Masters Degrees in Urban Planning, Netherlands

Spatial planners are fascinated by on-going and future changes in cities and regions and take on the role as managers of those spatial transformations - think of: regenerating shopping districts or old industrial sites; designating water retention areas; shaping urban mobility concepts for the future. Related challenges vary in scale, from individual property to European policy making.

The Master's in Spatial Planning has the subtitle ‘managing smart cities and regions’. This reflects the challenges of current and future urban societies, at a time that ambitions for a ‘New Urban Agenda’ for the 21st century are formulated, with policies and strategies to create more sustainable and equitable urban spaces.

Master's specialisations

You can choose a specialisation that best reflects your passion for spatial planning:

• Cities, Water and Climate Change: Gain all necessary knowledge and skills for working on the nexus between urban planning, water and environmental management.
• European Spatial and Environmental Planning: Become a spatial planner who understands EU policies, can cooperate with planners across borders and engages with other sectors like environment and economic development.
• Planning, Land and Real Estate Development: Discover new perspectives on urban development which you can use in a future role as city developer, either in the public or private sector.
• Strategic Spatial Planning: Focus on the strategic and visionary elements of what might be called the ‘new’ planning enterprise.
• Urban and Regional Mobility: Look into different integrated mobility systems or transport modes at different spatial scales. Discover new practices and strategies to provide innovative mobility sollutions.
• Flexible specialisation: We also offer you the opportunity to make your own combination of courses from a list of relevant electives, next to completing the core courses of the programme.

Find out more on our website: http://www.ru.nl/masters/spatial

Why study Spatial Planning at Radboud University?

• We’re a small, almost ‘family-like’ department that covers a broad range of topics with a strong track record in related research. This means that you’ll have the advantage of enjoying plenty of one-on-one contact with expert supervisors while pursuing a topic that is of personal interest to you.
• While English is the main language of communication and all lectures are in English, you have the choice to complete assignments, exams and your thesis in either Dutch or English.
• You're trained to think outside given boxes, by combining well-established core courses with electives providing state of the art specialist knowledge.
• Together with lecturers and practitioners, you'll develop smart and sustainable solutions for actual and future planning problems.
• Best Master’s programme according to the Elsevier magazine’s survey Beste studies 2017.

If you are interested in developing a different understanding of planning and forms of practices and you want to create socially, environmentally, economically just places, come study our Master's in Spatial Planning!

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Cities face continuous processes of both expansion and transformation. Population growth and economic growth lead to expansion, while processes of obsolescence and decline lead to a demand for urban transformation projects. These processes usually require investments in land and property (re)development, while planning interventions provide guidelines to investors, sometimes as opportunities, but also as barriers to what an investor might see as a profitable investment.

The Master's specialisation in Planning, Land and Real Estate Development provides a land and real estate development perspective on urban development.

An intersecting perspective

The interaction between planning interventions on the one hand and land and real estate investments on the other hand is the central theme of this Master's specialisation.

Starting from the interaction between planning and real estate, you will develop your perspective on:

• different planning instruments and their impact on land and real estate markets,
• the dynamics of land and real estate markets, investment behaviour by private and public developers,
• public private partnerships, land management strategies and value capturing mechanisms and
• smart land and real estate investment strategies.

Develop your potential

Our Spatial Planning graduates are greatly valued by their employers for their analytical skills, critical perspective and sound academic understanding of the relationship between human activities, their spatial environment, and relevant spatial interventions enhancing their living environment.

Upon completion students will have knowledge of:

• Interfaces between different planning concepts, sectors and interests
• Synergies that are found and trade-offs that are made along these interfaces
• Paths through which integrative planning is manifested in policy formulation, decision-making and projects at different geographical and institutional levels

Spatial planners from Nijmegen work as policy maker, consultant or project manager for government, consulting firms, project developers, housing corporations or research institutes. Also, more and more of our alumni are working in international projects.

Find out more about the programme on our website: http://www.ru.nl/masters/plred

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The cities of today are complex with interrelated economic, social, environmental and physical challenges which need to be balanced in the ever-changing urban environment.

The intensive 12-month MSc in Urban Management and Development is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to become competent urban managers by offering an in-depth insight into urban issues, policies and trends around the world through a blend of lectures with case studies, discussions, working groups, group assignments and field visits and field work. More specifically, you will be looking into questions like (but not limited to):

What are the dynamics of urban growth? How do you manage a city in a holistic way? What about creating urban land and space use policies that reflect the “New Urban Agenda” goals? What are the theories that underpin good urban governance? Under what conditions are Public Private Partnerships (PPP) successful vehicles for urban development? How can local governments finance urban infrastructure? What is the right way to assess a social policy in the view of a paradigm shift?

The master programme is divided into three main periods: a core period, a specialization period and a thesis period. Visit our website or download the brochure to find more information about the programme structure and the knowledge you will gain during each period.

EU/EEA, U.S. & Canadian citizens are welcome to apply by 1 Sep 2018.

Non-EU/EEA (excl. U.S. & Canada): Intake closed

Training methodology

Throughout the course, students participate in interactive lectures, workshops and discussions, engage in group and individual exercises, analyse cases, give presentations and write papers and essays which aim to deepen their knowledge about the concepts and theory. The training methodology of the programme includes field visits, fieldwork, simulation games, discussions, best practices and case studies.

Why this programme?

• Get your degree from a top 100 university.
• Study in a international environment with people from over 45 different countries.
• Follow courses and guest lectures offered by leading scholars from various disciplines in the field urban management.
• Benefit from a unique methodology of interactive role-playing games where use your theoretical knowledge to solve real-life examples of urban issues.
• Tailor your study with one of six different specialisations.

IHS, the Insitute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam was honoured in 2007 with the UN-HABITAT Award for ‘leading the way as a global center of excellence and knowledge through its high quality teaching programmes in urban management and planning’ and over 60 years of experience in educating and training local and national governments officials.

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Environmental and Infrastructure Planning (EIP) focuses on the sustainable planning of infrastructure. It does so from a spatial planning perspective. This means that you will not only explore infrastructure planning, realization and management concerning roads, utilities and water systems; you will also learn about the relationship between societal and political processes.

The Master's degree focuses on students with an academic interest in designing policy solutions for problems in the field of environment, such as climate change. It will also give you the chance to learn more about issues concerning water, like flooding, and infrastructure project, for example the growth of mobility. The programme emphasizes the integration of technical knowledge with knowledge of planning and planning processes.

The interdisciplinary character of EIP is reflected in the contents of its curriculum. Several courses will strengthen your knowledge of issues in EIP and the tools you use in this discipline. To satisfy your individual academic interests, a number of electives are available. You complete the programme by writing a thesis.

Why in Groningen?

- Urban areas and issues of infrastructure, environment and water;
- Thinking (policy strategies) and doing (practical work on projects and plans);
- Compare international theory and practice;
- Program linked to international (e.g., AESOP) and national (e.g., Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment) institutes;
- Groningen offers a wide range of English-language course options and facilities;
- Optional: double degree programs (e.g. Bandung, Indonesia and Oldenburg, Germany).

Job perspectives

The diversity and complexity of EIP opens up a wide field of potential careers. The government is an important employer. Many EIP graduates start as a policy adviser within international, national, provincial and local offices in charge of spatial planning, transportation or water management. You can also find a job in the private sector where especially consultancy firms are keen to hire our graduates. It is also possible to start your own business or go into research.

The Msc Environmental and Infrastructure Planning (EIP) program follows a research agenda at the Department of Spatial Planning and Environment.

This research agenda concentrates on the relationships between institutional innovation (improved policy making) and spatial transformation (changing cities and regions). As a result, the lecturers in EIP try to:

CLARIFY notions of sustainability, capability, quality of life (wellbeing), adaptiveness, and resilience.EXPLAIN spatial transformation in terms of urban and regional change;CONCEPTUALIZE these insights for input to the theoretical debate and the empirical understanding of (mainly) Dutch, European and Asian planning practice.PROPOSE innovative realistic strategies and policy improvement for issues of infrastructure, water, and the environment;

The research questions underpinning EIP are:
- how do we establish possibilities for the sustainable development of our cities and regions?how do we integrate roads, water, environment and energy in comprehensive decisions?

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Would you like to study topics in development planning and infrastructure management in two different countries? Then this double degree is the right choice for you.

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences in Groningen and the Department of Regional and City Planning in Bandung combine their strengths in this double degree. The course lasts for twenty-four months. You will spend the first twelve months in Indonesia and the second twelve months in the Netherlands.

The programme is designed to provide individuals and government officials with the professional capability to deal with planning related activities. You will focus on local as well as central levels in both the developed and the developing world. You will be trained to address spatial problems and to tackle complicated situations in an efficient and effective way.

The curriculum focuses on theories in the field of planning, for example in planning and management of natural resources. In addition, you will be trained to handle decision-making processes. Furthermore, this degree will provide you with the skills to improve and develop infrastructure planning and management in the context of urban and regional development.

Degree: MSc in Environmental and Infrastructure Planning

Job perspectives

As a graduate, you can work in governmental agencies, consultancies, and non-profit organizations as an expert in the field of developmental planning and infrastructural management. It is also possible to expand your knowledge as a researcher at a university or other knowledge institute.

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The MSc Programme in Urban Water and Sanitation educates professionals in the fields of water supply, sanitation and integrated urban engineering, particularly in urban areas.

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