Vision

Urbanization is one of the great challenges of our time and unchecked haphazard urbanization is a serious threat to both the environment and the social and economic balance. There is a global consensus that urbanization must be channelled into responsible, sustainable, and liveable urban forms. High quality urban design plays a key role in creating these sustainable living environments.  

In consequence, there is a steadily growing demand for highly educated professionals in the field of sustainable urban design, and a demand for responsive education. The disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and city planning are all considered in urban design.

For urban design to be a sustainable and responsible practice, a dynamic education for architects and designers is necessary. Learning from culture and history, and searching together for new ways of designing, the Sustainable Urban Design programme (SUDes) at LTH, Lund University provides a leading education in this critical, architectural discipline.

With an interdisciplinary approach and an international setting the Sustainable Urban Design Programme (SUDes) explores concepts of sustainability and encourages ongoing discussion and exploration. With lectures and seminars including city planners, engineers, social scientists and other professionals from around the world, students are involved in the critical analysis and discourse of sustainability.

Objectives

Sustainable Urban Design Programme (SUDes) aims to produce highly skilled and creative professionals capable of making the world’s growing cities into healthy, attractive and sustainable places. The two-year, studio-based course education equips students with tools to manifest their social, economic and environmental intentions into spatial design. The scale and context of the projects develops each semester, to provide students with experience in various realms of urban design, from local urban recycling, to global urban dynamics.

Drawing on best practices and advanced research into urban form, urban quality, and sustainability, students design new neighbourhoods for decaying urban districts as well as improved structures for regional landscapes. Study trips to urban design developments in Europe provide opportunities for students to learn from both historic precedents and the newest practices.

Lectures and seminars provoke discussion into theories and ideologies of cities and sustainability. With an international student body, the discussions are expanded to include cultural dynamics and experiences from around the globe.

Ongoing collaboration between the Sustainable Urban Design programme at Lund University with international universities, local Swedish municipalities, and leading architecture firms, creates an open and creative school environment.

Urban design is a community based architectural discipline, and therefore the Sustainable Urban Design programme participates and facilitates events, exhibitions and workshops throughout the year. Students have the opportunity to exhibit works in public exhibitions and participate in events which ignite public participation in design questions.