Urban design plays an essential role in the planning and development of public spaces and the layout of urban areas. Urban design creates a harmonious relationship between various elements of the city, such as buildings, open spaces, and urban infrastructure, and interactions with the communities to support the sustainability of the urban environment. It ensures efficient use of functional, friendly, sustainable, and livable space. However, along with the increasingly rapid development, it raises challenges for sustainable urban design governance. Therefore, effective urban design needs to be supported by governance policies to face the challenges.
To answer the dynamics and challenges of urban design governance, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Universitas Diponegoro, collaborated with University College London by presenting international urban design expert Professor Matthew Carmona. He delivered a lecture on September 17, 2024, at the Dean’s Building, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University.
This general lecture is part of the Visiting Professor activity of the World Class University UNDIP program. The lecture theme was “Urban Design Governance in Europe: and the Softest of Soft Powers,” which is adapted from Professor Carmona’s book entitled “Urban Design Governance (Soft Powers and the European Experience). This book examines the intervention of methods and processes in designing the built environment in Europe, which was designed by public authorities and other stakeholders to improve the quality of urban design for the public interest. Furthermore, he also described the crucial keys to effective urban design governance, using suitable design methods and tools to decide urban governance policies to create a better environment. Collaboration with the community by building trust and meeting community needs is essential to improving the quality of environmental spatial planning. This activity is intended to develop education and research on the challenges of global issues related to sustainable urban design governance. This collaboration is expected to strengthen international cooperation between Diponegoro University and University College London, especially bringing benefits to the development of urban design science, a means for exchanging knowledge and science for lecturers and students in urban design governance. In addition, this activity also supports explicitly the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDGs 11 Sustainable Cities and Settlements.
