Course Outline
ENP104 Urban Economics and System Analytics
Course Coordinator:Nicholas Stevens (nstevens@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
2025Semester 2
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
This course will provide you with the knowledge and tools to understand and communicate urban design and planning proposals that consider the influence of economics, from the micro to the global. It will also allow you to explore and understand urban settings and cities as complex systems comprised of people, technology and their environments. You will learn to collect and analyse the vast new data resources that are becoming available from social media, crowd sourcing, and sensor networks, and how these can be used to support evidence-based decision-making for urban design and town planning.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Online asynchronous learning materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Synchronous on-campus workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 11 times |
Course Topics
Micro and macro urban and planning economics
Information and communication technologies in cities
Urban analytics, data and systems thinking
Cities as complex systems
Visualisation of data for urban decision-making
What level is this course?
100 Level (Introductory)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Planning Institute of Australia | |
| 1 | Describe and discuss contemporary micro and macro planning and property economic theory and the applicability to urban development decision-making. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6 |
| 2 | Reflect on the implications of information and communication technologies and big data for contemporary cities and smart cities. |
Knowledgeable Ethical |
2.1.4, 2.2.8, 3.4.1, 3.4.2 |
| 3 | Demonstrate an understanding of how cities are shaped and transformed through economic, social, technological and environmental interactions and dependencies. |
Empowered Sustainability-focussed |
2.1.3, 2.1.6, 2.2.3, 3.3.5 |
| 4 | Demonstrate an understanding of visualisations and their usage in a wide variety of applications, including the core skills required to create effective visualisations. | Creative and critical thinker |
2.1.11, 2.2.8, 3.6.2 |
* Competencies by Professional Body
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Planning Institute of Australia | |
| 2.1.4 | Knowledge of and capacity to use relevant technical tools for data collection, analysis and mapping, and have knowledge of quantitative methods, spatial mapping, relevant digital software, and geographic information systems (GIS) |
| 2.2.8 | Capacity to gather qualitative and quantitative data relevant to different planning circumstances including global trends and emerging issues, to analyse it and to communicate its relevance and any shortcomings of findings |
| 2.1.3 | Knowledge of the development of planners’ roles over time and in various contexts including the challenges and requirements of contemporary circumstances |
| 2.1.6 | Capacity to make appropriate choices in ethically ambiguous situations based on knowledge of social, economic, environmental, and cultural aspects of planning |
| 2.2.3 | Knowledge and theories of urban and regional planning and environmental planning and design, including but not restricted to principles of land use, urban form, infrastructure systems, ecological systems, global trends and emerging issues, climate change, transport, the integration of land use and transport, heritage conservation, landscape and human settlement patterns |
| 2.1.11 | Capacity to communicate in written, oral, and graphical form about planning issues, development proposals and actions via a range of media to various audiences in a manner appropriate to the situation |
| 3.2.1 | Knowledge of the spatial-economic underpinnings of urban regions and cities including the economic principles of land use distribution. |
| 3.2.2 | Knowledge of the fundamentals of the economics of development including land and property development |
| 3.2.4 | Capacity to analyse spatial economic plans at a basic level. |
| 3.2.5 | Capacity to produce basic spatial economic plans and development strategies at a level demonstrating understanding and use of relevant market related concepts. |
| 3.2.6 | Capacity to link economic understandings with other ethical and practical dimensions of planning, such as socio-spatial disparities associated with globalisation. |
| 3.4.1 | Knowledge of the main sources of information about communities, including census and survey data. |
| 3.4.2 | Ability to undertake basic primary and secondary data gathering and analysis utilising quantitative and qualitative methods |
| 3.3.5 | Capacity to practically and critically link plans into wider frameworks of environmental action and influence at a variety of scales. |
| 3.6.2 | Capacity to read and understand drawings and plans, including visualisation of the items represented, and to recognise and be able to critique inadequate drawings and representations. |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
Not applicable
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Timely and detailed feedback is provided for each assessment. Feedback is provided both within text and general comments to build scholarly skills. Students can seek feedback through face-to-face discussion with the course coordinator. Tutorials will include extended discussion and review of the assessment task requirements and scope.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 20% | 90 minutes |
Week 4 | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | Group | 35% | 1500 words |
Week 8 | To be Negotiated |
| All | 3 | Report | Individual | 45% | 2000 words |
Week 13 | To be Negotiated |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Quiz | ||||||||||
| Goal: | This assessment will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the course material. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | This is an individual quiz, undertaken online. It will be a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | ||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Analyses and visualisation of a complex urban setting | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal here is to allow you to work as a group to identify, assess, and communicate an opportunity and / or challenge associated with a complex urban setting utilising appropriate visualisation techniques. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | The format will involve the identification of current and emerging critical issue/s in urban design and planning, focused around a particular urban setting (e.g. public open space, main street, school zone, car park, etc). In a group you will explore ways in which you can assess, model and redesign the urban setting and communicate the difference your approach has made in addressing the issue. The outcome will have a written component but will also utilise appropriate visualisation techniques to communicate your work to a broader audience (poster, presentation, systems diagram, physical model etc). |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 3:Exploring the use of big data for decision-making | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal is for you to write a report on an urban design and town planning topic which investigates how the use of big data may impact future decision-making on that topic. |
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| Product: | Report | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | The format will be an individual written research report on an urban design and town planning topic of your choice, approved by your course coordinator. You will explore how technologies and big data may impact this topic and if they are able to offer insights for decision-making on planning and design. You will also be required to present an overview of your research in the form of an A1 poster. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | ||||||||||||||||
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Specific requirements
Information regarding prescribed texts or other associated resources or readings will be made available on the Canvas site prior to commencement of study.
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconductAssessment: Submission penalties
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
- In person:
- UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
- UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
- UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
- UniSC Gympie - Student Central, 71 Cartwright Road, Gympie
- UniSC Fraser Coast - Student Central, Student Central, Building A, 161 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay
- UniSC Caboolture - Student Central, Level 1 Building J, Cnr Manley and Tallon Street, Caboolture
- Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
- Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au