Urban Planning
At the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, research in Urbanism is situated in the context of a highly suburbanised regional territory. In the last decennia, historical city centres developed into centres of consumption. Urban peripheries of 19th and 20th-century enclose historical town centres of big and small cities. Rural landscapes have been urbanising for almost two centuries. Special attention is given to the phenomenon of the 'horizontal metropolis'.
Research in urbanism, urban design and landscape is based on contemporary questions. They touch upon cultural, historical, theoretical and policy aspects and focus on problem definition, analysis and design.
Currently specific research is done on the following questions:
- the development of 20th-century urban fringes
- infrastructural energy and road networks
- theory of urban design
- landscape transformation in rural and urbanising territories
- representation of city and landscape in 19th and 20th-century photography
- urbanism, landscape and heritage
Research on Urbanism is done on different levels. It includes as well fundamental (doctoral and postdoctoral) as applied research (Labo S). Cooperation on an interdisciplinary level exists with GUST (Ghent Urban Studies Team), Labo A and the research group on Theory and History. The output of the research are books and articles, as well as projects, reports, studies and exhibitions.
