Urban Design Minor
The Minor in Urban Design provides a platform for students to explore issues related to the urban condition that is unfolding in the twenty-first century. Within this framework, students explore urbanization processes in the context of design applications and tools, critical urban issues, urban history, theory, and their application to real-world scenarios. Aging infrastructure networks; pressures on access to education; overextended healthcare systems; loss of public investments; false securities in the housing market; spatial exclusion based on class, race, and gender; the dispossession of local inhabitants from common resources; food supply interruptions; the vulnerability and degradation of the environment; and wasteful forms of consumerism for the sake of capital accumulation all seem to be thriving themes in and around urbanization today. Over the last three decades, the field of urban studies has received overwhelming attention from design disciplines as well as disciplines outside the world of design. This has led to an outpouring of scholarly and political discourse, challenging the image as well as the perception of what is considered urban today. The Minor in Urban Design is open to all students at Washington University in St. Louis, regardless of major.
At least 12 of the 15 credit units must be applied exclusively to the minor and cannot be counted toward another major or minor. Architecture track courses count toward the minor.
Students interested in the minor should contact the minor advisor.
Total Units Required: 15
Required Courses:
- 3 units of Design Methods selected from the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Architecture Majors: | ||
| ARCH 1110 | Introduction to Design Processes I* | 4.5 |
| ARCH 1144 | Architecture for Non-Architects | 3 |
| Architecture Majors: | ||
| ARCH 3121 | Architectural Design IV (Urban Design + Landscape Systems)* | 6 |
| ARCH 4121 | Architectural Design VI (Urban Design + Landscape Systems)* | 6 |
- *
Only 3 units count toward the minor.
- 3 units of Foundations selected from the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH 3404 | Community Building | 3 |
| ARCH 4441 | Designing the Modern City | 3 |
- 3 units of advanced courses selected from the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| URBDES 6210 | Metropolitan Urbanism | 3 |
| URBDES 6220 | Metropolitan Development: What's in A Plan? | 3 |
| URBDES 6230 | Metropolitan Sustainability | 3 |
Urban Design Electives:
- 6 units selected from the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Any URBDES 3000-level or above courses | ||
| ARCH 3424 | Urban Books | 3 |
| ARCH 4190 | Senior Capstone in Architecture** | 3 |
| ARCH 4477 | Segregation By Design: A Historical Analysis of the Impact of Planning and Policy in St. Louis | 3 |
| BEYOND 1007 | Designing Creativity: Innovation Across Disciplines | 3 |
| INTER 4004 | Sustainability Exchange: Community and University Practicums | 3 |
- **
Bachelor of Science in Architecture students only.