Regions and cities over the world face immense pressures to adapt to wide-ranging economic, environmental and social challenges. Pressures of competition, globalisation and technological change have led to the decline of traditional production-based industries and seen the growth of new sectors, high-tech and innovation industries, and cultural businesses. This raises a number of challenges for the design and delivery of successful spatial development policy. Many places are being forced to re-invent themselves and rise to the multiple challenges of finding new ways of using the urban and industrial landscape, finding new sources of income for local people, and developing new place identities to attract investment and talent and improve quality of life. Local and regional development strategies are broadening, with strategies for competitiveness, place-making and urban regeneration being applied alongside more novel approaches based around the development of social enterprises and initiatives encouraging more locally embedded and sustainable business activities. Urban and regional development is also an important concern of national governments. In the UK, government’s "levelling up" policy seeks to improve development opportunities across the country.

This module focuses on the nature, role and merits of different policy and practice interventions underpinning urban and regional development and the relationships between different actors and stakeholders. To achieve this, it combines insights from academic theory and practice-based perspectives drawn from both the UK and international experience. The module equips students with skills and vision to identify policy problems and viable solutions. It also encourages the development of critical thinking and the ability to understand policy dilemmas and broader implications of different policy choices.

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the challenges faced by practitioners and policy-makers in developing urban and regional development policies and strategies.
2. Critically analyse the content of spatial development policies and strategies.
3. Assess the relative merits of different spatial economic development mechanisms and interventions.
4. Demonstrate an awareness of the advantages and limitations of spatial economic development models.

The module will be delivered through lectures and seminars, in-person and on campus unless mitigating circumstances arise. Seminars will enable small group discussion about key issues relevant to the module. Students are expected to engage with additional module content on Learning Central e.g. readings or other material, to prepare for lectures and seminars, and to supplement and deepen taught components.

1. Ability to assess, critique, and evaluate urban and regional policy approaches and development strategies,
2. Developing logical, insightful and analytical written arguments on specific subject areas.
3. Working individually and collectively, developing own ideas on lecture, seminar and reference materials.
4. Collecting, organising, debating, presenting and interpreting a range of alternative arguments.
5. The use of a variety of text, internet and electronic resources in research for written and seminar work.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment takes place throughout the module.  There are learning checks in every lecture and the workshops which support the assessments provide an opportunity for peer to peer and tutor feedback.

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

Re-assessment

Students are permitted to be reassessed in a module which they have failed, in line with University regulations. You will only be reassessed on the components of the module in which you have failed. The format of the reassessment will be the same as the original assessment and will take place in the Summer re-sit period.

Data Collection and Ethical Approval

For some assessments, students may be required to collect their own data. In such assessments ethical approval from the School Research Ethics Committee must be obtained before data collection can begin. The module leader will discuss the process for obtaining ethical approval if it is needed in this module. Ethical approval is not needed for students using existing, open data sets (e.g. anonymised secondary data). This does not include social media data (e.g., Twitter or Facebook posts), where ethical approval must be obtained. The ethical approval process will take time and you are strongly recommended to adhere to the timetable outlined by the module leader to ensure you are not delayed in your assessment.

The module will focus on understanding the nature, role and merits of different policy and practice interventions to address urban and regional development and regeneration. It will begin by introducing students to some key concepts and theories of urban and regional development. This is followed by a discussion of the principles, values, approaches and instruments practitioners would need to consider for delivery of a successful regional and local economic development and regeneration strategy. This is combined with more specific discussions such as related to community economic development, culture-led development, strategy development and evaluation approaches.