European Spatial Planning and Regional Development 120 ECTS – (M.Sc.)

Contents

The programme is teaching intensive with an average of 3-4 lectures per week. Responsible for teaching are professors with research experience in the relevant areas. Furthermore, the courses include a number of seminars which give the students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in specific areas; in addition, the students will have the opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge in a number of exercises or assignments.

The first two semesters contain seven compulsory courses. For the third seminar, the students can freely choose courses either at BTH or at another university. The fourth semester is entirely dedicated to thesis writing.

* Courses autumn term 2012
* European Integration 10 ECTS

The aim of the course is to give a historical and theoretical overview of the European integration process, and to provide insights on the EU’s institutional structure, and give an overview of EU’s role in planning related issues.

Planned lectures:
1. EU- from idea to reality
2. The integration process - progress, backlashes and surprises
3. EU’s institutional structure
4. The economic integration process - from a free market to a monetary union
5. The enlargement process: principles and practices
6. Regions in the EU
7. The Territorial Agenda 2020
8. European integration and spatial planning
9. The European Spatial Development Perspective
10. Territorial cohesion and the European model of society
11. European social models
12. EU budget and finances
13. How to understand the integration process - theoretical perspectives
14. How to understand the integration process - a historical perspective

* European Cohesion and Spatial Planning 10 ECTS

The aim of the course is to provide students with the theoretical background that lays the ground for EU’s actions within regional planning and development, as well as to deepen their knowledge on how these perspectives affect the addressed problem areas.

Planned lectures:
1. Two paradigms in regional policy
2. EU: from regional policy to cohesion policy
3. European spatial planning - the arguments
4. Key issues in European spatial planning
5. Ireland: The role model for regional growth policy in EU
6. Spatial strategies. The alternative to regional growth policy
7. Territorial cohesion and territorial cohesion policy
8. The importance of polycentricity
9. The urban-rural relationship
10. The Lisbon strategy: High thoughts and little work
11. Manufacturing belts - the declining centres
12. Industrial districts - the threatened periphery
13. Learning regions - the dynamic periphery
14. Mewtropolitan regions - diversified centres
15. Creative and innovative regions: EU’s new dream
16. Building competitive regions

* Sustainable development 10 ECTS

The aim of the course is to provide students with knowledge on the concept of sustainable development and how sustainability concerns are integrated or are conflicting with other policy areas.

Planned lectures:
1. The concept of sustainable development
2. EU’s sustainability strategies
3. Resiliance and sustainable development
4. Spatial forms of peak everything
5. EU environmental policies. Integrating environment with soci-economic development.
6. European environmental policy and spatial planning Part 1
7. European environmental policy and spatial planning Part 2
8. Climate change and sustainable energy systems
9. Strategic environmental assessment
10. Five minds for sustainability
11. European sustainabilty scenarios
12. Conflicts of EU sector policy and sustainability - CAP
13. Conflicts of EU sector policy and sustainability. - Energy
14. Conflicts of EU sector policy and sustainability.- Transport
Courses spring term 2013

* Research Methods 5 ECTS

The aim of the course is to give students knowledge on research methodology. Beside lectures and seminars, a number of workshops will be carried out giving students the opportunity to work with concrete questions and methods which they will later apply in their thesis writing.

Planned lectures:
1. Natural sciences, social sciences and the study of society
2. Alternative research approaches. Part 1
3. Alternative research approaches. Part 2
4. Scientific method and design processes
5. Scientific methods - quantitative methods
6. Scientific methods - qualitative methods

* Innovative regions - theory and practice 10 ECTS

The aim of the course is to give students knowledge on the role of innovation for economic development and factors that foster innovation in regions. During seminars, students will closely analyse a number of “innovative” regions to get an understanding of the concept of “innovative regions”. This will help students to understand that innovative regions differ according to their characteristics and sources to their innovative capacity.

Planned lectures:
1. From the Lisbon Agenda to the Innovation Union
2. The innovation perspective
3. The geography of innovation
4. The importance of history
5. The role of institutions
6. The role of entrepreneurs
7. The importance of life style
8. The role of universities
9. The role of social capital
10. The Role of Public Policy
11. What makes a region innovative?

* Regional disparities - theory and practice 10 ECTS

The aim of the course is to give students knowledge that will allow them to apply different theoretical perspectives when analysing regional development and regional unbalances. The aim of the lectures is to present, analyse and discuss different theoretical perspectives, followed by seminars which will give the students the opportunity to apply the different perspectives in studying several selected European regions.

Planned lectures:
1. Regional disparities and regional problems in Europé
2. The territorial approach
3. The macro economic approach
4. The modernisation approach
5. The regional approach
6. The business approach
7. The sociological approach
8. Policy implications of the different approaches
9. The planning approach
10. Paradigms in regional policy
11. The dynamics of regional problems

* European cohesion policy 5 ECTS

The aim of the course is to present different theoretical approaches to the European cohesion policy, but also knowledge on how these approaches are transformed into concrete policies. During the seminars, the students analyse how this cohesion policy is politically shaped and how it effects some of the EU Member States.
1. The impact of regional policy - what tells history
2. Two policy approaches - problem-based and territorial based policy
3. The concept of cohesion
4. The evolution of cohesion policy
5. The cohesion policy in practice
6. The programme approach
7. The impact of cohesion policy
Courses autumn term 2013

For the third seminar, the students can freely choose courses either at BTH or at another university.

* Written Work

The programme ends with a written exam project (thesis) corresponding to 30 hp.
No courses added to this occasion yet.

Written Work
International element
Assessment and grading

Assessment and grading vary between the courses in the programme. Information can be found for each course

Programme Evaluations

The programme is evaluated by students annually and each term. The courses on the programme are also evaluated separately after the end of each course.
The students input is used to improve the programme.
In summary, the most recent evaluation shows that students are satisfied with the programme. The personal approach and close contact with staff and teachers and the cohesion and community of the small student group are particularly seen as positive. Students ask for further academic and social contacts with other students at the School.