INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this TU-Delft online course on Dutch Urbanism, designing for the public good. Thank you for joining us. In this syllabus you will find everything you need to know about this MOOC.

This MOOC is about our tradition of planning and designing for the public good. This tradition stems from one basic historic fact. Much of our country lies below sea level. This means we have to design, shape and mould our country in order for us to live here. We have to safeguard this public good: safety from flooding. Now this MOOC is not about water management or flood risk reduction. This MOOC is about designing for the public good.This can be any public good. It’s a way of thinking about spaces that concern us all.

In the following eight weeks, we will introduce you to three basic principles we think are central to this way of thinking.

• First: we look for a balance between research and design in our proposals.
• Second: we think and work on multiple scale levels simultaneously: from the region to the detailing of public space.
• And the third – and maybe most important – principle is that we always see a design embedded in its physical contaxt.

You will practice with basic techniques in spatial analysis and design pertaining to these points. You will also carry out these activities in your own domestic environment.

All the material in this course is presented at entry level. But since the course has an integral perspective, combining planning and design aspects, it can still be relevant for trained professionals who feel they lack experience in either field.

GENERAL STRUCTURE

This MOOC consists of 8 modules, revolving around a weekly theme. All of them however, have something to do with designing for the public good.

• Week 1: Introduction
• Week 2: The public good
• Week 3: Reading the landscape
• Week 4: Urban metabolism
• Week 5: The fair city
• Week 6: Modelling in urbanism
• Week 7: Structure transformed
• Week 8: Design and Governance