertation fellowship

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit Dissertation Fellowship Scheme offers important opportunities for professional development and, in some cases, has led to research collaborations, internships, and employment.

The advantages of participating in this scheme for your employability include:

• Your dissertation will be relevant to the current work of an international development organisation.
• You will have access to a member of staff and relevant data (but NO fieldwork and/or primary data collection is expected).
• A summary of your dissertation will be published in an appropriate form (e.g., policy brief, blog post), subject to agreement over edits to ensure that high standards are maintained with respect to the work itself and any pertinent copyright or other issues
• You will receive a letter stating that you have done this research with the partner organisation.

In addition to the above and to the core UCL Careers provision, as a student at The Bartlett you will have access to a mix of faculty-wide and department-specific support and activities to bolster your career development and develop your networking skills to successfully navigate the job markets. Open across the Faculty, this includes a programme of lively industry panel discussions and interactive workshops, spotlighting the key sectors graduates typically venture into such as construction, consultancy, commercial property and urban planning and development.

Additionally, The Bartlett’s Building a Better Future Consultancy Project will give you a unique opportunity to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team to tackle a real-world challenge the built environment is grappling with, equipping you with the in-demand skills sought after by employers. Featured organisations in this programme include global consultancies such as BuroHappold, Hoare Lea, AtkinsRealis to burgeoning start-ups and SMEs as well as local councils and not-for-profit organisations such as C40 Cities, Greater London Authority and London authorities.

Networking
We have built a strong alumni community, illustrated by our Alumni in Practice project which features interviews with our alumni as they reflect on their positionality as development practitioners and share how the Building and Urban Design in Development MSc shaped their careers.

We will also offer you the opportunity to connect with alumni and academics of the course through our Urban Design Otherwise series (which creates a space for debate and knowledge exchange on urban design thinking and practice), through our overseas practice engagements and UK based engagements, through events open to all students at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit (including our flagship Dialogues in Development lecture series, film screenings, and talks with academics about their research projects), and through seminars and guest lectures with policy makers, local governments and a variety of organisations in the field of urban design and development.

As a student of The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, you will be connected with professionals, researchers and academics who have had long-standing careers in the development field and can share valuable and candid insights through events and networking. You will also benefit from our digital Alumni Networking Platform where you can discover the international reach of our alumni community on a map and connect with individuals by year of graduation, course of study and by city.