Master's degree in
Urban and Regional Planning and Design for Sustainability
Presentation
“Designing sustainable and resilient cities and territories to meet the challenges of the 21st century".
The Master's Degree Program in Urban and Regional Planning and Design (URPD) trains specialists in urban and territorial planning and design through innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to knowledge and the "management of complex problems" related to space and the built environment. The poor quality of life in contemporary urban areas, climate change, environmental unsustainability, large-scale migration, social injustice, and pandemics—all negative aspects tied to globalization—are heavily affecting settlement contexts, demanding urgent interventions. By bringing together the expert knowledge of the University of Florence and establishing partnerships with universities worldwide, the degree program positions itself as innovative and a leader in the field of knowledge and management of global change concerning urban, territorial, and environmental domains in the 21st century. Organized as an interdepartmental program between the Department of Architecture (DIDA) and the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies (DAGRI), the course adopts a multidisciplinary, integrated, and interactive approach in developing design strategies, with particular attention to the simultaneous use of technical and artistic methods in place-making. Emphasizing a pragmatic vision of action, the projects developed during the two years of study take shape by integrating the knowledge, methodologies, and techniques of urban planning and territorial management with those of river restoration, ecology, economics, landscape architecture, agroforestry sciences, and many other disciplines (see the table in the following paragraph), within an international context open to dynamics between the Global North and South.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_N6PLxYLsc
Professor Daniela Poli, Chair of the Master’s Degree Program, presents our degree course.
EDUCATIONAL GOALS
"Every place has its own true personality, made up of unique elements, a personality that may have long lain dormant but which it is the task of the urban planner, as an artist, to awaken."
(Patrick Geddes, 1915)
"Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable" is the aim of the 11th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, signed also by Italy in 2015. Transforming metropolitan areas, small and medium-sized cities, as well as rural territories or depopulating inner areas, into “self-sustainable,” resilient, and welcoming places for both new and existing inhabitants is the goal that both faculty and students constantly address throughout the educational process. By applying the concept of the "urban bioregion"—designing urban and territorial contexts that are structured and in balance with their environment—the two-year program develops settlement models that offer alternatives to the current eco-socio-catastrophic trend of large-scale global urbanizations, such as megacities and megaregions, which are causing serious environmental, social, and health crises worldwide. Specifically, the degree program (as detailed in the SUA-CDS Annual Program Sheet) trains professionals with the following specializations:
- Spatial planner and designer
He is competent in the elaboration of plans, strategic scenarios and territorial projects of vast areas of a multifunctional and multi-actor character, such as landscape plans, strategic plans, multifunctional agricultural parks, territorial parks, river parks, territorial regeneration plans, food plans, river contracts, territorial programming acts (rural districts, biological districts, agro-urban programmes, etc.), monitoring and strategic environmental assessment of plans and projects.
- Urban designer and planner
He has expertise in the planning and design of sustainable and resilient cities and neighbourhoods, with the recovery of degraded areas and the design of interface areas between the city and agricultural land and urban frontages, addressing the closure of energy cycles, water reuse and recycling, and sustainable mobility (structural plans, municipal operational plans, recovery plans, climate adaptation plans, urban food plans, sustainable mobility plans).
- Planner and designer of public policies and participatory processes
He/she is an expert in the analysis, management and design of public policies influencing the quality of life in urban and territorial contexts (housing policies, public transport policies, etc.). He is able to apply techniques for the definition of plans, programmes, projects produced by the interaction between public actors, stakeholders and citizenship (community maps, river contracts, structural plans, etc.).
STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY PROGRAM
DOWNLOAD THE DEGREE PROGRAM PRESENTATION
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
To be admitted to the program, applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or a three-year university diploma, or another qualification obtained abroad and recognized as equivalent. Before enrollment, verification of curricular requirements must be completed according to the procedures specified below. Curricular requirements for automatic eligibility are met by holding a degree in Class 7 "Territorial, Urban, and Environmental Planning" (D.M. 509/99) or Class L-21 "Territorial, Urban, Landscape, and Environmental Planning Sciences" (D.M. 270/04).
For applicants holding degrees other than those mentioned above, curricular requirements are defined as the possession of at least 50 ECTS credits acquired in subject areas consistent with the study program, specifically related to urban and territorial planning methodologies and techniques, urban and territorial policy methods and tools, methods and tools for representing cities and territories, historical and geographical knowledge of settlements and territories, agricultural and forestry sciences, as well as basic knowledge of natural, environmental, and territorial resources.
In particular, the priority academic subject areas (SSD) considered for recognition of credits qualifying for admission include:
* ICAR/20 and/or ICAR/21
* ICAR/18 (or other deemed equivalent)
* ICAR/06 and/or ICAR/17 (or other deemed equivalent)
* AGR/01 or AGR/05 or GEO/04 or GEO/05 (or other deemed equivalent)
Italian native-speaking students are required to demonstrate proficiency in at least one European Union language—English, French, German, Spanish, or Portuguese (in addition to Italian)—at a certified B2 level.
Non-Italian native-speaking students are required to demonstrate proficiency in Italian at a certified B2 level, except for students participating in specific agreements, for whom dedicated rules apply. Proof of language proficiency is mandatory before the issuing of the clearance for enrollment and thus constitutes a prerequisite for admission.
DOUBLE DEGREE
The Master's program PPCT has offered for two years a double degree program with the Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux, awarding the double title Planning and Design of the City and Territory – Urbanisme et aménagement. Through this program, five students can attend their second year of study in Bordeaux, completing internships at public institutions, public planning agencies (e.g., Sysdau), or research organizations (e.g., CNRS), and their thesis under the joint supervision of Italian and French faculty. The degree programs provide opportunities to collaborate closely with international faculty and students through international seminars, study trips, workshops, and training internships.
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND PREREQUISITES
Attendance is mandatory in educational workshops for at least 75% of the lessons. First-year educational workshops are prerequisites for the second-year workshops.
EXAMS
Throughout the university program, students’ knowledge will be assessed through written and oral examinations.
EMPLOYMENT AND SATISFACTION OF OUR GRADUATES
According to Almalaurea data, graduates in the degree class of territorial, urban, and environmental planning (LM-48, 54/S) at the University of Florence have an average graduation age of 27. One year after graduation, 72% of them are in paid employment. This employment rate rises to 80% five years after graduation. The skills acquired through the degree are considered highly relevant by 66.7% of respondents, and the degree itself is regarded as very effective/effective (66.7%) for the work performed. Satisfaction with current employment is very high: 8.7 out of 10.
Read our graduates’ testimonials and explore their key experiences.
Last
update
16.07.2025