Topic outline

  • General

    Course Teachers

    Raine Mäntysalo, raine.mantysalo@aalto.fi

    Oya Duman, oya.duman@aalto.fi

    Jouni Ojala, jouni.ojala@aalto.fi

    Janne Oittinen (data support, first period), janne.oittinen@aalto.fi 


    Course Summary

    This autumn, the City of Espoo is engaged in scenario work in view of updating its city strategy and related strategic spatial plans. The Planning Studio course will collaborate with the city, contributing to the scenario work and elaborating its spatial implications, and utilizing the insights gained in preparing a strategic land use and transport plan for the city. The issues in Espoo demanding a strategic approach include: managing the rapid population increase sustainably, the planned new 'One Hour Train' connection from Espoo to Turku, the circular light rail system development in the Capital Region, and the extension of the west metro line. In the Planning Studio course, students will develop a strategic land use and transport plan for Espoo that would enable short range decisions while keeping in mind different long term scenarios and uncertainties.

    Planning Studio (10 cr) is a compulsory course in the master's programme "Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering".


    Course Structure

    The course consists of weekly learning sessions (including sessions with Espoo City officials), group work and individual studying (see Course Schedule for detailed programme).

    For further information on the course contents, pedagogical aims and student & teacher feedback, see the article manuscipt titled "Enhancing knowledge, skills and identity development through collaborative student-led learning: Experiences with the gradual empowerment of students in a planning studio course" (available in Materials section).




    Commended by AESOP Excellence in Teaching Prize Committee, July 9th, 2020:

    “The Committee appreciated the module’s structure, strong pedagogical framework,  organisation, and strong links to theory (e.g. the use of notions of the temporal framing of planning and ‘strategic incrementalism’ as guiding concepts). There were very good links to practice too achieved through the format of working with different municipalities each year. This allowed coverage of a wide range of real life issues which can be faced by a municipality and gave learners and excellent opportunity to gain first hand experience and knowledge. The module culminates in the students producing a strategic land use and transport plan and vision for the selected municipality. The ‘resilience of teaching’ aspect was well-covered.”


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  • Course Schedule

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    This page is updated weekly before each session.


    Thursday 16.9. (Online)

    9:00-12:00: Introduction to the course (overview, pedagogical aims & learning outcomes, attendance requirements, assessment criteria), Assignment 1 introduction, and Assignment 2 introduction

    13:00-14:30: Espoo info session (guests: Johanna Palomäki & Ross Snell, City of Espoo)

    Thursday 23.9. (Room R9, Rakentajanaukio 4)

    13-16:30: Supervision on Assignment 2

    Thursday, 30.9. (Online)

    9-16: Group presentations on Assignment 2; instructions for Assignment 3 (orientation to scenario work)

    Thursday, 7.10. (Online)

    9-16: Reviews of Learning Diary 1, Assignment 2, Assignment 3, lecture on scenario planning & introduction to Assignment 4A

    Thursday, 14.10. (Room R9, Rakentajanaukio 4)

    10-15: Supervision on Assignment 4A

    Thursday, 21.10. (Online)

    13-16: Supervision on Assignment 4A & instructions to Assignment 4B (spatial measures): land use efficiencies, public transport service levels etc.

    Week 25. Supervision available upon request

    Thursday, 4.11. (Online)

    9-12: Pre-review of Assignment 4, introduction to Assignment 5 (final assignment)

    13-16: Espoo Workshop: Presentation of scenarios & vision workshop

    Thursday, 11.11. (Online)

    9-16: Review of Assignment 4, lecture on strategic incrementalism in master planning, and workshop on Assignment 5 group configurations

    Thursday, 18.11. (Place - Hybrid: R3 & Teams link, see the CG's message)

    13-16: Supervision on strategic plan: general outline & distribution of group tasks

    Thursday, 25.11. (Place - TBD by the Coordination Group)

    13-16: Supervision on strategic plan: coordination of plan contents

    Thursday, 2.12. (Place - TBD by the Coordination Group)

    13-16: Supervision on strategic plan: finalization

    Thursday, 9.12. (Rooms R1 & R3, Rakentajanaukio 4)

    10-12: Pre-review of strategic plan & Course feedback (R3)

    13-16: Final Espoo presentation (R1)

  • Assignments

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  • Learning Diaries

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    Learning diaries are written, first-person reflection on your learning and progress with the assignments. Learning diaries must be submitted individually after completion of each group assignment.

    Length: ~1 page / ~500 words

    Submission: MyCourses, Sunday after assignment deadline

    Questions to guide your reflection:

    • What did I learn? What was a challenge?
    • What are for me the most important learnings from the assignment? Which questions remained unanswered?
    • What worked and what didn’t work in the assignment?
    • How would I improve the assignment?
    • How did the group function (task divisions, discussions, innovations, helping one another, working and finalizing) and what was my role in the group?
    • How is the course going for me?

  • Materials

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    Here, you can find all the course material including session slides, supporting materials and instructions for assignments, and many more!