Content of Learning Activity

Firstly, the course highlights the major phases of the development of European cities, by reading the interactions between transport infrastructures and urbanization dynamics, over the long term, based on case studies. To understand this history, we use maps, which show us several representations of a territory at different periods. We could compare them to a series of instantaneous photographs which reveal the state of an inhabited environment at different given times. Choosing this approach to restore the transformation of territories is similar to a geo-historical approach. By comparing two maps from two different periods, we can indeed highlight the changes which have modified the territory, such as the extension of a road, the development of new habitat centers, the appearance of wastelands, etc. By observing several maps over a long period of time, the identification of permanence, evolutionary trajectories, or even radical bifurcations makes it possible to tell a story about a territory.
Secondly, and always based on the interactions between transport infrastructures and urbanization dynamics, the course focuses on the contemporary period based on the problem of urban sprawl: its origins (the theoretical and ideological basis) , from theory to territorial transformations, from territorial transformations to residential choices, and the critique of urban sprawl (based on environmental, social, and economic arguments).

Required Learning Resources/Tools

Visual presentation supports. 

Recommended Learning Resources/Tools

Not applicable

Other Recommended Reading

Not applicable

Mode of delivery

• Face-to-face

Type of Teaching Activity/Activities

• Cours magistraux
• Travaux pratiques
• Exercices de création et recherche en atelier
• Etudes de cas

Evaluations

The assessment methods of the Learning Activity (AA) are specified in the course description of the corresponding Educational Component (UE)